Mission:
To improve the mental health of all Americans, especially the fifty-four million individuals with mental disorders, through advocacy, education, research, and service.

Background:
Clifford Beers, a Yale graduate and businessman, suffered a mental breakdown in 1900 after the death of his brother. A suicide attempt landed him in a Connecticut mental hospital, where he suffered degrading treatment and abuse from untrained attendants. After receiving treatment in several other hospitals where the quality of care was not much better, Beers published his autobiography, A Mind That Found Itself, in 1908 and launched a movement to reform mental healthcare in the process. The next year he established the predecessor organization of the National Mental Health Association (NMHA). Over nearly a century, the organization has educated millions about mental illnesses and reduced barriers to treatment and services.

Outstanding Feature:
The NMHA Resource Center provides comprehensive information on mental illnesses and treatments, as well as referrals for local treatment services. Sixty brochures and fact sheets cover a variety of mental health topics, including anxiety disorders, coping with disaster, mental illness in the family, and substance abuse. The site also features a directory of NMHA's 340 local affiliates and mental health advocacy resources such as position statements and legislative alerts. For questions that can't be answered by searching the resource center, NMHA responds to telephone, voice mail, e-mail, or regular mail requests within three days.