Mental Health America award recipients

Ernesto Isaac Lara is a 23-year-old youth wellbeing activist, lived experience researcher, and peer support advocate on a mission to create a happier, healthier global community.

Rooted in his healing journey, Isaac has dedicated his early career to expanding access to peer support services and enhancing his knowledge of decolonial models of community healing. Isaac is currently a Research Assistant at the Mental Health for All Lab at Harvard Medical School, where he leads the EMPOWER Peer Support Initiative. This endeavor aims to develop a digital, global peer support curriculum to equip those with lived experience of recovery to support others earlier in their healing journey. Additionally, Isaac supports the development of peer support services in his home state, California, through his work guiding the Stanford Medicine Center for Youth Mental Health & Wellbeing’s allcove initiative.

We all have terrifying questions that we can’t stop thinking about. Did I make the right decision as a parent? Can I share a secret with my mother or father? Usually, these questions go unanswered because it’s too scary to imagine saying them out loud. This podcast is the place where young people and caring adults in their lives can ask the hardest questions of each other.

Lemonada Media presents “I Need To Ask You Something,” a unique 10-part series that bridges the gap between the things we need to say and the words we’re afraid to hear. Each week, trauma therapist Dr. Monica Band sits down with a young person and their parent, friend or partner to help them create a blueprint for building stronger relationships while healing out loud. Created in partnership with The Jed Foundation.

IN HER SHOES takes you behind prison walls into an art class where incarcerated women reflect on their lives through the shoes they have worn. They bravely confront and share their stories of sexual abuse, violence, and addiction, finding the confidence and courage to envision a brighter future. This powerful film highlights the urgent need for mental health programs in prisons, as these initiatives are crucial for helping women heal from their trauma and take meaningful steps toward rehabilitation and reintegration into society. For more information : www.inhershoesfilm.com

Description of Media Projects Inc.:

Founded in 1978 by filmmakers Allen Mondell and Cynthia Salzman Mondell, Media Projects Inc. tackles the most pressing social issues of our time—depression and suicide, racism, antisemitism, women’s empowerment, and prison reform. Partnering with other non-profits organizations,, its films create awareness and foster dialogue, reaching schools and organizations nationwide. Through film they engage students and communities in meaningful discussions about these critical topics. Visit www.mediaprojects.org.

Dr. Joey Pagano, DSW, LSW, CRS, is a distinguished figure in the field of mental health, and he is celebrated for his contributions as a recovery advocate and author. A two-time #1 Best-Selling author, Joey has garnered acclaim for his insightful and impactful books, including “No Addict Left Behind” and “From Scars to Stars.” His work has even earned him a nomination as a Pulitzer contender, reflecting his profound impact on the discourse surrounding addiction and recovery.

With over a decade of experience in mental health, Joey is a dedicated clinician known for his profound empathy and unwavering commitment to harm reduction. His expertise and passion for helping others shine through in his various roles as a therapist, author, and educator. Joey’s global travels and sharing of his knowledge and experiences aim to inspire and educate, breaking down the stigma associated with addiction and promoting effective harm reduction strategies, all with a deep understanding of the human experience. In collaboration with his wife, Jodie Pagano, Joey forms part of “The Traveling Social Workers,” a dynamic duo whose work is characterized by a blend of academic excellence and genuine, lived experience. Their unique and invaluable contributions to transforming addiction recovery are felt globally. Together, they offer global insights through engaging talks, comprehensive training sessions, and co-authored projects, leaving a lasting impact on the field.

The Mental Health Association of East Tennessee began the Treatment Access Bank, better known as TAB, in August of 2022 with the intention to ease the burden of mental healthcare costs on marginalized individuals, families. emergency rooms, tax payers in East Tennessee.

The Treatment Access Bank “picks up the TAB” for marginalized clients, enabling them to receive 15 sessions of mental health therapy, The program has received diverse startup funding and continues to attract new funding from United Ways, the State of Tennessee, and regional and local foundations. A blend of investment in TAB from clients’ copayments and providers’ pro bono sessions which have helped to pay it forward, helping the next client!

The Treatment Access Bank has experienced major growth, with over 150 clients served in urban and rural counties, More than 15 providers support clients in the program, ensuring that clients with special treatment considerations are able to have their needs met by culturally appropriate professionals trained to address diverse treatment needs.

By connecting individuals who have financial barriers to care with a licensed mental health treatment provider partnering with the MHA of East Tennessee, we have been able to circumvent unnecessary costs and health burdens on marginalized persons and our systems of care. Importantly, earlier intervention B4Stage 4 has improved the quality of life for underserved individuals in our community and saved $3.36M in downstream costs.

MindSite News is the only national journalism organization in the country dedicated to reporting on mental health in America, exposing rampant policy failures and spotlighting efforts to solve them. We seek to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the workings and failings of the U.S. mental health system and to impact that system through our reporting, making it more equitable, effective, transparent and humane in its care for individuals and families struggling with mental illness. We are nonprofit and nonpartisan and publish digitally at www.MindSiteNews.org. We also partner and copublish with other news organizations and send out a newsletter, MindSite News Daily, summarizing important mental health news.

Montgomery County Public Schools is Maryland’s largest school district serving a diverse population of more than 160,000 students. EML Therapeutic Counselors (ETC) provide counseling services to Emergent Multilingual Learners (EML) in grades Pre-K through 12. This team supports students from a cross-cultural perspective so they can succeed academically and adjust to a new social and cultural environment while helping them stay meaningfully connected to their culture. The ETCs are a diverse team of professionals who provide counseling services districtwide and are located in schools offering intensive English services.

Renee Jones is a dedicated mental health professional, speaker, and survivor advocate. Beginning her recovery on February 14, 2000, Renee overcame addiction and sex trafficking, discovering self-love and resilience. Originally from Ohio, she has spread her message of hope and growth to Alabama and Florida, where she now resides.

Renee holds a bachelor’s degree in human services with a concentration in child and family services and a master’s degree in mental health counseling. She is a certified mental health professional in Florida and an active member of several prominent organizations, including the Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network, the National Alcoholism and Addiction Institute, the United States Institute Against Human Trafficking, and the Global Association of Human Trafficking Scholars.

Her leadership roles include service on the Community Health Activation Team and Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services Board in Cleveland, Ohio, chairing the Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking, and being a member of the Mental Health Board in Hernando County, Florida.

Renee founded the Reconnection to Life Inc. Women’s Center in Birmingham, Alabama, partnering with local organizations to support women re-entering society after incarceration. She also established I Speak Hope and serves as CEO, providing counseling services through her company, In Community Counseling LLC.

Her contributions to mental health and advocacy have earned her recognition, including the Mental Health Association of Central Alabama Award and the Birmingham Resolution Award. Renee has developed crisis intervention training for law enforcement and spoken on mental health, addiction, domestic violence, and human trafficking at various conferences, such as Counseling and Treating People of Colour, Krimes Against Kids, and the International Human Trafficking & Social Justice Conference.

Renee has shared her experiences through her radio show, “Sisters Talk,” and her 2011 book, “Mama Ain’t Teach Me That,” providing inspiration and hope to many on their own journeys to recovery and healing.

The Awakenings Review is one of the nation’s leading literary reviews entirely committed to publishing works by artists, writers, and poets with mental illnesses. Our award-winning journal, established in 2000, prefers to publish contributors who have a distinct relationship to mental illness (either self, family member, or friend) and who can write about finding direction, recovery, and hope in their lives. We disfavor work that is angry, alarming, troubling, vulgar, or despondent. Visit us at www.AwakeningsProject.org and follow the link in the menu to obtain submission guidelines.