NEWS RELEASE
Salem County Board of Chosen Freeholders
94 Market Street. Salem, N.J. 08079
CONTACT: Melissa Watts, Intern
Clerk of the Board Office
ext 8203
July 30, 2002
GRANT APPROVED FOR SALEM COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER
SALEM -- Twenty-five percent of Salem County residents will have some form of mental illness in their lifetime, according to the Salem County Mental Health Board.
To serve the mentally ill of Salem County the department received a $6,000 grant from the New Jersey Division of Mental Health Services for 2003. The grant will aid in grant research, writing, training events, recreation and transportation for consumers.
Currently the board serves two support groups. The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), which serves family members of the mentally ill. And, New Dimensions, a support group for people who have a mental illness. Both groups have about 40 members each.
According to Joanne Marone, administrator of the Salem County Mental Health Board, the funds will provide advocacy and educational services to explain mental illness and how to treat it. "If we are able to reduce the stigma of mental illness through these grant funded activities, then the whole Salem County community is better for that."