On Nov. 10th, members of Mental Health Connecticut joined many others in the community at The Connecticut Historical Society to attend the exhibition opening, “Common Struggle, Individual Experience.” Their hope is that individual stories and perspectives from both the past and present will help all of us understand people’s lived experience with mental health conditions and mental health care.
“The Connecticut Historical Society’s year-long exhibit, ‘Common Struggle Individual Experience,’ captures the humanity of individuals and the families whose lives have been affected by mental health conditions, along with the historical journey. It’s a reminder that while we have made great improvements, particularly due to CT-based pioneers Clifford Beers, Eli Todd, and others, we still have work to do,” Luis Perez, President and CEO, Mental Health Connecticut.
Letters, photographs, and other artifacts from the CHS collection, and from other historical archives, will help share the experiences of Connecticans from the past, and video interviews will share the perspectives of people today. These stories will be presented within exhibit themes that explore how society has sought and continues to seek to understand and care for the mind and mental health.
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- Left to right: Luis B. Perez, MHC President and CEO, Harold “Hank” I. Schwartz, MD Psychiatrist-in-Chief, Vice President, Behavioral Health, Hartford Hospital, Howard Savronsky Chief Behavioral Health Officer at Connecticut Children’s
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- Left to right: Lawrence Habar, Director, Health Psychology at Hartford Hospital with Luis B. Perez, MHC President and CEO
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- MHC’s President and CEO, Luis B. Perez
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- Left to right: Luis B. Perez, MHC’s President and CEO and Andrew Kellogg, MHC’s Rehabilitation Specialist
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- Exhibition Archive
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- Left to Right: Janet Reynolds, Creator of MHC’s Write On! Program, Janie with partner Luis B. Perez, MHC’s President and CEO, Peter Reynolds and Marilyn Ricci both from NAMI Farmington Valley Affiliate
Mental Health Connecticut is proud to expand the conversation about mental healthcare through our new partnership with the Connecticut Historical Society. Our President & CEO, Luis B. Perez met with Ben Gammell, Director of Exhibitions at CT Historical on May 6, 2021 for MHC’s “Founder’s Day” and 113th anniversary, to discuss this exhibit and reflect on evolution of mental health reform through the years. View their discussion on our YouTube channel.
“Understanding how people have struggled with mental health throughout history helps us support ourselves and each other today.” – Ben Gammell, Director of Exhibitions, CT Historical Society.
These stories are just a few of the perspectives included in Connecticut Historical Society’s newest exhibition “Common Struggle, Individual Experience: An Exhibition About Mental Health presented by Hartford Healthcare.” Learn more about this important exhibition at chs.org.
