Enlarge Supporters rally for mental health services
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Posted: May 26th, 2010 James Willamor

People holding yellow hammers filled Uptown’s Marshall Park as friends, family, community leaders, and service providers rallied in support of area mental health services at Be The Bridge event on May 21.

“As services are cut, more than ever we need to be the bridge,” said Tim Holland, a rally co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit Person-Centered Partnerships.

Every time a speaker would mention “bridges,” the crowd waved their foam hammers.

Community leaders such as Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jennifer Roberts and individuals who have benefited from county mental health services spoke of the need for partnerships and support. Singer Ryan Brown performed several songs including Louis Armstrong’s "What a Wonderful World."

Organizers hoped to show the need for adequately funded mental health care, which saw a 1.6 percent cut in money from the state last year.

“Be the Bridge is about advocacy and outreach,” says Ellis Fields, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Central Carolinas. “We are looking to the community for empathy and for folks to help fill the gap.”

At the end of the rally, participants symbolically marched across Marshall Park’s small footbridge, posters and banners encouraging support. The march made its way around the park and back. In the center of the park, mental health service providers and advocacy groups staffed boothes to answer questions and provide information.

“This is the second year we have held the rally. Last year’s theme was no more cuts, but the cuts have happened so we have to decide where we go from here,” said Fields.

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