Sims presents Mental Health Exemplary Service Awards

Mental Illness Awareness Week
Oct. 3-9, 1999

King County Executive Ron Sims joined members of the mental health community, Seattle Police Department, advocates and family members to present the 1999 King County Mental Health Exemplary Service Awards at a special ceremony on Monday, Oct. 4, 1999 at the Dome Room of the Arctic Building in downtown Seattle. The awards ceremony officially kicks off King County’s observance of Mental Illness Awareness Week proclaimed by Executive Sims as Oct. 3-9, 1999.

Given for the first time this year, the awards recognize exceptional leadership and achievement in the areas of Advocacy, Service Innovation, Direct Service to Mentally Ill Offenders, and Quality of Life Improvement.

A Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to longtime mental health advocate, Eleanor Owen, Executive Director of the Washington Advocates for the Mentally Ill (WAMI), for her more than twenty years dedication, devotion and achievement on behalf of persons with mental illness.

"These individuals are wonderful examples of what we can achieve when we dare to step outside of our usual way of doing business to dream and create a vision of something better,” said Sims. “Each of them, in their own way, set out to make the road a little easier for someone else. They exemplify the excellent work that is carried on every day by individuals working to improve the lives of people with mental illness.”

Individuals were nominated by the community in an open process and selected by a review committee to receive awards in several categories. The honorees for 1999 are:

• Marilynn Williams - Advocacy. Executive Director, Washington State Chapter of the Federation of Families. Ms. Williams is a powerful voice for children, youth and families and advocates both locally and nationally for the provision of individualized services targeted to the needs of each child, and the involvement and empowerment of families in that care.

• Ken Ryan - Service Innovation. Supervisor/Trainer, OASIS Consultants (Older Adult Services and Information Systems), Highline-West Seattle Mental Health Center. Mr. Ryan developed and implemented a series of mental health training sessions for laypersons - volunteers, in-home caregivers, and staff - who serve persons with mental illness. His work has particularly addressed the unique needs of older adults with dementia and other mental illnesses.

• Susan Rozalsky - Direct Service with the Mentally Ill Offender. Court Monitor, King County District Mental Health Court. Ms. Rozalsky is the crucial bridge between the mental health and criminal justice systems for those individuals with mental illness who are misdemeanant defendants. She prepares ongoing, specialized and individualized treatment plans for each defendant and helps to link them with important community services.

• Sergeant Louis Eagle, Officer Donna Trigsted, and Officer Ruben Lopez - Quality of Life. Seattle Police Department's Crisis Intervention Team. These officers showed the leadership to create and model for their peers a more understanding and safe law enforcement approach for responding to and serving persons experiencing psychiatric crises. This program is one of the few of its type in the nation.

• Eleanor Owen - Lifetime Achievement. Executive Director, Washington Advocates for the Mentally Ill (WAMI). Ms. Owen helped to create the largest mental health citizen advocate group in the United States and the next year, was a founder of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill which this year celebrates their 20th Anniversary. She has unselfishly committed herself to the task of advocating on behalf of the mentally ill and working tirelessly to improve both the quality of services and the quality of life for these citizens.

For more information on the Mental Health Exemplary Service Awards contact Joanne Asaba, Mental Health, Chemical Abuse and Dependency Services Division Manager at (206) 205-1312.

Updated: Oct. 4, 1999