THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Depression is a serious
but treatable health condition that affects more than six million American
men. This condition will be the focus of a national campaign during Mental
Health Awareness Month in May, called Men Get Depression, which is
supported by the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation, the charitable giving arm of
Anthem Blue Cross.
The Men Get Depression National Awareness Campaign is an effort to
increase knowledge, reduce stigma, and promote screening and treatment for
male depression. State of the Art, an Academy Award(R)-winning
communications company began developing the project more than six years
ago. Funding for the research, development and evaluation of the outreach
materials was provided by a grant from the National Institute of Mental
Health. In addition to Anthem Blue Cross Foundation, support for the
outreach, and broadcast dissemination was provided by Charles E. Kubly
Foundation, Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, Community Voices: Healthcare for
the Underserved at Morehouse School of Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation, and Carson J. Spencer Foundation.
"Men and women of all ages, economic status, racial and ethnic
backgrounds can be affected by symptoms of depression," said Leslie A.
Margolin, president of Anthem Blue Cross. "Given the continued prevalence
of depression and its associated costs to individuals and society, we are
pleased to support, through our charitable foundation, this effort to
create awareness around the symptoms and treatments for this condition."
Included in this campaign is a one-hour documentary, which began airing
on public television stations in California in early May 2008, that
explores the corrosive effect of depression on the self, relationships and
careers through the intimate profiles of real men, including a former NFL
Quarterback, a Fortune 500 CEO, an Iraq War veteran, a university
professor, a pastor and others.
To broaden the reach of the campaign, outreach partnerships have
already been established with a number of leading national and
community-based mental health organizations. On May 22nd, Mental Health
America of San Diego County will be featuring Men Get Depression at their
annual Healthy Minds Luncheon in the Presidential Ballroom of the US Grant
Hotel. Eric Hipple, former NFL quarterback for the Detroit Lions and
campaign spokesperson, will speak at the event.
A Web site was also developed to serve as a resource center and guide
for community organizations, employers, churches and individuals, who can
download free resources, a community toolkit and film clips at
http://www.mengetdepression.com. Additionally, due to the barriers to both
awareness and treatment of mental illness and mental health care within the
Latino and African American communities, outreach activities will include a
specific focus on reaching men and their families within these communities.
To increase access and usability, all materials have been developed in
English and Spanish, reviewed for low literacy and closed captioned.
About the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation
Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation
promotes Anthem Blue Cross' inherent commitment to enhance the health and
well-being of individuals and families in communities that the company
serves. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that
address and provide innovative solutions to reduce the number of uninsured
as well as organizations and nonprofit charities that promote the Healthy
Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets specific
disease states and medical conditions. These include: prenatal care in the
first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long
term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity,
diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza
vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the
company's annual associate giving campaign and provides a 50 percent match
of associates' campaign pledges.
The Anthem Blue Cross Foundation is an affiliate of the WellPoint
Foundation. To learn more about the WellPoint Foundation please visit
http://www.wellpointfoundation.org .
About Anthem Blue Cross:
Anthem Blue Cross is the trade name of Blue Cross of California. Anthem
Blue Cross and Anthem Blue Cross Life and Health Insurance Company are
independent licensees of the Blue Cross Association. (R) ANTHEM is a
registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross
names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross Association.
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