Thanks to all of you who have celebrated 70 years of mental health education and advocacy in Minnesota with us this year! We are grateful for your ongoing support!

2009 has been very productive:

• In January, we introduced new vision and mission statements and established new principles of service.
• In February, we introduced a new newsletter, The Voice, published 5 times per year.
• In May, we hosted the first event of the Gloria Segal Education Forum, Taking the Lid off the Black Box of Mental Illness.
• In July, we launched a brand new website.
• In August, we hosted the second event of the Gloria Segal Education Forum, Managing Stress During Tough Times.
• In September, we welcomed two new staff members, Ben Ashley-Wurtmann and Anna Raudenbush.
• In November, we celebrated our 70th anniversary with a Birthday Gala.
• Throughout the year, we continued to provide individual advocacy to people living with mental illnesses and to participate in issues advocacy through our work on the Mental Health Legislative Network and with Local Mental Health Advisory Councils throughout Minnesota.

If you are interested in making a year-end gift to MHAM to help us continue our work in 2010, here’s an easy way to do it! MHAM has its own page on GiveMN.org. Click on the button to visit our page to make a quick and easy online donation. All proceeds will come directly to MHAM.

We will be taking a little time off during the holidays. Our offices will close at noon on Thursday, December 24 and reopen at 9 am on Monday, December 28. We will also close at noon on Thursday, December 31 and reopen at 9 am on Monday, January 4. Advocates will be available all other days throughout the holidays. If you need to speak to an advocate, please give us a call at 612-331-6840 or 800-862-1799.

We hope you are having a healthy and joyous holiday season, and we wish you a very happy new year!