-- Five Persons from Across the U.S. will be Recognized at a Special Ceremony in San Diego -- INDIANAPOLIS, May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Addressing teen suicide, empowering the underserved to overcome their shame, and uniting communities in the fight against depression -- these are just some of the accomplishments of the 2007 Welcome Back Award winners. Each year, an independent committee of mental health leaders chooses five honorees to receive a Welcome Back Award for their outstanding commitment to helping others in the depression community. "Each honoree recognizes that mental illnesses affect more than just the individuals diagnosed with them -- they impact the surrounding community, as well," said Roberto Lewis-Fernandez, M.D., Welcome Back Award committee member and associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University in New York. "They are proud to inform everyone about depression, in turn reducing stigma and increasing knowledge of treatment options." Eli Lilly and Company is proud to honor these inspiring honorees at the ninth annual Welcome Back Awards ceremony in San Diego, California, on Saturday, May 19. The 2007 Welcome Back Awards honorees are: Lifetime Achievement: Harold House, South Bend, Ind. As a teacher at the South Bend Juvenile Correctional Facility in Indiana, Harold noticed that his students -- most of whom had severe mental disabilities -- were not receiving the medication or care that they needed. Because he had been diagnosed and hospitalized for depression in the past, Harold understood that without treatment, these children's chances of productive rehabilitation were greatly diminished. Harold testified before the U.S. Justice Department, highlighting this inadequacy in the system. Due in large part to Harold's hard work, children and adolescents with mental illness across Indiana now receive the medication and counseling they need. In addition, Harold helped establish the Pacers Academy, an alternative school for troubled youth where members of the Indiana Pacers basketball team serve as tutors and mentors for the students. Psychiatry: Karen Swartz, M.D., Baltimore, Md. In 1998, Dr. Swartz founded the Adolescent Depression Awareness Program (ADAP), to educate high school students, their teachers and parents about the symptoms of depression and the risks of letting the condition go untreated. ADAP aims to reduce the stigma of depression and focuses on the importance of getting help. The program sends psychiatrists and nurses to high schools in the Baltimore-Washington area, carrying the message that depression is a treatable medical illness. Now, after expansion to Oklahoma and development of a training program for school personnel, ADAP is poised to become a national program. A respected psychiatrist, Dr. Swartz is director of Clinical and Educational programs at the Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center. Primary Care: Sara Valentino, LCSW, Naugatuck, Conn. Sara is the clinical director of Melissa's Project, a program designed to be the "glue" holding each client's support system together. The program is designed to empower people with mental illnesses, including depression, by focusing on individual treatment goals to prevent further court involvement, hospitalization and jail time. Through this program, Sara has decreased emergency room hospitalizations by 64%, arrests by 50%, incarceration days by 64% and private hospitalization days by 49% among participants in her case load from Waterbury, Connecticut. Sara believes in empowering the individuals with whom she works to become a part of their own treatment plan, in turn creating attainable goals and speeding up the recovery process. Community Service: Thomas S. Stanage, Ph.D., Yankton, SD. Dr. Stanage is the executive director of Lewis & Clark Behavioral Health Services, Inc., in South Dakota. Through this program, he has developed outstanding programming in a very rural area and expanded mental health services to remote areas, including American Indian reservations. He was instrumental in developing a grant proposal that will implement theatrical programs to increase awareness for suicide interventions in three small communities near an American Indian reservation. In addition, he developed the Cedar Village Assisted Living Facility, to provide housing for persons with severe and persistent mental illness. He is also chairman of the board for the Yankton Area Mental Wellness, Inc. Destigmatization: Sylvia Axelrod, North Brunswick, NJ. Sylvia is the executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in New Jersey and serves as the vice chair of the Governor's Council on Mental Health Stigma. Through NAMI New Jersey she works on a program called NAMI New Jersey Expressive Arts Network, which teaches children about depression at an early age in an effort to help break down mental health stigmas for future generations. In addition, she works to reduce the stigma of depression across cultures by working with New Jersey's South Asian, Chinese, Hispanic and African American communities. She also implemented and chaired the NAMI New Jersey Task Force on Children and Adolescents, which fostered the creation of "Educating the Educators" a program that provides education to K-12 teachers about depression. This year's honorees will share a total of $55,000 to be divided among not-for-profit organizations of their choice, which will help ensure that their important work continues. The ceremony will take place in San Diego at the Westgate Hotel on May 19, 2007 at 2 p.m. "All of these honorees have achieved victories in not just the mental health community but the entire community, which will help diminish the devastating impact depression often has on the lives it touches," said John Hayes, M.D., vice president of Lilly Research Laboratories and global brand development team leader - Neuroscience, Eli Lilly and Company. "It is important for Lilly to recognize these unique voices in the depression community as a way to inspire them to continue their good work and promote recovery. I am honored to present Welcome Back Awards to these admirable individuals." About the Welcome Back Awards The Welcome Back Awards was established in 1998 by Lilly to fight the stigma associated with depression and to promote the understanding that depression is treatable. Each year, an independent panel of national mental health leaders recognizes five individuals for their outstanding achievements, and Lilly awards a donation of between $10,000 and $15,000 to the not-for- profit organization of each winner's choice. Nominations for the 2008 WBA may be submitted by anyone wishing to be recognized for his or her outstanding achievements in the depression community or wishing to recognize someone else. For more information, call 800-463-6440 or visit http://www.welcomebackawards.com/. About Lilly Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of first-in-class and best-in-class pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers -- through medicines and information -- for some of the world's most urgent medical needs. Additional information about Lilly is available at http://www.lilly.com/. O-LLY (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051107/WBALOGO ) http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051107/WBALOGO DATASOURCE: Eli Lilly and Company CONTACT: Kristin Campbell, of Chamberlain Communications Group, +1-212-884-0636, for Eli Lilly and Company Web site: http://www.welcomebackawards.com/ http://www.lilly.com/

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