Contact: Paige Rohe, prohe@emory.edu, 404-420-5129
ATLANTA.... Applications from U.S. residents are now being accepted for six one-year journalism fellowships with the Â鶹´«Ã½'s Mental Health Program. These fellowships aim to enhance public understanding of mental health issues and reduce stigma and discrimination against people with mental illnesses through balanced and accurate reporting. The postmark deadline for applications is April 18, 2011, and the fellowship recipients will be announced July 15, 2011, on the Center's website, www.cartercenter.org. The 2011-2012 fellowship year begins in September 2011.
"Informed journalists can have a significant impact on public understanding of mental health issues, as they shape debate and trends with the words and pictures they convey," says former First Lady and Â鶹´«Ã½ Mental Health Program Founder Rosalynn Carter.
Each fellow is awarded a $10,000 stipend and provided with two required expense-paid trips to Â鶹´«Ã½ in September 2011, and again, in September 2012, to meet with program staff and advisers. Fellows are not required to leave their employment during the fellowship year and are encouraged to choose timely projects that may educate the public and raise awareness about important mental health concerns. Since the fellowship program began in 1996, 118 fellowships have been awarded, producing more than 100 newspaper and magazine articles, five books, five television documentaries, and hundreds of minutes of radio and television time.
Shedding Light on Issues and Creating Change
Among other achievements, through their reporting, the Center's fellows have: investigated the use of North Carolina state prisons as de facto psychiatric hospitals; shed light on pioneering research exploring the prevention of psychosis; and exposed the complex and devastating mental health challenges faced by returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
Fellows' projects have garnered an Emmy Award and awards from Mental Health America, the American Psychological Association, Amnesty International, and the Association of Health Care Journalists, as well as nominations for the Pulitzer Prize.
How to Apply
The program is open to print, electronic, and new media journalists with a minimum of three years professional experience. Projects are tailored to the experience and interests of the fellows. Fellows are not required to leave their current employment.
Interested applicants should submit the following:
All materials must be mailed and postmarked by April 18, 2011. Only the profile may be e-mailed.
Additional Resources:
Read about previous fellowship projects in our archives section >>
Learn about Rosalynn Carter's more than 35-year career in mental health leadership >>
Direct all application materials or inquiries to:
Rebecca G. Palpant, M.S.
Senior Program Associate
Â鶹´«Ã½ Mental Health Program
453 Freedom Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30307
Tel: (404) 420-5165
Email: ccmhp@emory.edu
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A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, Â鶹´«Ã½ has helped to improve life for people in more than 70 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; improving mental health care; and teaching farmers in developing nations to increase crop production. Â鶹´«Ã½ was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide. Please visit www.cartercenter.org to learn more about Â鶹´«Ã½.
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