Dedication of the Pamela Glassman Education Center   October 27, 2006     The Mental Health Association is honored to join with the Glassman/Childs families in dedicating the Pamela Glassman Education Center. The Center will host programs and activities for public education including opportunities to promote behavioral health and empowerment of persons with mental illnesses.   Though her life was short, Pamela Glassman's impact was powerful. Her warmth, her intelligence and her skill as a therapist allowed her to help countless clients in their quest for mental health. In her passing, those who loved her sought a way to sustain her memory and to reduce the pain that her tragic illness imposed on all their lives.   Today, we celebrate Pamela's memory and affirm her legacy. In her name, we now work together to challenge the stigma that inhibits access to treatment and opportunity for those with mental illnesses. We educate the public and professional communities. We put a real face on the issues surrounding behavioral illness. Through Pamela's name and in her memory, we work to assure that other families are spared the pain of loss. We pledge that lives now affected by illness will be offered opportunities for recovery. That is a legacy in which Pamela would take pride and in which we can all share through our contributions, our work and our renewed commitment.   Our thanks go out to all of you who have gathered here today to remember Pamela and to sustain her vision for a world that embraces, supports and empowers those with illness as they rightfully pursue lives of hope and fulfillment. The Mental Health Association is proud of the work we do in our community to promote mental health for everyone. Our Pamela Glassman Education Center provides a venue for a range of programs and projects already underway and making a positive impact on the entire community.   They include:   A cultural competence training initiative that provides education for staff of publicly resourced behavioral health organizations in our community;   A multi-agency initiative that is working to facilitate service access for persons with co-occurring disorders like mental illness and substance use;   A family initiative for parents of children with severe emotional disabilities;   A site for parenting workshops and classes that build skills and reduce instances of abuse and neglect of children;   A training site for professional education for therapists who seek continuing education to enhance their skills;   A space for volunteer training to enhance our services;   A home for CHESS, our consumer leadership program, that embraces the talent and skill of local consumers who are actively pursuing recovery; and finally   A venue for the display of9Muses and community art that challenges the viewer to expand his/her vision of those with illness.