RELEASE: December 3, 2001

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Acting Department of Human Services Commissioner James W. Smith, Jr. presented the Award of Special Distinction to Editor Dennis Lyons and Journalist Lorraine Ash of the Daily Record, Morris County for their two-part series about people with schizophrenia at the third annual Supportive Housing Conference, Friday, Nov. 30 at 12:30 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel, Somerset.

The Daily Record series, "Some are reclaiming full satisfying lives," published July 29 and "A supportive family can make all the difference," published July 30, debunked the myths regarding schizophrenia and explained the realities of living with schizophrenia in an age of sophisticated medications and community-based therapies. The series also explored programs and groups available to help families who have a relative who is mentally ill. The newspaper also published the series with additional features on their website entitled, "After Greystone: Journey through Schizophrenia."

"Lorraine Ash and Dennis Lyons deserve enormous recognition for their informative series about schizophrenia. The Daily Record has demonstrated the paper’s commitment to the community through both the series and the website feature," said Acting Commissioner Smith. "Through factual information and personal insight, the Daily Record has helped to counteract some of the long-held stigmatizing beliefs that people with mental illness confront throughout illness and recovery."

The two-day conference, "Keys to Independence," Nov. 29 - 30, featured workshops geared to ending homelessness for people coping with mental illness or other disabling conditions. The conference was hosted by the Supportive Housing Association, a statewide non-profit membership organization and the Corporation for Supportive Housing, a national non-profit intermediary, providing financial and technical assistance with supportive housing. Supportive housing is a service that provides permanent housing with links to health, personal support and employment services.

Conference sponsors included the Chase Manhattan Bank, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Equity Fund, Inc. & the Local Initiative Support Corporation and the New Jersey Departments of Community Affairs, Human Services and the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency.

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