Victory for Mental Health

Tickets are available now for our annual advocacy award dinner on Thursday evening, September 19th.

New location this year! – The beautiful Virginia Museum of History & Culture on Arthur Ashe Boulevard in Richmond.

Record numbers of Virginians are experiencing serious mental health challenges, yet there are many victories, small and large, and it’s important to celebrate the victories.

For seven years our Victory for Mental Health event has brought people together to:

• Recognize mental health advocacy champions
• Celebrate artists and the power of art to nurture recovery
• Elevate the success of our peer support services, and
• Grow our capacity to make a difference for more people.

And stay tuned for the online recovery art auction Sept. 5th – 19th!

Sponsorships are still available. Please join us!

Mental Health Advocate Champion Award

Each year, MHV presents the Mental Health Advocacy Champion Award to someone who significantly amplifies the needs of Virginians experiencing mental illness, and addresses the systemic barriers preventing them from being met.

Previous Recipients

2023

William Bland, a Virginia Beach high school student athlete who challenged the stigmas around the mental health needs of student athletes, and inspired a culture of openness and support throughout the school system.

2022

Jennifer Feist, Corey Feist, and Sen. Tim Kaine for passage of the Dr. Lorna Breen Healthcare Provider Protection Act, national legislation to address the mental health needs of health care workers. Jennifer Feist’s sister, Lorna Breen, MD, was a New York City emergency physician from Charlottesville who died by suicide after exhaustion caring for COVID-19 patients.

2021

State Senator Jennifer McClellan and Del. Jeff Bourne, who sponsored major bills changing Virginia court rules to allow evidence of severe mental illness to be introduced during the trial stage, not just at sentencing.

2019

Alex Moreno, Choetsow Tenzin, and Lucas Johnson, Albemarle County High School students who lost friends to mental illness and led the legislative efforts to require mental health instruction in Virginia high schools.

2018

Gray O’Dwyer, a Richmond law student at the time, who led efforts to remove the mental health question from the state bar exam. The application had been a barrier to students seeking mental health counseling.