We are accepting applications now to be included in our 2024 Recovery Art Auction, when we celebrate artists and recovery month as part of our Victory for Mental Health event in September.

Download a flyer to share with others. For more information, please email Jenny Sappington at jsappington@mentalhealthvirginia.org.

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.