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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release June 5, 1999
                  PRESIDENT CLINTON AND TIPPER GORE 
                        ANNOUNCE NEW CAMPAIGN 
           TO COMBAT THE STIGMAS SURROUNDING MENTAL ILLNESS 
         AND ENCOURAGE PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS TO GET HELP

                             June 5, 1999

Today, in a joint radio address, President Clinton and Tipper Gore will announce a new national campaign to eliminate the stigma of mental illness and encourage the millions of Americans with mental health needs to get help. The President and Mrs. Gore will discuss the myths surrounding mental illness and presented the real facts about these diseases. The President, Mrs. Gore, and others will continue this discussion on Monday as part of the first-ever White House Conference on Mental Health, chaired by Mrs. Gore, the President's Mental Health Advisor. Today, the President and Mrs. Gore will:

Announce National Campaign to Combat the Stigma of Mental Illness and Encourage Americans with Mental Health Needs to Get Help. The President and Mrs. Gore announced the launch this fall of a new nationwide campaign, with Mrs. Gore serving as the honorary chair, to dispel the myths surrounding mental illness and encourage those with mental illness to get help. This new nationwide campaign will be a public-private partnership, led by the Surgeon General and the Ad Council, which will involve a wide range of community organizations, media, and others. This campaign will draw from many of the issues raised at the White House Conference on Mental Health.

Unveil New Information to dispel the Myths of Mental Illness. The President and Mrs. Gore Contrasted the myths surrounding mental illness with the facts about these diseases:

Highlight the First-Ever White House Conference on Mental Health. These facts and myths of mental illness, and the White House's new nationwide campaign on this issue, will be discussed on Monday at the first-ever White House Conference on Mental Health, which will involve tens of thousands of Americans around the country at over 1,000 cites connected to the conference in Washington.