Fifth Annual “I’m The Evidence” Celebration Honors Three MH Consumers’ Recovery

On May 13th, 2015 three mental health consumers received I’m the Evidence Awards at a ceremony held at the Mental Health Association of Northwestern Pa. Selected from a field of seven nominees, Katie Schaaf, Eve Shreve, and Tanya DeSantis were selected to receive this year’s honors which recognize persons with mental illness who exemplify commitment to recovery and pursuit of a self-determined life of meaning in the community. MHA congratulates these three individuals each of whose recovery stories are an inspiration to fellow mental health consumers and anyone facing adversity in their lives.

At the ITE ceremony, nominees who were not chosen for the award, Scott Clark, Valerie Perkins, Rhonda Gullifer, and Linnea Pickard, received certificates recognizing their accomplishments in recovery. Emily Burkhart, a 2014 ITE Award winner, read the I’m the Evidence Poem and assisted Bill Grove, MHA CEO in presenting the awards to the winners. A reception was held on the second floor at MHA following the ceremony.