Sept. 4, 2009 - St. Louis, Mo. - Recently, Places for People, Inc. (PfP) accepted the first annual 2009 RESPECT Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness St. Louis (NAMI St. Louis) for Outstanding Mental Health Agency. NAMI St. Louis developed the RESPECT Award to discourage stigma and encourage respectful treatment of people with mental illness in the community.

PfP's Executive Director Francie Broderick and Board Member Nancy Cripe accepted the award at NAMI St. Louis' 2009 Annual Meeting. "To be acknowledged with the inaugural RESPECT Award is a real tribute to the work we do," says Broderick. "To be appreciated in this way by our clients and their families affirms our efforts and moves us to continue finding more ways to be welcoming, recovery-focused advocates for mental health."

At the beginning of the summer, consumers and family members were invited to nominate an agency or an individual that provided them or their family with outstanding and respectful mental health services. NAMI St. Louis created a St. Louis Consumer Advisory Committee to create award criteria and select winners.

"This is one of the best compliments the PfP staff could receive," says Cripe. "The client recognition shows what a positive impact the staffs' dedication and determination can make in a client's life."

In the past year, PfP has provided support and services to more than 480 people in St. Louis living with serious and persistent mental illness. Client services include housing assistance, psychiatric rehabilitation, medication and financial management, community resource connection and assistance with daily living skills. Over 80 percent of PfP's clients live in independent housing of their choice. This is one of the highest rates for any provider in Missouri.

 ABOUT PLACES FOR PEOPLE - Founded in 1972, PfP is a private, non-profit agency that provides individualized, high-quality and cost-effective services to adults with serious and persistent mental disorders.  The agency accepts a special responsibility to serve individuals who rely on public funding and offers an array of comprehensive support services for hundreds of mentally ill in the St. Louis area.  For more than 35 years, PfP has empowered citizens living with mental illness to live, work, and socialize in environments of their own choosing and is supported from funding provided by public and private organizations and institutions.

For more information on this release or about programs and services offered by PfP, please contact Pam Boelhauf at 314.535.2310 ext. 254 or visit www.placesforpeople.org.

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Contact: Pam Boelhauf

Events & PR Coordinator

Tel: 314-535-2310 ext. 254   Fax: 314-535-1860

E-Mail: pboelhauf@placesforpeople.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE