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 Research & Giving News Article  The couple helps break the stigma associated with depression and mental illness and supports research to advance new treatments The Peterson Award, named in honor of Pasqualina (Lee) and Bob Peterson, its first recipients, was inaugurated in 1997 and is presented each year to individuals who display exemplary leadership, outstanding philanthropy and a longstanding commitment to NARSAD.  “Mike and Mary Wallace have brought new understanding and hope to sufferers of depression, to their loving families and to the nation," said NARSAD’s president, Connie Lieber, at the award presentation, which took place in on July 21st in New York, where the organization’s board of directors and Scientific Council gathered for their summer meeting.Perhaps no couple in America has done more to reduce the stigma of mental illness than these two brave and loving people. As a world-renowned journalist, Mr. Wallace has shown extraordinary courage in speaking openly and in great detail about his descents into and recoveries from debilitating depression. His wife, who provided support to her husband during these critical periods, has made it her cause, too, to talk about their experience and to increase public awareness of the prevalence of depression and other mental illnesses. The Wallaces have reached millions, in many settings and formats, with the story of their struggle and triumph over depression. It began with Mr. Wallace’s spontaneous first-time discussion of his depression on a late-night show with Bob Costas and continued with his public appearances with the writers William Styron and Art Buchwald. (All three suffered depression and, in kidding around, refer to themselves as the “Blues Brothers.”) The couple later collaborated with Mrs. Wallace’s son Eames Yates on the HBO program “Dead Blue: Surviving Depression.” More recently, Mrs. Wallace spoke about her experience as the spouse of someone with depression at Johns Hopkins University’s annual mood disorders symposium, and Mr. Wallace revisited his bouts with depression in his memoir “Between You and Me,” released last fall, and in his farewell interview on “60 Minutes” this spring. Laudably, CBS also has conveyed information about mental illness in broadcasts by Mr. Wallace and others and on its CBS Cares website, www.cbs.com/cbs_cares/depression/, where Mr. Wallace provided a soul-searching interview on the trajectory and possible causes of his depressions and spoke about why he and his wife support the work of NARSAD. The Wallaces have used these many public discussions of their experiences with depression to help other people recognize signs of the condition in themselves and in loved ones and to encourage them to seek professional help. They have spread hope and sound information to sufferers and caregivers alike, and are quick to acknowledge that advances in neuropsychiatric research have expanded the choice of available treatment options for them and countless others. “Mary and Mike Wallace, as a couple, have done an outstanding service in bringing attention to psychiatric research and the needs of psychiatric patients," said Herbert Pardes, M.D., president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and president of NARSAD’s Scientific Council. "They have done a tremendous amount to reduce the corrosive effects of stigma.” The Wallaces first came to know NARSAD through their good friend Jeanne Robertson, a longtime major donor and board member. Taking note of the great public service the Wallaces were performing in talking about their personal experience with depression, Mrs. Robertson recommended the Wallaces for NARSAD’s Humanitarian Award in 1997. Since then, as the Wallaces attended more NARSAD events and became more familiar with the organization’s efforts, their involvement deepened, with Mrs. Wallace joining the organization’s board of directors in July 2002. “Mike speaks the truth about mental illness, that it is real and it is treatable,” said Mrs. Robertson, who currently serves as a vice president of NARSAD’s board of directors. “This message has reached millions because of his willingness to share his personal story. Mary has poignantly addressed the impact of mental illness on families. Together, they have been invaluable to NARSAD as spokesmen for the cause. Countless people who have suffered from mental illness have gathered strength from their story.” In presenting the Peterson Award to the Wallaces, Bob Peterson, also a vice president of NARSAD’s board and the award’s namesake, said: “Mike and Mary Wallace’s life together is an extraordinary story of a man and his care-giving wife battling depression, and then going further in helping NARSAD in its efforts to conquer mental illness. Their message has made an immense impression on the public and has served to make the nation aware of this huge problem. Mary’s work on the board and their assistance in NARSAD galas and symposiums has been priceless.” |
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