Health Programs

The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism 1999-2001

John Head

Freelance Writer and Journalist
Advisory Board Member, The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism
Former Editorial Board Member, The Atlanta Constitution
Atlanta, Georgia

TOPIC: Mental health challenges among minorities

Invest in Fighting Terror's Side Effects
I know how illnesses of the mind can destroy our ability to live as we would like. I know that living under stress and feeling that we do not control our fates can cause mental illnesses and exacerbate their effects.

STANDING IN THE SHADOWS: Understanding and Overcoming Depression in Black Men
The subject of Black men and depression, has, in the black community, remained a taboo topic, discussed only when absolutely unavoidable. John Head courageously examines the effects that the unwillingness to look at and talk about mental illness has had on generations of black men and their families. In a book as daring and explosive as Nathan McCall's disclosure of black men's violence and aggression, Head takes on depression and uncovers black men's buried emotional pain. 

Books: 'Demon' Shows Kindred Spirits Living and Dealing With Depression
It would be difficult to find a more apt title than Andrew Solomon's "The Noonday Demon." Depression is indeed like the biblical demon so brazen that it does not wait to strike in the dead of night. It will set upon you in broad daylight and instill terrors that in your imaginings could only lurk in the deepest darkness. 

Mental Health Tragedies: Critics Say State Can Do More To Help The Troubled
Georgia offers the kind of mental health aid that might have made a difference in two deadly human breakdowns this past week --- one in Atlanta, the other in Texas --- and the help should be easier to get starting July 1.

Alan Harris: Work on Behalf of City's Homeless Mentally Ill-- His 17-Year Crusade
Adcocates come from different places in life, for various reasons, and offer sistinctive approaches — but true dedication becomes commonplace in a deeply personal field of service.

A Life's Mission in Mental Health; Cynthia Wainscott; Her Can-Do Spirit and Ability to Mobilize People Have Garnered Results
About a hundred of Cynthia Wainscott's closest friends gathered in a Buckhead restaurant recently to send her off into sort-of retirement. There were numerous jokes about the executive director of the National Mental Health Association of Georgia and her affinity for cellphones, including some about the intimate article of clothing in which Wainscott likes to carry hers.