Thomas M. Wernert Award - Past Winners

2006 - 7th Annual Wernert Award Winner and Honorees

2006 Wernert Award Winner – The Marion County Juvenile Justice Program (MCJJP) is a collaboration between the Marion Area Counseling Center, the Juvenile Court and community partners to develop this effective and innovative program to meet the needs of youth coming through the Juvenile Justice system. The MCJJP was developed and designed to begin targeting specialized services and supports for 90 percent of the court involved juvenile population whose mental health and substance abuse treatment needs were either unidentified and/or unmet.  

2006 Wernert Award Programs receiving an honorable mention are: Summer Treatment and Recreation Program (STAR) – Evergreen Counseling Center in Hoquiam, WA; and the Asset-Building, Financial Self Management Fitness Practices and Services – Community Enterprises Corporation in Freehold, New Jersey.  

2005 - 6th Annual Wernert Award Winner and Honorees

2005 Wernert Award Winner – The ICL Integrated Behavioral Healthcare Network is a program designed specifically for treating persons with serious mental illness with co-occurring healthcare conditions.  The Integrated Behavioral Healthcare Network is a service delivery model that coordinates and integrates mental health and healthcare services into its outreach, clinic and residential programs for consumers with serious mental illnesses.  

2005 Wernert Award Programs receiving an honorable mention are: Peer Bridger Project – New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS) in Albany, New York; Crossroads Early Childhood Services – Crossroads Lake County Adolescent Counseling Service, Lake County, Ohio; and Pathways to Housing, New York, New York. 

2004 - 5th Annual Wernert Award Winner and Honorees

2004 Wernert Award Winner – The Consumers as Providers Program (CAP) – University of Kansas Office of Mental Health Training & Research, Supported Education in Lawrence Kansas.   The CAP is a supported education endeavor established to create greater community involvement and quality of life for consumers.  The centerpiece of the CAP training includes classes and internship activities offered in a supportive academic environment to individuals with severe and persistent mental illness.  CAP participants acquire:

• knowledge and skills that embrace marketability as mental health providers;
• greater self-confidence & self esteem; and
• meaningful employment and further academic opportunities.

2004 Wernert Award programs receiving an honorable mention are: the Framingham Jail Diversion Program – Advocates, Inc. in Framingham, Massachusetts; Child Development-Community Policing Program and the Courage and Support for Changing Attitudes, Dependencies and Environments (CASCADE) – Mecklenburg County Area Mental Health, Development Disability and Substance Abuse Authority – Charlotte, NC; and the Hospital Diversion Program – The Guilford Center Behavioral Health & Disability Services in Greensboro, NC. 

2003 - 4th Annual Wernert Award Winner and Honorees

2003 Wernert Award Winner - The Tenancy Preservation Program of the Mental Health Association, Inc. in Springfield, Massachusetts.  The Tenancy Preservation Program (TPP) is a program designed to prevent homelessness by addressing the Tenancy problems of vulnerable residents who are at risk of eviction for lease violations resulting from mental disabilities.  The TPP features include:  intervention strategies combined with intensive support to prevent homelessness of persons with mental disabilities; readily available clinical expertise to the housing court;; and ongoing work groups with relevant stakeholders to ensure support and value of the TPP. 

2003 Wernert Award programs receiving an honorable mention were:  Consumer Provider Training Program – Virginia human Services Training Center in Charlottesville, VA; The Athens Photographic Project  – NAMI Athens, Ohio Affiliate in Athens, Ohio; the thresholds theatre arts Project – Thresholds in Chicago, Illinois; and Consumer Care Partnership – Marion County Health department in Salem, Oregon.

2002 - 3rd Annual Wernert Award Winner and Honorees

2002 Wernert Award Winner - The Nathaniel Project of the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES) in New York, New York..    The Nathaniel Project is an alternative-to-incarceration program for individuals with serious mental illness who have committed a felony.  The Project offers comprehensive community-based case management services, intensive supervision and support to its participants.  Participants are assisted in obtaining and engaging in treatment, supportive housing, and benefits.  The Project monitors participant progress and offers guidance and supportive counseling for a two- year period.   

2002 Wernert Award programs receiving an honorable mention were:  TriCity’s Telepsychiatry Network Program - Tri-City Mental Health Center in Pomona, California;
Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Enrichment Program - Consumers Union, Toledo, Ohio;
Rehabilitative Services – Mental Health Corporation of Denver, Denver, Colorado; and
Wallace Academy Community Kitchen – Centerstone of Nashville, Tennessee

2001 - 2nd Annual Wernert Award Winner and Honorees

2001 Wernert Award Winner - ARTEMIS Program of Santa Clara County Department of Correction in San Jose, California.  The ARTEMIS program is an in-custody substance abuse prevention program for incarcerated women who are either pregnant, have young children or children Dependency Court.  Participants in the ARTEMIS program have access to a continuum of care that includes an in-custody program for stabilization, community resources for mother and child(ren) for bonding and recovery in the community, and wrap-around services provided by public agencies.  ARTEMIS participants live together in a supportive therapeutic environment where they receive substance abuse services, positive parenting, trauma recovery, HIV/AIDS and health education.

2001 Wernert Award programs receiving an honorable mention were: The Baltimore Capitation Project – Baltimore Mental Health System Inc in Baltimore, Maryland; ArtStreet – Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, Inc. in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Outreach Program – Threshold Services Inc, in Silver Spring, MD; Crisis Assessment Program for Seniors – ComCare of Sedgwick County in Wichita, KS; and Cluster-Based Reorganization of CSP Services – Zepf Center in Toledo, Ohio. 

2000 - 1st Annual Wernert Award Winner and Honorees

2000 Wernert Award Winner - Street Case Management Project of the Hennepin County Health Division of Minneapolis, Minnesota.  The Street Case Management Project provides outreach, referral and case management to chronic inebriates who are predominantly homeless.  This consumer run, recovery oriented project strives to decrease inappropriate emergency room utilization and to maximize the potential of the individuals served while securing safe housing and establishing a healthier and safer lifestyle. 

2000 Wernert Award programs receiving an honorable mention were; Consumer Connections – Mental Health Association in New Jersey; Family and Youth Investment – Region V Mental Health, Alcoholism, & Drug Abuse Program; H.A.R.T. House – CAB Health & Recovery Services, Inc.; Polk County Capitation Pilot Project – Polk County Health Services; and The Friends Connection – Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania.