[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 169 (Saturday, December 18, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2179]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING THE STAGLIN FAMILY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PATRICK J. KENNEDY

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 17, 2010

  Mr. KENNEDY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Staglin family 
for their ongoing and unparalleled efforts to improve the lives of the 
hundreds of millions of individuals across the world living with mental 
illness. Garen, Shari, Brandon, and Shannon Staglin have made the fight 
against mental illness their collective mission and have approached the 
awesome challenge of combating these difficult disorders with a strong 
and organized effort that is at once inspirational and transformative.
  In 16 years, the Staglin's non-profit International Mental Health 
Research Organization, IMHRO, and the Staglin Music Festival for Mental 
Health have raised over $116 million for mental health research. The 
mission of IMHRO is to alleviate human suffering from mental illness by 
funding scientific research into the causes, prevention and new 
treatments of mental disorders. IMHRO produces, supports and builds 
awareness for fundraising events to raise money for mental health 
research, directs funding to the most promising research by soliciting 
and selecting proposals for prevention, treatment and cure of mental 
disorders, collaborates with affiliate organizations, people and events 
worldwide to raise and direct funding and minimize duplication of 
scientific effort, and works to build awareness of scientific 
achievements and possibilities. Recently, the Staglins have taken the 
lead in the organization of the Next Frontier Initiative to design and 
implement a 10-year collaborative neuroscience research effort for the 
benefit of soldiers and veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD.
  The efforts of the Staglin family have changed the landscape of how 
the country approaches mental illness, and are illustrative of the 
ability of a few dedicated people to truly change the world.

                          ____________________