“Fashion Police” producer and co-host Melissa Rivers – who was a college student when her father, television producer Edgar Rosenberg, died by suicide – will receive the 2016 Beatrice Stern Media Award for her passionate efforts to raise awareness about suicide among youth and college students.
Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services will confer the honor at its 20th Anniversary Erasing the Stigma Leadership Awards on Thursday, April 28, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Actress Eva LaRue will emcee the event, which is expected to raise over a half million dollars for Didi Hirsch, a leading community mental health agency that is also home to the nation’s first Suicide Prevention Center.
“Stigma around mental health illness manifests in so many ways, but the common thread is that it prevents people from seeking help,” says Rivers, whose late mother Joan Rivers often spoke in her act about the pain her husband’s suicide caused the family. “By raising awareness and speaking aloud about our pain, we can help to prevent the shame that stigma causes.”
Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services presented its first Leadership Award to Tipper Gore two decades ago and has since honored such advocates as Quincy Jones, Patrick J. Kennedy, Terry Bradshaw, Carrie Fisher, Larry King, Ronda Rousey and Howie Mandel. Other participants in the event have included Dustin Hoffman, Annette Bening, Ed Harris, Liza Minnelli, Julia Ormond, Tracey Ullman and Joe Pantoliano.
“Melissa has been a brave and eloquent spokesperson for suicide prevention for many years,” says Didi Hirsch President/CEO Dr. Kita S. Curry, PhD. “We are proud to honor her for all she’s done to erase stigma, inspire hope and increase support for mental health care.”
For more information about the event, click here.
