The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) 2017 Voice Awards program will recognize television and film writers and producers along with community leaders for outstanding efforts to raise awareness and understanding of mental illnesses and/or addictions.
The 12th annual Voice Awards, highlighting the theme Honoring Those Who Serve: Hope, Resilience, and Recovery, will spotlight efforts that provide hope and support to past and present military service members and their families who have faced mental health and addiction challenges. This year’s event will be held on August 16, 2017, at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles.
The Voice Awards will be hosted by celebrity chef Robert Irvine, who has been an ardent supporter of issues affecting military personnel and their families through the Robert Irvine Foundation. With more than 27 years in the culinary field, chef Irvine has cooked his way throughout the world in restaurants, hotels and on the high seas. As the host of Restaurant: Impossible, he saved struggling restaurants across America by assessing a restaurant’s weak spots and helping owners and managers overhaul them. He has received special recognition for his commitment to the U.S. military when he was designated Honorary Chief Petty Officer by the U.S. Navy; in 2015, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society bestowed upon him the Bob Hope Award for Excellence in Entertainment and Support of Our Service Members.
In addition to honoring community-based consumer, peer, and family leaders who champion recovery from mental illness and/or addictions, the Voice Awards also will recognize writers and producers for their exemplary portrayals of military service members, their families, and the path to recovery. This year’s finalists include the feature films Captain Fantastic and Megan Leavey; documentaries Almost Sunrise, Iron Will, and The S Word; and television shows Chris Gethard: Career Suicide (HBO), Jane the Virgin (CW), One Day at a Time (Netflix), The Warfighters (History Channel), and This Is Us (NBC).
To find out more about the event, click here.
