(Shadow Voices Web site)

Shadow Voices: Finding Hope in Mental Illness, a new documentary by Mennonite Media, will air Dec. 4 – Feb. 4 on ABC TV stations (at their discretion). The program is an intimate, inside look at what it is like to live with a mental illness and how individuals and their families find their way through a tangle of mental, medical, governmental, societal and spiritual issues.

Ten persons with mental illness from all across the U.S. tell their stories, plus many experts and advocates in the field add helpful perspectives, including: former U.S. First Lady Rosalynn Carter; former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher; Dr. William Anthony of Boston University, founder of the modern rehabilitation movement; and Dr. Joyce Burland, founder of the Family to Family program for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

The program focuses on people’s experiences with stigma, recovery and rehabilitation, parity in insurance programs, and how faith communities can do a better job responding to those with mental illness. The program is produced by Mennonite Media in cooperation with the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission and the Communications Commission of National Council of Churches.