Education

The Drew Sopirak Memorial Program

Drew had graduated with honors from the US Air Force Academy in 1994. He was on his way to pilot training when the illness struck, and he was forced to end his military career. Before attending the Academy, he had been valedictorian of his Brandywine High School class and had served as class president during his junior and senior years. Drew was also a kind and compassionate young man, and many within the communities in which he lived loved him. Unfortunately for all of us, Drew’s illness moved faster than his acceptance of it, and on January 27, 1996, the illness took his life.

Drew’s family and friends, many of whom reside within the Wilmington community, established a memorial fund within New Directions to foster community and professional education to help ease the stigma of mental illness and to improve the quality of life for those who suffer from these debilitating illnesses.

With the seed money from Drew’s memorial we took a risk and rented Clayton Hall in April, 1997 and invited noted psychologist and author, Kay Redfield Jamison to speak. It turned out to be our biggest meeting ever, Dr. Jamison spoke to over 800 people and we overflowed Clayton Hall. In April 1998 our speakers were Art Buchwald and Tracy Thompson, and in 1999 Dr. David Burns was our speaker at the Drew Sopirak Memorial Program. Dr. Jamison returned in April 2000 to speak on “Suicide and Its Prevention” to an audience of 800 people. Dr. Martha Manning, author of Undercurrents: Life Beneath the Surface, her husband, Brian Depenbrock, LCSW, and their daughter, Keara, spoke on “A Family’s Perspective: The Toll of Mood Disorders on Relationships” in April 2001. Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression (winner of the 2001 National Book Award), spoke in 2002 on “Tragedy and Hope in Severe Depression.” Dr. David Satcher, 16th Surgeon General of the United States, spoke in 2003 on “Depression and Our Youth.” In 2004, we presented a panel discussion “Why Johnnie Can’t Smile: Children and Depression.” Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison spoke again in April 2005 on “Exuberance and Mania” at the tenth program. Andy Behrman, aka Electroboy, spoke in 2006 on “Dump the Stigma and Focus on Recovery.” In April 2007 Canadian actress, Victoria Maxwell, presented her one-woman show, “Crazy for Life.”. On April 21, 2008 Lizzie Simon, author of “Detour: My Bipolar Road Trip in 4-D”.

These educational meetings fulfill a four-fold objective: (1) to impart knowledge of the illness in order to assist attendees in obtaining correct diagnoses and treatments; (2) to present attendees with new psychiatrists, therapists, and other professionals, thereby expanding their selection base; (3) to make professionals further aware of our support group and its mission; and (4) to continue efforts to reduce the stigma of mental illness.

Videotapes of all Sopirak Memorial Programs are available for $10 each. Click here for an order form.