Patrick Kennedy
- U.S. Representative for Rhode Island (1995-2011)
- Co-Founder, One Mind for Research
- Founder, Kennedy Forum on Community Mental Health
- Advisor to Smart Approaches to Marijuana: Preventing Another Big Tobacco
- Rose Hill Center
- Hospital Association of Southern California
- The New Albany Community Foundation
- Texas Southern University
- University of Pennsylvania
- Kalamazoo Community Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services
- National Alliance on Mental Illness - New York State
"Patrick Kennedy is truly an engaging individual, and readily connected with everyone he met. The staff and residents of Rose Hill who met him while he was on campus for the tour felt he was truly sincere in wanting to learn about them and Rose Hill Center. At the evening reception he was very well received and worked the crowd well while engaging in meaningful discussions with many of our constituents. And ultimately, his presentation as keynote speaker at the dinner was intriguing, humorous, and thought-provoking. We were very pleased with Mr. Kennedy’s participation throughout the day."
-Rose Hill Center"It was great!...We were beyond pleased with the standing ovation that he received and the many people that stood in line for a photo and to have their book signed."
-Hospital Association of Southern California"Patrick Kennedy was so gracious at each and every turn and our audiences loved him! From the student lecture to the mental health professional meeting to the reception and lecture, he took time with everyone, worked hard to meaningfully connect with them in a short time and the questions in each forum could have gone on for another hour. We are so very happy with his time here and appreciative of his warm and personable demeanor. This has been a home run for The New Albany Community Foundation!"
-The New Albany Community Foundation"It went perfect! We had a great time, a great audience and a greater speaker. Mr. Kennedy was fantastic. One of the keys of measuring success for me is always the student response while the presentation is ongoing. If our speaker is not engaging the students, then they are apt to leave throughout the speech. Last night, no one left – and there were at least 50 people who did not get in, but stayed so that they could get in after the speech and attend the Q&A afterwards. The whole thing was a resounding success. I had seen Patrick on TV speak before and have followed his career, but I had no idea how engaging, funny, and passionate he is when he speaks."
-Texas Southern University"Congressman Kennedy made a tremendous impression at our Commencement. It was a very special and meaningful event for the school that truly exceeded expectations! "
- University of Pennsylvania"The feedback and comments that we have received from the Annual KCMHSAS Breakfast with Patrick Kennedy have been outstanding. He was absolutely so personable and real, and we would highly recommend him. He brought wonderful exposure on the issues to our audience and with regard to stigma busting, he was great. "
- Kalamazoo Community Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services
Healthcare’s Next Frontier: The Race to Inner Space
More than 50 years ago, President John F. Kennedy asked Americans to think big, engage in the world beyond their own backyards, and make public service an integral component of everyday life. Part of the president’s cutting-edge approach to governing was to set audacious, seemingly unreachable goals…and exceed them. One of those goals was also the most storied, and most impactful: a call to reach the moon in a decade, catalyzing what is now known as the “space race.”
Today, Patrick J. Kennedy believes we’re are in a new space race, but it’s not about reaching a new planet, or exploring the cosmos. It’s a race of a different kind – a race to “inner-space,” a quest to understand the brain and brain health as much as we sought to understand the surface of the moon.
The stakes are clear – 1 in 4 Americans are touched by mental illness, whether personally or through the experience of a family member. Almost 20 million Americans have a substance abuse issue. More than 8 million people in this country have had a serious suicidal thought.
What binds these statistics together? A need to understand the underlying science of the brain, how it works, how it becomes compromised, and what we can do to achieve brain health. Patrick J. Kennedy will discuss new advances in science and policy that are leading the way toward a deeper understanding of “inner space,” and the role we all play in achieving the goal of making mental healthcare as routine, accessible, and understandable as physical healthcare.
My Journey: Making Mental Health Essential Health
Since his earliest days in public service, Patrick J. Kennedy believed that mental health should be a national priority. After 16 years in Congress, and countless bills passed, one stands out among the rest for the impact it has on the lives of all Americans – the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008. This bill ensures that mental health is treated on-par with physical health, breaking down decades-old practices in the health care system that kept those two areas separate from one another, often with dire consequences.
Patrick J. Kennedy will discuss why mental health is critical to the overall health and wellbeing of all Americans, why the healthcare system needs to adapt to better accommodate mental healthcare, the underlying public policy imperatives of parity, and why we need to invest in innovation.
Kennedy will also discuss his own journey toward mental health and recovery, and how he sees the world today.
