Last night we stopped by The Mayflower Hotel for the first-ever APEX Awards and to meet the stars of Orange is the New Black.
Hosted by the American Psychiatric Association, it recognized trailblazers working to de-stigmatize mental illness. Over 400 attended the orange-tie event featuring the critically acclaimed Netflix series. We snapped its stars, Dascha Polanco (Dayanara Diaz), Matt McGorry (John Bennett) and Natasha Lyonne (Nicky Nichols).
The program began with a cocktail reception followed by a seated dinner and program celebrating those who have demonstrated the highest levels of mental health advocacy. A panel discussion was led by ABC News political commentator Cokie Roberts; the actors gave their view of prison's stigma and the show's impact on the treatment of people with mental illness in American jails.
We learned that each year, people with serious mental illnesses are arrested or admitted to prisons and jails 2 million times. Once incarcerated, they tend to remain there longer than their counterparts, and upon release, are at a higher risk of returning. Here, APA president Dr. Renée Binder, president-elect Dr. Maria Oquendo, and CEO and medical director Dr. Saul Levin.
