On Thursday, May 17, Mark Salzer, professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and director of the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion, received the Bell of Hope Award.

Presented by Mental Health Partnerships, the Bell of Hope Award is given annually to an individual or group whose leadership has improved the lives of individuals affected by mental health conditions. The award is our region’s most significant acknowledgment of outstanding leadership in behavioral health.

Salzer has earned an international reputation as an influential researcher in recovery-oriented psychiatric rehabilitation, particularly in the areas of peer-delivered interventions, outcomes measurement, and community inclusion. In 2003, he received federal funding for a new center where he began systematically studying issues and interventions related to community inclusion.

The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion is now in its third five-year cycle of funding and its thirteenth year of existence and has had a significant impact on research in the field and mental health policies and practices around the world. Salzer actively disseminates his research findings in top behavioral health journals and presents his work around the world. He and the Collaborative generate and distribute numerous valuable research-informed documents, manuals, and monographs. Salzer has evaluated and researched various projects for Mental Health Partnerships over the past two decades.