LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring James Bopp upon the occasion of his
designation as the recipient of the 2010 Florence Gould Gross Award to
Friends of People with Mental Illness by NAMI-FAMILYA of Rockland County
on June 16, 2010

WHEREAS, Individuals and organizations which bring greater awareness to
mental health issues, and assist people with mental illnesses in their
quest for dignity and independence, are a great benefit to the health
and welfare of all citizens; and
WHEREAS, From time to time, society calls upon these individuals and
organizations to be honored for the significance of their contributions
and efforts to assist others in developing lives of dignity and self-
worth, recognizing they are deserving of the highest praise and acclama-
tion; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor
James Bopp upon the occasion of his designation as the recipient of the
2010 Florence Gould Gross Award to Friends of People with Mental Illness
by NAMI-FAMILYA of Rockland County at a dinner held on Wednesday, June
16, 2010, at the View on the Hudson, Piermont, New York; and
WHEREAS, Executive Director of Rockland Psychiatric Center, James Bopp
has dedicated his career to improving the quality of life for those
struggling with mental illness; and
WHEREAS, James Bopp has served as Executive Director of Rockland
Psychiatric Center (RPC) since 1995 and Director of Middletown Psychiat-
ric Center until its merger with RPC in 2006; focusing on organizational
change to promote innovation and improve practice, he has had a major
impact on the mental health system in a number of critical ways; and
WHEREAS, In 1993, building on the work of Dr. Kenneth Song at RPC,
James Bopp developed the first treatment mall; while historically,
patients accessed all services on the unit, he advanced the idea of
decentralized, specialized units to better serve people facing similar
issues, spreading the word through conferences and papers; considered a
radical departure at the time, the concept was replicated in state
hospitals across the county and is now standard practice; he also led
New York's first "transition" rather than "closure" of a state hospital,
opening three new residential programs and four mobile teams when inpa-
tient services closed at Middletown in 2006; staff members were
retrained rather than laid off; and
WHEREAS, In addition, James Bopp championed the inclusion of a family
and consumer voice at state hospitals; in the early 1990s he converted
Middletown's Director's Residence into a Family Support Center; today, a
Family Advisory Committee and Coordinator are an essential part of the
fabric at RPC; he not only provides space for family support at RPC but
he makes possible NAMI-FAMILYA's offices there; he insists that orien-
tation of all staff emphasizes working with families as allies and that
RPC will always be family- and patient-centric; and
WHEREAS, Emphasizing collaboration with the community rather than
competition, James Bopp is a strong advocate for partnering with state
agencies, hospitals and voluntary agencies in order to best serve the
needs of individuals with mental illness and their families; he shares
the NAMI emphasis on research and was in the forefront of development of
the Research Unit (CREF) at Nathan Kline Institute; as a result of his
efforts, Rockland Psychiatric Center was a site for two Fellowship
Programs from Columbia University/Psychiatric Institute which sparked
development of the new Recovery Center on the campus; and

WHEREAS, James Bopp is also a part-time instructor at NYU School of
Medicine where he provides orientation for residents on mental health
policy; he previously served as Associate Commissioner with the NYC
Department of Mental Hygiene and the New York State Office of Mental
Health; and
WHEREAS, With him throughout has been his wife, Peg, who feels privi-
leged to be a part of his life and rejoices in his achievements; and
WHEREAS, Rare indeed is the occurrence of such a compassionate blend-
ing of strength, intellect and commitment as that demonstrated by James
Bopp over a lifetime of sacrifice and dedication to others; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when individ-
uals of such noble aims and accomplishments are brought to our atten-
tion, it is appropriate to publicly proclaim and commend those individ-
uals for edification and emulation of others; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor James Bopp upon the occasion of his designation as the recipient
of the 2010 Florence Gould Gross Award to Friends of People with Mental
Illness by NAMI-FAMILYA of Rockland County; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to James Bopp.