Announcement from Managing Editor Matea Gold, Deputy Managing Editor Mike Semel, Deputy Local Editor Maria Glod and Local Enterprise Editor Lynda Robinson:
We are thrilled to announce that William Wan has won the Austen Riggs Erikson Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media for his extraordinary stories on how America’s mental health system is failing young people who are suicidal or struggling with other conditions.
The judges lauded William’s “compelling human stories of mental suffering” that illuminate “systemic challenges involving policies across the healthcare system, problems with access to treatment, and the burden of stigma and discrimination in marginalized groups.”
William’s work has had tremendous impact, especially at Yale, where he spent months following a young woman who had been forced to leave the university after attempting suicide. In response, Yale’s president sent a letter to thousands of alumni criticizing the story, but also promising a new counseling center, more mental health staffing and other changes. Yale students cited the story when they filed a class-action lawsuit, alleging that the university was discriminating against suicidal and mentally ill students.
In August, Yale settled the lawsuit and made sweeping changes to its mental health policies. William’s investigation – and the attention it received – played a significant role in Yale’s decision to stop exiling students who are suffering and make it easier for them to return to Yale if they do take time off.
Previous Post winners of the Erickson Prize include Hannah Dreier, Stephanie McCrummen and David Finkel, so William is in great company. Please join us in congratulating him.
