October 15, 2015

Ms. Cindy Stormer

Mr. Kelly Puls
Mr. Mark Haney
300 Burnett Street
Suite 160
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
Dear Ms. Stormer, Mr. Puls and Mr. Haney,
As leaders in the mental health community who are committed to fighting discrimination,
public humiliation and furthering the stigma of illnesses that impact tens of millions of
Americans, we respectfully ask you to withdraw your petition to remove District
Attorney Susan Hawk from office for the following reasons.
Major Depressive Disorder, the diagnosis of Ms. Hawk, is a common mood disorder that
affects more than 15 million Americans each year. It is treatable, and those who suffer
may fully recover and lead very productive lives.
Susan Hawk recognized she was ill, sought treatment, did the hard work to recover and is
now telling her story in hopes that she can help and inspire others to seek help.
Your lawsuit furthers the stigma, discourages others from seeking help and works
directly against the progress we need on the issue of mental health.
Your lawsuit purposefully works against HIPAA laws that protect the private medical
records of Americans, and could set a precedent that strips this privacy and promotes
discrimination based on medical history.
Your lawsuit sets a new precedent that any current or future elected official must disclose
physical or mental defects before running for office, or face being removed based on
the discovery of such defect.
Your lawsuit, which is based on past actions before Susan Hawks treatment for
depression, has no bearing on her current state post-treatment, and is only a clear attempt
to use her depression to publicly humiliate her.
How Susan Hawk is treated after acknowledging her illness, accepting it, treating it and
recovering will define how any one with this or other mental illnesses can be treated,
even after they recover. We should not allow the discrimination, stereotyping and public
humiliation that this lawsuit represents to continue.
On behalf of our organizations, and the tens of millions of Americans who suffer from
mental illness, we ask you to do whats right: to join us in ending the stigma, protecting

privacy laws and supporting mental health reform by withdrawing your petition against
Susan Hawk.
Sincerely,

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Texas

Mental Health America (MHA) of Greater Dallas
National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Texas
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Dallas
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Collin County
Contact for NAMI Texas:
Name: Greg Hansch
Title: Public Policy Director
Email: publicpolicy.director@namitexas.org
Phone: 512-693-2000
Contact for MHA Greater Dallas:
Name: Janie Metzinger
Title: Public Policy Director
Email: JMetzinger@mhadallas.org
Phone: 214-828-4192
Contact for NASW Texas:
Name: Will Francis
Title: Government Relations Director
Email: wfrancis@naswtx.org
Phone: 512-474-1454
Contact for NAMI Dallas:
Name: Sherry Cusumano
Title: President
Email: sherry.cusumano@hcahealthcare.com
Phone: 214-341-7133
Contact for NAMI Collin County:
Name: Sharon DeBlanc
Title: President
Email: Sharon.deblanc@valueoptions.com
Phone: 214-908-6264