On Monday, November 13, Silver Hill Hospital will hold its eighth annual fall benefit, the Giving Hope Gala, at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City, honoring Grammy Award-winning musician Nile Rodgers with the 2017 Visionary Award. The award recognizes an individual who, through personal contributions and action, has inspired others and helped remove the stigma of mental illness or addiction. In addition to dinner, dancing and a live auction, this year’s gala will feature a special jam session with Rodgers and longtime Silver Hill supporter DJ Cassidy.Nile Rodgers, an outspoken recovering addict and former Silver Hill Hospital patient, is a 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and has sold over 300 million albums worldwide. As the co-founder of the legendary band CHIC, Rodgers amplifies his legacy as a multi-Grammy-winning composer, producer, arranger and guitarist by constantly traversing new musical terrain and successfully expanding the boundaries of popular music. Additionally, he has collaborated with countless musical icons including David Bowie, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Daft Punk, and Madonna, among many others. Rodgers unites the global community through his music and humanitarian work. He is the Founder of the We Are Family Foundation, an organization dedicated to the vision of a global family by creating and supporting programs that promote cultural diversity while nurturing the vision, talents, and ideas of young people who are changing the world. Rodgers wrote about his struggles with drugs, his treatment at Silver Hill and his more than 23 years of sobriety in his bestselling 2011 memoir, “Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco and Destiny.”
The Giving Hope Gala raises support for the Patient Financial Aid Fund, serving individuals who would benefit from Silver Hill’s long-term residential treatment programs but are without adequate resources to cover the costs.
This year, Sadri Garakani is the gala’s Honorary Chair. Todd Hollander and Robert Minicucci are the Co-Chairs. Matthew Griepp, MD is the Young Ambassador Chair. Auction co-chairs are Elizabeth Altman and Amir Garakani, MD. Silver Hill Hospital’s first Gala took place in 2010 to highlight the excellent treatment the hospital provides.
For more information or to make a reservation, please contact the Development Office at (203) 801-2307 or gala@silverhillhospital.org.
About Silver Hill Hospital
In 1931 renowned psychiatrist Dr. John Millett was searching for a setting close to New York to open a small residential mental health clinic. A picturesque farmhouse on a pastoral site in New Canaan, Connecticut proved irresistible for what he envisioned. In just a few short years, Silver Hill achieved national recognition as a top-tier psychiatric hospital, revered for expert and compassionate treatment for patients struggling with mental illness or addiction. A steadfast adherence to mission – “to provide the best treatment for mental illness and addiction; and to offer continuing support, counseling and education to patients and families in every phase of illness and recovery” – has shaped the hospital’s growth over time. Today, Silver Hill, a not-for-profit hospital, provides comprehensive inpatient, residential and outpatient programs for adolescents and adults covering the full spectrum of psychiatric diagnoses. Our intensive treatment regimens are solely focused on getting patients better, inspiring hope, and helping them transition home to family and community. We pride ourselves on a very experienced, talented and dedicated clinical staff including fourteen full-time psychiatrists with advanced sub-specialty training working with an expansive team of psychiatric nurses, social workers and counselors.