LAKELAND, Fla. (Nov. 29, 2005) — Risdon N. Slate, Florida Southern College professor of criminology and police trainer on responding to people with mental illness, will be featured in the documentary, “Shadow Voices: Finding Hope in Mental Illness,” airing at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4 on WFTV (Orlando) and at 1:35 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 5 on WFTS (Tampa).

The new documentary is an intimate look at how individuals with mental illness and their families navigate a tangle of mental, medical, governmental, societal and spiritual issues. Interviews with mentally ill people, experts and advocates in the field focus on mental illness stigma, recovery, rehabilitation, parity in insurance programs, and the response of faith communities to those with mental illness. The program is produced by Mennonite Media in cooperation with the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission and the Communications Commission of the National Council of Churches. For more information about the documentary visit www.shadowvoices.com.

About Florida Southern College
Founded in 1885, Florida Southern College is a private, comprehensive, United Methodist college with a liberal arts core. The college maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 38 undergraduate majors and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, and nursing. Florida Southern has a 14:1 student/faculty ratio, provides strong student/faculty mentorship programs, boasts 25 NCAA Division II national championships, and is ranked by U. S. News and World Report as one of the top ten Southern Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelors and by the Princeton Review as a “Best Southeastern College.” Located on scenic Lake Hollingsworth, Florida Southern is the home of the world’s largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture.