The Mental Health Association in Tompkins County

The Story of the Bell

The Mental Health Bell is recognized throughout the nation as the symbol of the National Mental Health Association (NMHA). Cast from iron chains and shackles that once restrained people in asylums, the Bell is both a powerful reminder of the harrowing care individuals endured and a sign of hope for continued progress in understanding and treatments.

In the early 1950s, NMHA issued a call to asylums across the country for their discarded chains and shackles. On April 13, 1953, at the McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, these inhumane bindings were melted down...and the 300-pound Mental Health Bell was cast.

Today, the Mental Health Bell tolls to end misunderstanding and discrimination - and rings out hope in the fight for victory over mental illness.