The effect of newspaper publicity on a mental health center's community visibility

A community mental health center conducted a street survey to determine the community visibility of its facility and service. Following newspaper publicity about the center, another sample was taken which indicated the publicity had significantly increased the community's awareness of the center. Six weeks later the community was again surveyed and results indicated that the publicity effect on visibility was generally quite stable. It is concluded that centers with low visibility in the community can drastically increase that visibility through use of the media.