AWEARNESS: Tell me a little about the social issue you are most passionate about.

Joey: In a nutshell, equal rights for all Americans; that everyone should be treated equally. And that the middle class is quickly becoming invisible. It seems that you're either very wealthy or very poor. And there is no longer any in-between. And that's why I started No Kidding, Me Too. Because it's gotten so bad that even our brain doesn't have the same First Amendments rights as our liver or our gall bladder.

AWEARNESS: Was there a particular person or event that inspired you to become involved?

Joey: Yes, the research that I did while in preparation to produce and act in the movie Canvas and how many people in the entertainment industry - and the world - suffer from mental illness.

AWEARNESS: What are you hoping to achieve?

Joey: My plan is to succeed by saying that your mental illness is as benign as saying you're Presbyterian. That you would actually be congratulated.

AWEARNESS: What were you most surprised to learn about mental illness that you did not know?

Joey: That 4 in 5 Americans have mental illness in their lives.

AWEARNESS: What significant changes - for better or worse - have occurred since you became involved in this issue?

Joey: The founding of No Kidding, Me Too. That friends and people in the entertainment community have taken the time to reach out and offer their support and to congratulate me on coming out of the closet of mental illness. I was surprised that people thought that it was brave of me to say that I live with clinical depression.

AWEARNESS: Do you have any suggestions for people who want to get involved, but have limited time, money... or both?

Joey: No Kidding, Me Too is a non-profit volunteer organization. Come to our website and see who we are and what we're about and how you can be an ambassador to our mission and how you can bring us to the attention of the folks in your lives.

AWEARNESS: How has your involvement in No Kidding, Me Too influenced your life?

Joey: Finding out that there are so many people that have what I have. I never knew it was a majority illness. I never knew it was an equal opportunity non-partisan disease.

AWEARNESS: If you could tell people one thing about volunteering, what would it be?

Joey: You are rewarded. The gifts that you get back are so abundant. To advocate for a disease that I suffer from and help us succeed in our mission. I succeed in helping myself.