Attending the conference was very commendable on your part. Moreover, I think (and HOPE!) that what you saw is indicative of our future.
Deep down, many (if not most) folks who work in the mental health fields probably ARE empathetic to us, yet they are understandably reluctant to offer up even the faintest signal of support lest they be chastised, ostracized, hauled in front of a humiliation 'revue board', stripped of their credentials, fired, kicked out of their (mortgaged) homes, etc.
After all, those folks KNOW the real score because they deal w/ folks like us as well as crusading cops, online vigilantes and individuals who, for one reason or another, truly ARE unstable. They can spot and diagnose the difference.
Seriously, I have no doubt that if those fears could somehow be removed from the minds of these folks, at least a large portion of them would take our side first thing tomorrow morning :)