NAMI Lexington Newsletter Jan/Feb 2010

NAMI Lexington

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

VALERIE MUDD, EDITOR

NAMILEX.ORG

When I was a teenager I worked as a day camp counselor at the local YMCA day camp in Bourbon County, ―Camp Little Acorn‖, it was called. The tag line was, ―mighty oaks from little acorns grow‖. When I reflect on our 25th anniversary –a milestone, indeed… I am reminded of little acorns and mighty oaks. I love hearing the recollections of our elders about humble beginnings, about torn and tattered chairs and couches, about Styrofoam cups of coffee and cookies; about fearful, vulnerable and fragile lives and the tenuous bonds sewn together by the common thread of unfathomable pain and uncer-tainty – ‗what had they done to cause their loved one and themselves such a terrible fate?‘ Milestone number one – we have learned that no one “caused” the mental illness. Milestone two – yes, it is an illness. Not so much has changed through the years regarding the way we families arrive at the NAMI doorstep. I recall the cir-cumstances of my own initiation. To retrace the way my feet have woven their way, somehow, along this path is sometimes my only ability to recollect the experience at all. When I showed up at the door I was beyond cold, wet and hungry. I was decimated, emaciated and hopeless. I was ―that kind‖ of tired – I was convinced no one in our family would survive the immersion/submersion process and there was no thought at all of a future; let alone air at the surface – then I grasped the thread. The thread was held out to me, to us… in the gentlest and most competent hand of Family to Family. Faye Mor-ton was at the other end of that helpful hand, a wounded warrior and healer whose own meandering path would now inter-sect ours and it was there and then that we realized we were halfway out of the woods - not halfway in. Milestone three – knowledge is power; education and mentors can save your life. In ―the old days‖ there was not that much crossover between family and consumer interests or needs….NAMI identified itself as a ―family‖ organization and there were different organizations that served the needs of identified ―consumers‖. There seemed to be recognition that we all needed ―support‖ but ‗the powers that be‘ on both sides decided that it would be better to be segregated and left to our respective groups to heal ourselves. While, even now, I can respect the fact that as a result of our own highly individualized experiences there are aspects of those very experiences that drive us to the unique understanding of select peer groups. I can also see folks who benefit immensely from exposure to the other side of the coin – sometimes we even come to embrace the reverse consumer or family member side of ourselves… ―Oh, you mean my depression affects you?‖ ―You mean you need time out from me, too?‖ Oh yeah, UH-HUH, I learned we are all in this thing together – like it or not, believe it or not- I learned that we can learn from each other. Milestone four - we can collaborate, cooperate and enhance our overall chances to understand, persevere, recover and prevail in our lives and in the world. We have been able to move mountains and surmount obstacles we thought would always exist. Did we ever dream we would be at the table creating and participating in treatment protocols and policies? Did we ever imagine we would have three offices, two consumer and family centers and all of the equipment to operate them? Did we ever believe we would be approaching the million dollar mark in funding/fundraising with a current projected FY 2010 budget of $350,000? Did we ever embrace that we would achieve all of this by engaging with providers, policy makers and each other? Milestone five – The new hospital is the perfect 25th Silver Anniversary gift… and yes…we really will use it….so much better than a cruise!!!!! ~Kelly Gunning, NAMI Lexington Operations and Creative Director

1985 - 2010

NAMI Lexington

Opening Minds

Opening Doors

For 25 Years

Happy

25th!!

Page 2 NAMI LEXINGTON

With the Holidays and a glowing external audit report behind us NAMI Lexington is busier than ever expanding existing programs and laying the groundwork for implementing new programs. Current initiatives include (but are not limited to!):

Participation Station – the new Peer-operated Center sponsored by NAMI Lexington and Bluegrass Regional MH-MR Board – is up and running! Please visit psapoc.org for details and start tuned for a grand opening announcement!

Family to Family, Familia de Familia, and Bridges classes all begin soon.

Family support groups have a new location and have planned 4 exciting workshops for the year.

Attending the 874K Coalition Rally, program trainings and the NAMI National Conference.

Monitoring Budget Bills and other House and Senate Bills, attending public hearings and committee meetings in Frankfort.

Submitting grant proposals, updating brochures and materials, contacting NAMIWalks sponsors.

Implementing new office tools, upgrading websites, and implementing social networking tools.

Partnering with Bluegrass Regional MH-MR Board, Eastern State Hospital to open the Central Triage Center – a completely new admissions concept that will present people with a comprehensive array of inpatient and outpatient services.

A Volunteer handbook and Volunteer Recognition program. ―Those who can, do. Those who can do more, volunteer.‖ ~ Author Unknown

Planning our first Board Retreat and forming Board committees.

There‘s much more going on than I can get in this space!!! Join the NAMILex email listserv for more frequent updates – [email protected]

On a sad note - Bob Green has announced he is moving back to Warren, Ohio at the end of the month to help his church which recently lost their Senior Pastor to cancer and to help his mom recover from knee replacement surgery. Bob has been working with NAMI Lexington these past few months as a volunteer intern from The Lexington Theological Seminary while studying for a Masters of Divinity Degree . We will miss Bob dearly and want to thank him so much for the great work he has done and the knowledge and experience he has shared with us. NAMI Lexington will benefit from our association with Bob and from his excellent contributions in developing marketing and fundraising platforms for months and years to come. Best wishes to you, Bob - please stay in touch!

Executive Director’s Report - Phill Gunning

Volunteer Recognition Reception

~With Heartfelt Appreciation~ Sunday, February 28, 2010 - 4:30 – 6:30

Participation Station Great Room

*Entertainment * Door Prizes

Eats & Treats* Gifts* Certificate Ceremony

For All NAMI and PS Volunteers

RSVP by 2-24-10 to Martice @272-7891 or

[email protected]

Page 3 NAMILEX.ORG

Exciting News About Family-to-Family Announcing: Family to Family classes to begin January 27th. Please call the NAMI Lexington office 859-272-7891 or email [email protected] if you are interested in attending. The NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program is a free, 12-week course for family and friends of individuals with severe mental illnesses. The course is taught by trained family members and includes:

Current research related to the biology of brain disorders and the evidence-based, most effective treat-ments to promote recovery.

Up-to-date information about medications, side effects and strate-gies for adherence.

Coping Skills: Gaining empa-thy by understanding the subjec-tive, lived experience of a person with mental illness;

Special workshops for prob-

lem solving, listening and commu-nication techniques; acquiring strategies for handling crisis and relapse.

Care for the Caregiver: Cop-ing with worry, stress and emo-tional overload; the power of advo-cacy, guidance on locating appro-priate supports and services within the community information on advocacy initiatives designed to improve and expand services.

All instruction and course

materials are free to class participants.

Family Support Group Workshop

Self-Care & Problem Solving

On Sunday, January 31st from 2:30pm-4:00pm at Participation Station 869 Sparta Court, Lexington.

NAMI Lexington is excited to invite you to a FREE workshop

on self-care and problem solving specifically designed for family members and individuals who care for someone with a mental illness. This self-care workshop will include an interactive presentation from a massage therapist and an overview on the NAMI Prob-lem Solving Tool POW (Problem - Options - What‘s Next?). This workshop is intended to help family members relax and recharge for the new year! Call (859) 272-7891 for more infor-mation. RSVPs help us plan, but walk-ins are welcome!

The Migrant farm worker with Disabilities Employment Partnership (MDEP) continually seeks innovative collaborations to educate the Hispanic community about disabilities, the U.S. disability system, and information about employment for people with disabilities. MDEP staff has recently embarked on an ambitious project with the Lexington Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) to bring the Family to Family mental illness education program to the Hispanic community. Family to Family is a 12 week peer-taught pro-gram for family and caregivers of people with mental illness. It provides current information about a variety of mental illnesses, up to date information on medications and therapies available, as well as strategies for handling crisis and relapses. In addition, the Family to Family model emphasizes the needs of the caregiver and addresses issues like emotional overload, and the stress and worry that can happen from taking care of a person with a mental illness. The partnership between NAMI and MDEP grew as a result of the Lexington NAMI chapter wanting to reach out to the Hispanic com-munity in the Bluegrass area, but did not have the cultural and linguistic resource to do so. MDEP has long known that a major compo-nent of its success is to ensure that the Hispanic community is educated about both physical and mental disabilities and how to navigate the U.S. disability system. With NAMI providing the structure and content, and MDEP providing the culturally and linguistically appro-priate context, the partnership expects to engage and educate the Hispanic community in a way that will have lasting impact. There will be an information session on Friday, February 19th at NAMI‘s Participation Station (869 Sparta Court) from 6:30-9:00pm with the 12 week course beginning on Friday March 5th at 6:30pm at Participation Station, running through the end of May (no classes Easter weekend, April 2nd). The course is free and childcare will be provided. If have questions about MDEP or the Family to Family initiative, Or if you or someone you know would be willing to help provide refreshments for the participants, call or email Karen Cinnamond, 859-509-7295, [email protected].

Announcing Familia De Familia (Spanish Family-to-Family) - Karen Cinnamond

Page 6 NAMI LEXINGTON

Eastern State Hospital Central Triage Center

UPDATE - Kelly Gunning

NAMI Lexington was pleased to host Ms. Shannon Ware and Ms. Kelley Gannon from Bluegrass Regional Mental Health – Mental Retardation Board at our January Board meeting. The Board enjoyed being updated on one of the innovative new programs at Eastern State Hospital, the CTC, or Central Triage Center. Ms. Ware and Ms. Gannon explained that the program is designed to increase patient options and provide an entry point to the vast array of services offered throughout the 17 county region which Bluegrass serves. The CTC occupies formerly unutilized areas of Eastern State Hospital which have been renovated to provide a more spacious, accommodating and modern entry into treatment. The external changes reflect an equally impor-tant internal cultural change to be more user-friendly and welcoming. There are nice waiting and check in areas with vending machines, telephones and new flat screen TV‘s! The beauty of the improved system is that admis-sion or non-admission is not the only presentable option available to folks now. They may present in need of Crisis Stabilization services (CSU), detox or substance abuse services (Schwartz Center), outpatient services or they may, indeed, need hospitalization. The service and needs will be matched and no one will leave empty handed and folks will be where they will benefit most….much, much better. We are also pleased to report on the involvement of Kelly Gunning as the Customer Relations Coordinator for the CTC. Kelly is functioning in a ―leased‖ role to Bluegrass and in addition to her role with NAMI as Creative and Operations Director, she will be working with the CTC Team to identify and implement customer friendly strategies and practices. She will also work as a liaison to the team regarding community, consumer and family interests. The CTC team has been working to incrementally open the Center on a county by county basis with the goal to be fully implemented and operational in 2010. The CTC is another progressive BG/NAMI initiative which needed to start as we anticipate the new hospital. We feel starting now will give us the opportunity to hit the ground running with even more state of the art programming when we get our new state of the art facilities.

Date: March 3, 2010 for Bluegrass Region

Registration Deadline: Mon-day, February 22, 2010. Call the NAMI Office at (859) 272-7891 to register with Martice to get a head count for lunch. Time: Gather in the Rotunda at 1:00pm to hear from policy-makers. Coalition members are encouraged to make appoint-ments with their legislators to meet with them before 1:00pm. You may also choose to attend legislative committee meetings.

Page 7 NAMILEX.ORG

Dates To Remember:

January 26, 2010

Advocacy Seminar - Participation Station featuring Steve Shannon from KARP

January 27, 2010 Family-to-Family Classes begin. Call Office to Register.

January 31, 2010 Family Support Group Workshop Self-Care and Problem Solving

February 7, 2010 Valentine‘s Day Party February 15, 2010

President‘s Day - Office and Participation Station closed. February 28, 2010

Volunteer Recognition Reception at Participation Station Great Room. Call Office to RSVP.

March 3, 2010 874K Advocacy Event for the Bluegrass Region

March 5, 2010 BRIDGES & Spanish Family-to-Family Classes Begin.

Don’t Miss Important Information included in this Newsletter!!

25th Anniversary Remarks Executive Director Update

CTC Update Participation Station Updates

MAC Report Family-to-Family and Family Group Information

Link to NAMIWalks Short Feature Film 874K Agenda

In conjunction, we are also offering BRIDGES, a peer to peer pro-gram for persons who have a mental illness. It will be at the same time. Interested persons need to pre-register by calling the NAMI Office at 859-272-7891; or Participation Station at 859-309-2856. MAC Outreach Goals for 2010:

Faith based Initiative, Sharing Hope—reaching more congrega-tions, establishing support group using NAMI support group model /12 step model

Consumer programs, Participation Station tracks, In Our Own Voice Presentations, Support Groups, promote Recovery

Family programs, Support Groups and Family to Family classes in both English and Spanish

Continue to collaborate with KY Suicide Prevention Group and University of KY Campus Suicide Prevention program; Signs of Suicide (SOS) middle and high school programs and Gate-keeper Suicide Prevention Trainings

Our mission remains: Ambassadors sent to assist Consumers of mental health services as well as Family Members and other persons affected by mental illness in the Bluegrass Region, our state of Ken-tucky, and our nation.

NAMI Lexington‘s MAC team is launching our new Outreach pro-gram in our Hispanic Community. Yolonda Clay has met with Karen Cinnamond, Esperanza Rivera, Israel Avelar, Marisol Valles, Valerie Mudd, Phill Gunning,

Oyo Fummilayo, Jeanie Wolfson, and Bob Green. We are partnering with the University of KY and their Migrant Farm workers with Disabilities Pro-gram. Members of the team have been working very diligently for several months to establish a presence in our Hispanic Community. Our efforts are begin-ning to pay off! We will have our first community kickoff event in February 16, 2010 at Participation Station. We will be offering the Family to Family classes in Spanish beginning on March 5 on Friday evenings at 6:30 p.m. at Participation Station.

Page 4 NAMI LEXINGTON

Multicultural Action Committee - Yolonda Clay, Outreach Coordinator

Support and Educational Workshops for Consumers & Family Members. Offer support groups and provide community resource services. Provide a bi-monthly news-letter to more than 1,500 families and professionals. Networking opportunities

Upgrades to Tool Belt -

Martice Thomas, Office & Programs Coordinator

Throughout 2010 there will be new changes and upgrades being made to NAMI‘s communication and net-working infrastructure. These changes will include improved avenues to communicate NAMI‘s mission in reaching a wider audience in the Bluegrass Region. The upgrades include: Sales Force-October 2009, NAMI Lexington received a one year software donation from the Sales Force Foundation, valued at $10,000 dollars; the Sales force platform enables organizations to manage their data in one centralized location known as the cloud. Vertical Response-January 5, 2010 NAMI Lexington received a free software donation from Vertical response good for one year at a value of $3,500. This software will enable us to send out professional e-mail blasts and digital newsletters with working links, graphics, and photos. Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, NAMILex and Participation Station websites - implementing and /or upgrading our websites and social networking tools provides those with similar interests a means to share information and cre-ates a virtual space to meet, connect, and share ideas.

Membership is Important!!

NAMI Family-to-Family 12 Week Education Classes in English & Spanish Provide a resource center and lending library Expand our Multicultural Outreach Advocacy to improve the lives of people living with mental illnesses Public awareness and educational events for the community

Your membership and donations help NAMI Lexington provide FREE of charge:

Page 5 NAMILEX.ORG

Do you shop at Kroger on a regular basis? If yes, then you can support NAMI by purchasing a $5 Kroger gift (debit) card from the NAMI Lexington office. Did you know that if you put $100 on your NAMI Lexington Kroger Gift Card and fill your gas tank with it, that NAMI Lexington will get $4? If you use your Kroger Gift Card to purchase prescriptions at Kroger, NAMI Lexington will receive 4% of that amount, too! You can use your card to purchase groceries, fill your gas tank, buy prescriptions, buy flowers…you get the idea! Thank You to everyone who takes the time to participate. Get your card today!

Coming Soon to Participation Station -

BRIDGES Recovery Classes!

BRIDGES (Building Recovery of Individual Dreams and

Goals Through Education and Support) is an education class for consumers. The class is taught by consumers and is similar to Family-to-Family but is targeted for consumers and focuses on recovery. These classes, sponsored by KYCAN, are going to start on Friday, March 5th from 6:30pm-9:00pm and will last for 10 weeks.

For more information contact Yolonda at [email protected] or Val at [email protected]

or visit psapoc.org

Check It Out!!

Short Feature Film,

“Scream It Loud” (NAMI ROCKS)

about our 2009 NAMIWalk

by Rebecca Moore

go to - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLuzv_vnsTc

Rebecca is entering this in several film con-tests. One is to sponsor good deeds performed by non-profits. If she wins part of the proceeds will benefit NAMI Lexington. Please contact Rebecca for more info at [email protected] Rebecca and her boyfriend Ryan created all original music in this video. It is incredible! Please join us in thanking Rebecca & Ryan for all their work! “SCREAM IT LOUD” (NAMI ROCKS) ~ what a great tool to help everyone stamp out stigma!!! Kelly & Phill Gunning will be taking the short film to the NAMI National Walk Conference in Char-lotte, NC on March 5-7. They will be featuring the film as a promotional tool for NAMIWalks.

Participation Station Updates - Val Mudd

What is Participation Station you ask? It is a peer run, Peer Sup-port Center (formerly known as a drop-in center)! It is for con-sumers and run by consumers. We are now open!

Come take a class (computer skills, managing stress, self advocacy, relaxation techniques, etc.)

Make a new friend

Movies

Read a book in our library

Volunteer!

Learn about recovery

Learn to have a better quality of life

On January 26th we will have a pizza party at 12:00pm. Steve Shannon from KARP will be here at 2pm to teach us about

advocacy skills. Visit psapoc.org or call (859) 309-2856 for the rest of our schedule.

Valentine’s Day Party

On Sunday, February 7th from 2:30pm-4:00pm, NAMI Lexington will be hosting our Annual Valentine‘s Day Party. Please come join us for food, friends and fun!

Thank you to all who use your Kroger gift cards!

In 2009, you raised $1,957.90 just by using your gift cards

at Kroger! Thank you SO much!

Together We Can Make A Difference

By joining NAMI Lexington, you also become a member of NAMI Kentucky and NAMI National.

Please return this membership dues/donation form with your check to:

NAMI Lexington (KY), 498 Georgetown Street, Suite 201, Lexington, KY 40508

MEMBERSHIP DUES

CHECK ONE:

_______Student-$10.00 _______Individual-$20.00 _______Family-$35.00

_______Professional-$50 _______Organization-$100.00 _______Corporate-$250.00

_______Open Door-Those With limited means/fixed income are invited to join at a reduced rate (minimum of $3.00)

If you change your address, please let us know so that we may change your information in our database.

NAME(S)_________________________________________________________________________________

MAILING ADDRESS_________________________________________________________________________

CITY, STATE & ZIP CODE____________________________________________________________________

TELEPHONE_________________ E-MAIL ADDRESS______________________________ DATE___________

DONATIONS

If you wish to make a donation, please list the amount here and make check or money order payable to NAMI Lexington and send it to the address listed above.

Amount of Donation $__________________

You may also make a donation ONLINE with a Visa or MasterCard ! namilex.org under Membership.

NAMI Lexington (KY), Inc.

498 Georgetown Street Suite 201

Lexington, KY 40508

namilex.org

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Non Profit Org.

US Postage Paid

Lexington, KY

Permit 196