July 2019 By Thomas J. (Tom) Powell If someone had asked me before the convention what I thought “alliance” meant in National Alliance on Mental Illness, I would have said it had to do with our shared lived experience. The convention got me to think of alliance in another way. NAMI is an alliance ofContinue reading What Does “Alliance” Mean? Thoughts on the 2019 NAMI National Convention
APRIL 2019 BY LOIS MAHARG We didn’t start out as family, but family we became. By the end of a 3-day training in Livonia we knew each others’ stories and were united in our intention to put our training to use as teachers of a NAMI signature course, Family-to-Family. “I learned to focus on theContinue reading Family-to-Family Facilitators Prepared to Pay It Forward
APRIL 2019 BY LOIS MAHARG “I am not sick, I don’t need help.” Many of us have heard that line before. Here’s the likely context: We’re convinced that medication and/or psychotherapy will help a loved one’s mental health condition, but they want nothing to do with it. In fact, they seem to be in denialContinue reading A Leap Toward Better Communication
APRIL 2019 NAMI Washtenaw County has invited Judy Krieg to serve on the Board of Directors. Krieg works in the pharmaceutical industry selling psychiatric medications to hospitals, VA’s, Community Mental Health Centers and physicians in private practice. The part of her job she likes the most is advocating for people with mental health conditions. ToContinue reading Meet Our New Board Member
FEBRUARY 2019 BY LOIS MAHARG NAMI Washtenaw has made presentations at faith-based venues before. But 2019 began with something new: NAMI Washtenaw conducted a series of four interactive workshops called “A Christian’s Response to Mental Health Challenges” at the First United Methodist Church of Saline, where Darlene Wetzel is a member of the congregation. “DarleneContinue reading Mental Health Challenges: What Should Christians Do?
FEBRUARY 2019 Imagine this situation: A family member is suddenly experiencing a mental health crisis and you need to know how to help that person right away. NAMI has a Family-to-Family course but the next class is several weeks away. Where can you turn for the immediate assistance you need? A new program coming toContinue reading Free NAMI eBook Available Now
FEBRUARY 2019 BY BARB HIGMAN, LAURA GARCIA AND GLENN NELSON On November 7, 2017, voters in Washtenaw County passed a millage to provide funds for mental health and public safety. This was a victory for the dedicated people who worked hard to educate citizens about the need for improved services for individuals living with mentalContinue reading Mental Health & Public Safety: A Call to Action
DECEMBER 2018 BY LOIS MAHARG About 1 in 5 teens and young adults has a mental health condition. To address the issue, NAMI has developed a teen-focused mental health awareness program, one version for adults and another, for teens. It’s called Ending the Silence, or ETS. “We call it that because we want people toContinue reading Volunteer Presentation Goes to Church
DECEMBER 2018 BY MARK CREEKMORE NAMI is the voice of mental illness, and the heart of our advocacy strategy is our stories of hope and recovery. We have trained hundreds of people to write their stories using NAMI Smarts, the process for writing advocacy stories. In November we conducted 2-hour trainings in four NAMI classes,Continue reading 65 People Trained in Story Writing for Advocacy
DECEMBER 2018 NAMI Washtenaw’s Annual Membership Meeting on Nov. 3 drew nearly 30 members and volunteers, who munched on roll-ups and fruit salad before getting down to business. Attendees watched a 2018 NAMI Washtenaw video and listened to a summary of the organization’s accomplishments in the past year. The board of directors voted to approveContinue reading Peer-to-Peer Facilitator Honored at Annual Meeting
