NOVEMBER 2019 BY MARK CREEKMORE More peers than ever are being used in health and mental health services. Mental health peers are people who have experienced mental health conditions and want to use their experience to help others. Peers are used most to help with complex, chronic conditions, like serious mental illness, substance use disorders,Continue reading From the Board
NOVEMBER 2019 BY LOIS MAHARG About 50 Washtenaw County movers and shakers gathered in the home of Attorney Erane C. Washington on Aug. 17 to support and learn more about NAMI Washtenaw County. This was the affiliate’s first attempt to broaden its base of supporters with an event featuring a well-known public figure — inContinue reading Fund-raiser Breaks New Ground
NOVEMBER 2019 BY LOIS MAHARG If the threat of rain kept some people home, you wouldn’t have known it. About 900 volunteers gathered on Belle Isle on Sept. 28 to do the annual 5K NAMI Walk and raise funds in support of mental health. “We’re going to do this in spite of the weather,” saidContinue reading Walk Draws Newcomers and Regulars Alike
NOVEMBER 2019 BY LOIS MAHARG Nonprofits periodically need to take stock of where they are and where they’re going, and see to the well-being of the organization itself. So amid plans for a program expansion, NAMI Washtenaw County’s board of directors met for an all-day retreat on Oct. 12 at University Commons. “This is theContinue reading Retreat Advances Agenda, Provides Food for Thought
NOVEMBER 2019 Mark your calendars now! NAMI Washtenaw’s 2020 gala — The Advocate Gala: Taking Off the Mask — is set for Friday, Feb. 21, starting at 6:30 p.m. in the Michigan League Ballroom. This year’s theme recognizes the stigma associated with mental health conditions and celebrates NAMI for working to “take off the mask”Continue reading Gala to Celebrate NAMI’s Effort to End Stigma
Mental Health Matters Committee MeetingMonday, Nov. 18, 2019, 6:30 to 8 p.m.NEW Center, 1100 N. Main St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104The Mental Health Matters Committee is looking for your input on local policy matters, including those pertaining to the Millage Advisory Committee, our new contract with Community Mental Health, and the Ann Arbor Citizens’ CommitteeContinue reading Upcoming Events
NOVEMBER 2019 BY LOIS MAHARG This is the last newsletter I’ll be editing for NAMI Washtenaw County. I’ve worked on “Connections” for four years and now I plan to continue volunteering for NAMI in other ways. Serving as volunteer editor and reporter has been lots of fun. It’s given me a taste of NAMI’s manyContinue reading Wanted: Newsletter Editor for NAMI Washtenaw County
The National Institute of Mental Health is currently enrolling participants in 3 studies of depression. Teen Depression Study Are you a teen or parent of a teen diagnosed with depression by a pediatrician or other medical provider? The NIMH is conducting a nation-wide study of depression in teens ages 11 to 17. The study willContinue reading Sign Up to Participate in a Research Study
NOVEMBER 2019 BY SPENCER WALZ Editor’s note: This story was first published by the U-M School of Public Health in August 2018. Spencer Walz has now completed his BS in Public Health Sciences. While studying at U-M, he was a recipient of the Vivian Craig Hagberg and John Hagberg Jr. Scholarship. To paraphrase Dr. AmitContinue reading Engaging the Communities We Inhabit
NOVEMBER 2019 BY WILLIAM POLKOWSKI Martin E. P. Seligman has been a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania for many years and is the director of the Positive Psychology Center there. He is past president of the American Psychological Association and the author of several books. “Learned Optimism” (originally published in 1990) isContinue reading Learned Optimism Improves Health and Resilience
