APRIL 2019 BY LOIS MAHARG In a few hours I’ll teach my first NAMI class, Family-to-Family. Teaching is not new to me. For 15 years I worked as an ESL instructor, helping adult immigrants and refugees learn English. What IS new for me is the course content: family and caregiver-related aspects of mental health conditionsContinue reading From the Board
Family-to-Family Facilitators Prepared to Pay It Forward
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
Lend a Hand (and Enjoy Yourself While You’re at It)
APRIL 2019 BY BARB HIGMAN and MARILYN WEDENOJA When longtime NAMI Washtenaw County member Dr. Marilyn Wedenoja let me know she was retiring from her position as a social work professor at Eastern Michigan University and interested in volunteering in our office, I was thinking of putting together a proposal that would provide an opportunityContinue reading Lend a Hand (and Enjoy Yourself While You’re at It)
NAMI Volunteers Urge Funding for Community Mental Health
APRIL 2019 BY MARK CREEKMORE, BARB HIGMAN, PAT ROOT, & LOIS MAHARG In the current climate of austerity, can the Michigan State Legislature be persuaded to restore full funding to Community Mental Health (CMH)? Three volunteers from NAMI Washtenaw County spent Thursday, April 11, in Lansing in hopes that by sharing their stories with HouseContinue reading NAMI Volunteers Urge Funding for Community Mental Health
A Leap Toward Better Communication
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
Executive Director Is Awarded Fellowship
APRIL 2019 BY LOIS MAHARG Volunteer recruitment and retention is a challenge for all nonprofit organizations, and NAMI Washtenaw County is no exception. So Judy Gardner, NAMI WC’s executive director, decided to apply for a Community Engagement Fellowship, hoping to learn more about recruiting and supporting volunteers. “I applied for the grant and I gotContinue reading Executive Director Is Awarded Fellowship
Gala Marks NAMI Washtenaw’s 35th Anniversary
APRIL 2019 BY LOIS MAHARG NAMI Washtenaw County has provided education, support and advocacy for people with mental health conditions and their families since 1984. Join us in celebrating our 35th anniversary at the Portage Yacht Club on May 18! Last year’s gala was built around the theme of helping prevent suicide. “This year,” saidContinue reading Gala Marks NAMI Washtenaw’s 35th Anniversary
Upcoming Events
APRIL 2019 Parents Together Monday, May 6, 2019, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Washtenaw Intermediate School District, 1819 S. Wagner Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Ongoing support group for parents or guardians of children who are currently exhibiting, or who have exhibited in the recent past, suicidal thoughts or behaviors. This free support group is ledContinue reading Upcoming Events
Meet Our New Board Member
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
Understanding Suicide From the Inside Out
APRIL 2019 BY WILLIAM POLKOWSKI Kay Redfield Jamison — author of the autobiography “An Unquiet Mind” and “Touched With Fire,” a study of the connection between creativity and bipolar disorder (or manic depression) — wrote “Night Falls Fast” in an attempt to understand suicide more deeply. Dr. Jamison, who lives with bipolar disorder, once attemptedContinue reading Understanding Suicide From the Inside Out