Volunteer Date or Ongoing Project: Ongoing
Estimated Time Commitment Per Week: 2-3 hours once per month

Location/Hours:

  • 1st and 3rd Monday each month at Michigan Medicine Partial Day Program – 2:15-3:00 P.M.  
  • 3rd Monday each month at the In-Patient Unit (9C) at Michigan Medicine – 3:30-4:15 
  • St. Joseph Mercy Hospital 2nd and 4th Thursdays 2:15-3:00 pm
  • St Joseph Mercy Hospital Chelsea Saturdays 2:30-3:30 pm

Any Special Requirements: We follow basic safety protocols, e.g., no meds or cell phones on the units.  At Michigan Medicine parking costs approximately $2.

Program Coordinator/ Contact Information 

(Live With)  Darlene Wetzel  – dmwetzel1954@hotmail.com – 734-945-2416

(Live in Support Of)  Bob Nassauer – bobnassauer@aol.com – 734-476-7575

Description

Please consider volunteering to be part of a team of two people (One person who lives with a mental health condition and another person who lives in support of.) who tell patients and families (mostly patients) a bit about themselves and about NAMI Washtenaw’s mission and programs.

One way to volunteer is to do the presentations that geographically are most convenient.

The purpose of these informal presentations is to provide hope and to assure patients and families that they are not alone, NAMIWC is there to help, and to answer questions.  You will have an opportunity to briefly share your story and we find this to be greatly appreciated by patients and families and personally rewarding to you.

These presentations are very much appreciated by the hospitals.  Also, these presentations contribute significantly to recruiting people to participate in our programs (Peer-to-Peer, Family-to-Family, support groups and other volunteering at NAMIWC).

If you could do even just a couple of presentations a year it would help a lot.

The orientation training and signing up are easy.  For the first time or two, you will be paired up with an experienced volunteer for orientation purposes.  

Ideal Skill Set

  • Ability to briefly tell your story and respond to questions.
  • Basic knowledge about NAMI Washtenaw mission and programs (All information will be provided to you.)
  • Must have in-patient experience (living with or in support of) more than 6 months ago.

Tasks

  • Present about NAMI’s mission and  go into some detail on each of our education programs, support groups, and advocacy efforts

  • The overall tone should be positive and hopeful.  When appropriate tell about your story – but do not take a lot of time.  Do not give out specific treatment advice or opinions to patients. Your story is your story but you are also representing NAMI Washtenaw County and we need to be very careful about this as everyone’s situation is unique and we don’t want to trigger someone or interfere with a patient’s treatment plan.

If you’re interested in the position please fill out the form below and someone will contact you soon.