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Community Corner

NAMI Huntington - Is There Some Way We Could Help You?

Are you or anyone in your family struggling with some kind of "mental illness"? The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) says that more than one in four Americans (26.2% of us) suffers from some diagnosable "illness" or "condition" that impacts our behaviors, overall mental health and ability to take on life's tasks - learning, working, living with others in families and in communities.

These diagnoses include depression, bipolar disorder and suicidal thinking, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders and other things. I defy you to talk to anyone who has never had any of these "condition" to deal with either personally or with a beloved family member.

Because of the broad spectrum of problems, the large number of people cooping with them and the chaotic array of services offered by governmental organizations or private non-oprofit groups, it can be overwhelming to find the support services, financial assistance and care you or your loved one might need.

In 1979, two women, mothers of sons dealing with schizophrenia, started the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and it is now the nation's largest organization dedicated to educating the public about these illnesses and providing support for people struggling with any of them. There are now over 1,100 NAMI groups throughout the United States. I have been attending the meetings of NAMI-Huntington twice every month for about six months now and I have found it very helpful. We meet the 2nd and last Wednesday of every month at 7 PM at Pederson-Krag, 55 Horizon Dr., Huntington. I am writing this to try and encourage more people to come to our meetings and become more proactive in helping to meet the needs of the many out there who are struggling just as we have struggled.

NAMI-Huntington is trying to grow, trying to expand the services it provides and the needs of everyone out there who feels along and in need of support. Here is a list of the various programs offered:

  • Family Support Group Meetings - 2nd and last Wednesday evenings at Pederson-Krag. People at the meetings have many years of experience dealing with all kinds of issues and have accumulated a good deal of experience about the local services you may be able to tap into. I
  • NAMI Basics is a free 6-week course for parents and care-givers of children and adolescents living with emotional and behavioral challenges. A new NAMI Basics course will begin on September 9th at Pederson-Krag in Huntington. For more information or to register, contact Beth Ramme at (631) 673-6097 or email her at bethramme@hotmail.com.
  • NAMI Family to Family - Meetings are weekly over a period of 12 weeks. There is no fee to join. Meetings are for care givers of individuals with mental illness and is taught by people who have gone through what you are going through. A new Family to Family group will start again in September at Pederson-Krag. For more information or to register, contact Susan Palmer at (631) 271-1515 or email her at spalmer8@verizon.net

These are the NAMI programs already being offered but there are other programs we are eager to get off the ground, programs other NAMI Affiliates have spearheaded:
  • NAMI Homefront - This is a veterans group that meets for six free sessions. It is for loved ones (over age 18) of service members/veterans living with mental illness.
  • NAMI Bridges (Building Recovery of Individuals Dreams and Goals Through Education and Support). THis is a program for individuals dealing with mental illnesses first hand. It is a free 10-week course that teaches wellness and recovery tools and how to advocate for oneself.
  • NAMI Peer to Peer - This program involves ten two-hour sessions (free) and designed for inviduals 18 and over who are living with some mental illness. It is taught by a trained team of individuals living in recovery.
  • NAMI Faithnet is an initiative that has grown and is dedicated to promoting caring faith communities and promoting the role of faith in recovery for people and families affected by mental illness.

NAMI President, Jayette Lansbury, is a great resource on the ever-present legal issues that beset people with mental illness and their families. If you have questions regarding the criminal justice system, you can call and ask her about it at (631) 385-0754 or email her at lansburyhunt@aol.com.

NAMI is not an organization of doctors or therapists or scientists. It is a group  made up of ordinary people like you and me, who have been swept up into the world of mental illness for reasons completely outside our control. But we are a community of people who share life experiences that have been stressful, tragic, but also encouraging because we are not without resources and our loved ones need not live without hope that their struggles may lead to improvement and even success in the end.

Submitted by Irene Lape, Huntington, NY 11743

 


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