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Archives for June 2016

NAMI’s Impact on the Baltimore Community

June 15, 2016 by Michael Teitelbaum

Color MB LogoWhat a difference a year makes! As our fiscal year draws to a close on June 30th, we are excited to let you know that NAMI Metropolitan Baltimore’s impact on the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness grew exponentially. Here are just a few of our key accomplishments:

  • We expanded services to previously underserved areas in Franklin Square, McElderry Park, Catonsville, and Sandtown-Winchester.
  • We piloted a family education program integrating resources for substance use disorders and trauma.
  • Our volunteer base grew to over 220 active presenters, teachers, facilitators, and advocates.
  • More than 1,200 people attended an In Our Own Voice presentation and heard powerful personal stories of recovery and hope.
  • NAMI’s Connections Peer Support Group and Family Support Group served over 600 participants.
  • 200 individuals joined a NAMI Signature education program.
  • In all, NAMI Metro Baltimore served over 4,500 individuals and families in Baltimore City and Baltimore County.

And while we are proud of our accomplishments, we are merely scratching the surface. There is still much work ahead to reach the 1 in 5 people living with a mental health disorder.

In the coming months, NAMI Metro Baltimore’s priorities are set to develop an education program for faith communities. And this fall, we will launch an anti-stigma campaign on high school and college campuses.

As NAMI Metro Baltimore addresses the mental health needs of our community, our resources must also expand. Our staff of six works tirelessly to secure grant and public funding, and our active board of directors is enhancing their fundraising efforts. Individual supporters, like you, are vitally important so we can offer our services at no cost.

As our year quickly comes to a close, please consider making a donation by June 30th. You can give online today here.

A gift – at any level – will have an immediate impact on NAMI’s critical work to replace fear and isolation with hope and connection.

Thank you!

DONATE NOW 

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Filed Under: News

Op-Ed: We Need to Talk About Depression

June 14, 2016 by Guest Writer

Three years ago I stood in the pulpit of the church where my family had worshipped for more than three decades to give the most difficult talk I have ever had to give — offering reflections on the life and death of my 36-year-old daughter, Libby, who had passed away just a few days before. As I prepared my remarks, Libby’s sister and brother encouraged me to speak openly about the illness responsible for her death. If she had died of cancer, they noted, we would not be reluctant at all to talk about her battles with and eventual death from it. But it was not cancer that took Libby from us. It was another terrible disease — depression.

Continue reading the full Op-Ed in the Baltimore Sun.

W. Daniel Hale is special adviser to the president at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: News

Stigma: An International Issue

June 13, 2016 by Caitlin Mulrine

LDSCF0511ast week, NAMI Metropolitan Baltimore welcomed a delegation of social service providers from the Eastern European country of Belarus. The meeting was arranged through a month-long professional exchange program of The World Trade Center Institute. Members of the delegation provide a range of community health and peer support services in Belarus. They are meeting with non-profits throughout the Maryland and DC region to learn best practices.

NAMI Metro Baltimore staff offered an overview of NAMI’s grassroots model of peer-led education, support, and advocacy programs. Volunteer Coordinator, Julianne Mills, shared the ways in which our more than 220 active volunteers work throughout the community to offer resources, life-saving information, and hope for recovery. Staff exchanged practices and ideas with our guests to help them implement or strengthen volunteer recruitment and training programs in their own non-profit organizations.

Throughout the conversation, both groups recognized a common, yet profound challenge: the impact of stigma. With the aid of interpreters, the group realized that “stigma” is the same word in both the English and Russian language. They spoke at length about the stigma that exists in both cultures and the impact it has on accessing needed support and treatment. The Belarusian delegation shared similar barriers stemming from stigma, including funding and resources, government regulations, and the need for increased public awareness.

NAMI Metro Baltimore Executive Director, Sherry Welch reflects that “we share the same frustration and pain in trying to provide support for those who feel the sting of stigma, while trying to change the larger conversation around the need for understanding and healing, instead of judgment and discrimination.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, gifts, contact information, and hugs were shared. But most importantly, there was the mutual recognition that we are indeed a global community, and it is only through supporting one another that we can change our communities for the better.

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Filed Under: Featured

From the blog

Healing Together: Connecting Young Adults Living with Mental Illness

NAMI Metro Baltimore Launches New Hub at Christian Temple

NAMI Launches Stigmafree Company Partnerships

NAMI’s Impact on the Baltimore Community

Op-Ed: We Need to Talk About Depression

NAMIWalks: Join Us June 2nd

Walk with us at the Baltimore Inner Harbor to bring awareness to mental health, celebrate recovery, and raise critical funds to support NAMI’s programs.

Events

Free Community Talk: Anxiety in Children

Tuesday, May 8th, 6:30pm. Free community presentation on childhood anxiety presented by NAMI Metro Baltimore and Sheppard Pratt Health System.

May Mental Health Forum: Mental Health Players

Wednesday, May 9th, 6:30pm at Clay Pots. Don’t miss this interactive and unique performance addressing stigma, co-occurring disorders, and depression.

April Mental Health Forum: Wellness

Saturday, April 14th, 10am at Amazing Grace Lutheran Church. Learn new self-care and wellness practices.

March Mental Health Forum: In Our Own Voice

Wednesday, March 14th, 6:30pm at Clay Pots. Hear personal stories of living with a mental health condition.

NAMI Smarts for Advocacy

Learn to become an effective, grassroots advocate in NAMI Smarts for Advocacy training. Trainings will be held in January and February 2018.

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