1 in 5 college students are impacted by mental health conditions. Listening can be one of the most powerful ways to support someone who is facing mental health challenges.

This is the message of the I Will Listen Campaign, a mental health awareness initiative that kicks-off its 4th annual event on college campuses across Baltimore on October 6th. NAMI Metro Baltimore will partner with 12 local colleges and universities for this year’s campaign, and more than 50 programs and events are planned.

I Will Listen events include open mic nights, wellness activities and fitness classes, and film screenings and discussion. Each campus will also host a NAMI In Our Own Voice presentation, giving students the opportunity to listen to first-hand stories of recovery. All of the events and programs will encourage students to start open and honest conversations about mental health with their friends, classmates, and others on campus.

At each event, students will receive information about mental health resources on campus and in the community. The overall goal of the I Will Listen Campaign is to help students reach out for mental health support when they need it.

I Will Listen was created by NAMI New York City in 2013 as a campaign encouraging listening with an open mind, and without judgement, at school, in the workplace, and in the community. NAMI Metro Baltimore activated the campaign locally in 2016. In 2018, the campaign reached more than 2,300 students, faculty, and staff on 9 college campuses. This year, MICA, Towson University, and Baltimore City Community College join the campaign bringing this important anti-stigma initiative to 12 area campuses.

NAMI Metro Baltimore invites you to follow along with all of the I Will Listen Campaign activities. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates throughout the campaign.

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NAMI Metro Baltimore invites you to its 4th Annual Mental Health Education Conference for Faith Leaders

Date: May 23, 2016
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Location: Conference Center at Sheppard Pratt
6501 North Charles St.
Baltimore, MD 21204

This one-day conference will grant attendees the opportunity to hear from fellow faith leaders who lead mental health programs in their communities and organizations. Individuals and family members will also share their lived experiences and the role faith has played in recovery. They will learn what role faith leaders can play in promoting wellness in communities, including offering effective support and connection to resources.

Registration includes breakfast, lunch, and all conference materials. All participants will receive a faith leaders toolkit with information on available community mental health resources.

Call the NAMI Metro HelpLine at 410-435-2600 for any questions or assistance.

Thank You to our Sponsor

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In the event of inclement weather, NAMI Metropolitan Baltimore observes the closing policies of Baltimore County Schools. NAMI Metro will share program and schedule updates, including delays and cancellations, on our website, Facebook, and Twitter.

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Although nutrition is still considered a “young” science, it is one that resonates with many. Interest in nutrition and how eating impacts our health is of great interest to people of varying ages and health histories. While much attention within nutrition remains on physical health, the influence on mental health is equally valuable.

Nutrition is the sum of its parts. What we eat over time, and other lifestyle factors such as stress management, exercise, and sleep all play a role in our physical and mental health. One of the best ways to improve our health through nutrition is adopting a big picture perspective, and keeping our focus broad. Taking into consideration how our overall lifestyle contributes to health, and then taking steps to make the best changes for our personal goals.

As you’re making changes to your nutrition, consider the idea of being inclusive rather than exclusive with regards to nutrition, by adding in rather than taking away. Try new foods, look for new sources of inspiration such as cookbooks or magazines, find a helpful meal planning system, and strive to make eating enjoyable. Eating at regular intervals keeps our energy levels in balance, and in turn helps our focus and attention. Mood can change when we are overly hungry, too full, or ignoring our physical cues altogether. Cultivate mindfulness when eating, and tune in to how you feel physically and emotionally. Make note of what foods and combinations of foods feel energizing, and what leaves you sluggish.

While there are many nutrients associated with improving mental health and mood, such as omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium and the B vitamins folate and B12, it is the overall intake and lifestyle that has the greatest impact. If we’re eating a variety of foods, and enjoying what we eat, we are more likely to meet our various nutrient needs. In addition, if we are caring for ourselves through adequate sleep, moving our bodies, and managing our stress, we are in a better position to make healthful decisions about food.

Research does not always indicate a cause and effect, but can often make associations with nutrient intake and changes in specific symptoms. For example, omega-3 fatty acids have been widely studied for their anti-inflammatory properties, and their link to decreasing depression symptoms. Vitamin B12 supports neurologic function, and may benefit mood. Folate, also a B vitamin, is associated with depression if levels are too low. If you have concerns about a specific nutrient playing a role in improving your mental health, such as taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements for symptoms of depression, talk with your health care providers. Including a Registered Dietitian (RD) as part of your health care team could help clarify these concerns, and provide individualized information about your health and overall nutrition needs.

Making changes to our eating habits is a process that takes time and perseverance. Paying attention to your body, and your needs is one aspect of care that can translate to good health, both physically and mentally.

About the Contributor

Samantha Lewandowski is the Nutritional Care Coordinator of Outpatient Services at Sheppard Pratt’s Center for Eating Disorders. A registered dietician, she received her BS in Nutrition from the University of Delaware and her Masters in Health Promotion Management from The American University. Her previous experience includes providing clinical nutrition services at a long term care and rehab facility and providing health promotion services for an employee wellness program. Samantha joined the Center for Eating Disorders staff in 2006, and her main role is working one-on-one with patients in the outpatient setting.

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Last 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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As the daughter of a psychiatrist, I grew up hearing about the great mental health services that NAMI provides to the community. I proudly wore NAMI hats and shirts at NAMIWalks year after year, but I did not fully appreciate or understand what I was supporting until this year. During an internship with NAMI Metropolitan Baltimore this year, I became more aware of the wide scope of support that NAMI offers. Coming from Boston, I was new to the Baltimore area and hesitant to start a new internship on top of a full academic workload. The entire NAMI Metro Baltimore staff took me under their wing and guided me through what turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

During an information session that I helped organize in the Madison/East End Neighborhood, I was listening to volunteers share their experience with mental illness when a concerned aunt shared about her nephew who was living with a co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorder. I started realizing how important it is that NAMI supports not only people who are directly suffering from a mental illness, but also their loved ones. Family and friends who support someone living with mental illness face significant hardship, stress, and pain; they need support, too.

As we wrapped up the session, the concerned aunt looked much more relieved to know she was not alone in what she was feeling—an overwhelming desire to fix things for her nephew while struggling with the knowledge that her nephew must be the one to take the first step. Just knowing that NAMI Metro Baltimore was available to both her and her nephew was a source of comfort for her.

At another information session that focused on trauma, I heard people talk about traumatic experiences in their lives, including miscarriages, deaths of loved ones, and breakups. I realized all of us have gone through something traumatic at one point or another in our lives. We all have a past that we are working through and a future that we are working towards. It is resources like NAMI that let us know we are not alone and that help is available when we are lost.

One of the most important lessons I learned during my internship is this: no one is immune to mental illness. Anyone’s mental health can change, and anyone can have a loved one who develops a mental illness. NAMI aims to wipe away the stigma that is so often associated with mental illness which prevents people from seeking the help they need. This is the point of NAMI’s information sessions and classes—to give people an outlet to ask for help and to provide guidance during a time of need.

Naomi Plasky served as the 2015-2016 Johns Hopkins SOURCE Service Scholar at NAMI Metropolitan Baltimore. She supported outreach efforts to expand NAMI’s support and education programs in previously underserved . Naomi is pursuing a MPH/MBA at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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The annual NAMIWalks Maryland is coming up on May 21st, and I am the proud team captain of a group of NAMI Metro Baltimore volunteers. We give In Our Own Voice presentations regularly in the community, so we named our walk team “Our Voices Matter!” When asked why my teammates and I walk, I had more than one answer.

We walk to bring awareness about mental illness to the community. We know that one in five people struggle with some form of mental illness, and so, as I like to tell people, every single person in the world is somehow affected by it, whether they know it or not. We are daughters and sons, spouses, parents, employees, volunteers, neighbors, and friends. We are everywhere. We come from all walks of life. And we are just like everyone else.

We walk to ensure that no one will ever have to pay to participate in NAMI Metro Baltimore programs. NAMI Metro Baltimore is committed to helping those with mental illness through life-changing programs and classes that are free of charge. We want them to be able to continue helping others without ever having to ask for a single penny from individuals impacted by a mental health condition.

We walk to erase the stigma associated with mental illness. Far too many members of the public think that people with mental illness are lazy, crazy, “psycho”, not productive, and to be feared. That could not be further from the truth. We have been negatively labeled for far too long. We want people to know that those stereotypes are false. We have an illness, just like those who have cancer, diabetes, or any other physical illness. Our illnesses should be respected and treated with dignity, because they are physical illnesses and should be treated as such. We have been through so much, and continue to fight battles every single day that most people know nothing about. We are brave, strong, determined, and passionate about our own recovery. We have survived so much and we are here to tell our stories of what we have overcome.

We walk to share our stories of living well with mental illness. We want to show others that they can too. We’ve been there. We know what it takes, and how the benefits of recovery are worth the hard work that it requires. We know that NAMI Metro Baltimore is a wonderful resource. We are ‘In Our Own Voice’ presenters because we want those who are really struggling to know that they can overcome—they can live well.

We walk because we love volunteering. We are deeply committed volunteers striving to help the community realize that, even though we have been through a lot, we are just like everyone else. We also aspire to help those living with mental illness know that they are not alone. We are living proof that anyone can live well with mental illness.

I hope you will join me and NAMI Metro Baltimore in this walk to show everyone that those living with mental illness are important and that our voices matter!

Megan Roach is a NAMI Metropolitan Baltimore volunteer and is a trained In Our Own Voice presenter. 

Register your team today to participate in the 14th Annual NAMIWalks Maryland on Saturday, May 21st.

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I wanted to spark public awareness of the strong connection between those in need and those who want to help. So I decided to launch a philanthropic business called A New Day (AND) Designs that would support non-profit organizations who share in a mission to celebrate and support resilience of the human spirit.

Here at AND, we design and produce various kinds of jewelry and other products which are sold online. All of our products contain the AND logo, a union of the  ‘&’ symbol (representing connection of strength of community and support for one another) and the rising sun (symbolizing the promise of a new day). It represents Resilience, Strength, and Grace. When wearing and sharing this symbol, it is like a talisman, a reminder of our inner strength and the promise of tomorrow.

With every purchase of an AND product, we donate all profits to our designated non-profit beneficiaries, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness – Metropolitan Baltimore. NAMI Metropolitan Baltimore connects people to a supportive community of peers who help one another cope with the challenges of living with a mental health condition. Each year, NAMI Metro Baltimore provides essential education, support, and public awareness services at no cost to more than 4,500 people in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. NAMI Metro Baltimore’s programs include support groups, education classes, workshops, presentations, and mentoring programs – all of which help make a positive change in the lives of people living with mental illness and their loved ones.

Not only does AND support NAMI Metro Baltimore’s work financially, but it also helps end stigma by sharing their stories. AND’s website contains a page dedicated to sharing stories of recovery and resiliency. Megan Roach, a NAMI In Our Own Voice presenter, shared her story on the AND story page:

“I have found my passion…I love sharing my story of living well with my illnesses and I know that other people are helped too. Many have come up to me after a presentation and told me that they were helped, or feel that they can understand and help a loved one more, due to my story! It’s the best feeling in the world.”

To learn more about A New Day Designs and its products, please visit www.anewdaydesigns.com.

Randee Greenwald is the founder and CEO of A New Day (AND) Designs.

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NAMI and Empathy Club leaders introduce the short film Opening Minds.

High school can be a challenging time for any student.  But, for many adolescents, it is also commonly the time of onset for a mental illness. 1 in 5 youth ages 13-18 live with a mental health condition, and yet more than half are not receiving help. Students at the Friends School of Baltimore started the NAMI and Empathy Club to ensure their peers get mental and emotional support when they need it.

Raising awareness and reducing stigma is key to increasing the likelihood that teens seek out mental health care. Club leader, Cloris Feng, hopes to challenge the misconceptions surrounding mental health and says the new student organization aims to “be the first to reach out, so students know help and support is there.” The club worked with school counselor, Kristy Norbert, and then reached out to NAMI Metropolitan Baltimore to find ways to get students and teachers talking about the issue.

Last month, the club hosted a school-wide assembly to start the mental health conversation. Students viewed Opening Minds: Ending Stigma, A Young Person’s Perspective, a short film that explores the signs of mental illness and how to seek support through personal stories. Warning signs of a mental health condition can include significant changes in behavior or mood for more than 2 weeks, trouble sleeping, or worries or fears about daily activities.  The film shows that mental health conditions are more than just the blues, and affect one’s thinking, feelings or mood, and ability to function.

Following the assembly, students met in their advisory groups with a teacher or counselor for small group discussions about the film. Kristy, who led an advisory group of 8 students, found that many of the teens were surprised to learn the statistics. Advisory groups were then engaged to find ways to make changes at school. Groups had many ideas, including enhancing the “freshman-senior buddy” peer mentor program and creating spaces for students to openly discuss their feelings and experiences.

The next week, students had the opportunity to continue the conversation over lunch.  The group was able to hear stories of mental illness from two NAMI In Our Own Voice presenters who are individuals living in recovery. Students also had the opportunity to ask the presenters questions, providing a deeper understanding of what it is like to live with a mental illness.

Discussing what a teen is experiencing and feeling with others is an important step to getting help. Cloris and fellow club members hope that students will be able to find a trusted person to talk with if they are experiencing mental health challenges. In the coming months, the NAMI and Empathy Club will continue to increase awareness and build safe and caring spaces at the Friends School. The club members are planning a project to post notes with kind and encouraging messages around the school.  The club is also looking forward to forming a NAMIWalks team to increase awareness and challenge stigma not only at school, but also in their community.

Learn more about children and adolescent mental health.

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