Tuesday, April 10, NAMI Barrington Area Chapter family support group, 7 – 8:30 p.m. at the Barrington Area Library. (No charge, no reservation needed.) Call Mary at 847-381-6919 for information.

Thursday, April 12. NAMI Elk Grove presents "What it's like to live with mental illness." Consumers and family members offer rare insights and share their stories of recovery. A required extra-curricular for the Harper College Nurses program, the presentation is open to student nurses and others in the community. Call Sue for more information: 630-529-3037.

Thursday, April 12. The NAMI Elk Grove Chapter family support group meets the second Thursday of the month at 6:45 p.m. at the Kenneth Young Center, 1001 Rohlwing Rd., Elk Grove. Family, friends, and recovered consumers are welcome Call Sue at 630-529-3037 or Gina at 630 302 2530 for more information.

Wednesday, April 18. NAMI Northwest Suburban Chapter family support group meets the third Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. at Alexian Center for Mental Health, 3350 Salt Creek Lane, Suite 114, Arlington Heights. Call Star at 847-899-0195 for details.

Thursday, April 19. NAMI McHenry County Chapter family support group meets the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at the McHenry County Mental Health Board Building, 620 Dakota St., Crystal Lake. Call 815-444-9991 for information.

Monday, April 23. NAMI Barrington Area board meeting in the Barrington Area Library, Large Meeting Room B, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. Drop in and learn what's going on in the chapter!

Wednesday, April 25. NAMI Northwest Suburban Chapter presents Dr. Barbara Grace: "Taking care of the caretakers" (no reservation, no charge). 7 p.m. at Alexian Center for Mental Health, 3350 Salt Creek Lane, Suite 114, Arlington Heights. Email NAMINWSub@aol.com or call  847-899-0195 for details.

Monday May 7.    NAMI Cook County North chapter presents Governmental Aid for the Mentally Ill: What You Need To Know at the Kenton-Knox Conference Center at Rush North Shore Medical Center, 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Revita DeChalus, public aid specialist at Alexian will discuss income payments (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI), health care benefits (Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare Part D and Illinois Cares Rx), food stamps, property tax assistance, and programs encouraging beneficiaries to work without losing their financial assistance and health care benefits. No charge. For information call (847) 724-1460.

Tuesday, May 8, NAMI Barrington Area Chapter family support group, 7 – 8:30 p.m. at the Barrington Area Library. (No charge, no reservation needed.) Call Mary at 847-381-6919 for information.

Wednesday, May 9.Mental Health Rally Day in Springfield. NAMI Illinois will sponsor their annual day to meet with state legislators. The message is that Illinois deserves a mental health system that is marked “Grade A,” rather than our current "F." Call NAMI Illinois at 217-522-1403 for information or view photos of last year's event.

Thursday, May 10. The NAMI Elk Grove Chapter family support group meets the second Thursday of the month at 6:45 p.m. at the Kenneth Young Center, 1001 Rohlwing Rd., Elk Grove. Family, friends, and recovered consumers are welcome Call Sue at 630-529-3037 or Gina at 630 302 2530 for more information.

Monday, May 14. NAMI Barrington Area board meeting in the Barrington Area Library, Large Meeting Room B, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. Drop in and learn what's going on in the chapter!

Wednesday, May 16. NAMI Northwest Suburban Chapter family support group meets the third Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. at Alexian Center for Mental Health, 3350 Salt Creek Lane, Suite 114, Arlington Heights. Call Star at 847-899-0195 for details.

Thursday, May 17. NAMI McHenry County Chapter family support group meets the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at the McHenry County Mental Health Board Building, 620 Dakota St., Crystal Lake. Call 815-444-9991 for information.

These NAMI classes, starting again in the summer, are for family members, partners, and friends of individuals with serious mental illness. "This course is a wonderful experience," said one student. "It balances basic education and skill-training with emotional support, self care and empowerment."

There is no cost to participate, but registration is necessary as class size is limited.

The NAMI “PEER-to-PEER” (P2P) Course is taught by teams of 3 trained “mentors” or peer-teachers who are themselves experienced at living well with mental illness.

Who can take the course?  The course is designed to offer an opportunity for growth to any individual who experiences mental illness.

Call Fred at 847-304-4212 for a confidential, one-on-one discussion of your needs and the program’s potential value for you and your well-being.

There is no charge for the course, but please call Marci to register now.

Senator Edward Kennedy has introduced a bill into the Senate which would mandate that health insurance programs – employer provided and others – offer parity for mental illness coverage.  This means that insurance programs would have to cover mental illnesses the same way that they cover other illnesses.  Sounds great, right?

Well, not so great. The bill would actually weaken the requirements for health care coverage in Illinois and many other states. There is, however, a House version that needs our support.

There is perhaps no serious mental illness more maligned and misconstrued than borderline personality disorder. Bringing this diagnosis out of the darkness is long overdue. Individuals and families living with the illness deserve current and correct information, and we must all advocate to dispel the myths which have made borderline personality disorder a "leprosy" of psychiatric diagnoses.

As part of the formal inclusion of borderline personality disorder in its list of priority populations in NAMI's public policy platform, NAMI has invited Perry D. Hoffman, Ph.D., to write the article that follows.

Thresholds is scheduled to open a transitional housing program for young adults July 1, with scattered opening dates as apartments become available. The site includes studios and one bedroom units for those ready for their own apartments, but who still need support. 7 units are still available.

Eventually there will be 12 units, one of which will be staffed 24 hours and one used as a common room with kitchen, TV, video games, etc. Support programs will include Community Scholars for members who wish to complete post-secondary education. Program head: Joe Karouac, a professor at National Louis. For information contact Bonnie Groner at 847-480-1554 (home), 847-651-1554 (cell) or bgg101@aol.com.

Renee heard a most interesting "Talk of the Nation" the other day on NPR about how the homeless, many of whom suffer from mental illness, use public libraries as daytime shelters. The main speaker on the program is Chip Ward, a former librarian in Salt Lake City, and he explains the problems and high costs of providing shelter and medical care to people who are shut out of the system. The link below goes to Ward's article and the NPR broadcast. It's a long broadcast -- about 15 minutes -- but it's well worth listening to. (The article is shorter.)

It's been great to be involved with this group. I'm having fun, I'm learning a tremendous amount about how to help my daughter, and I feel like I'm helping accomplish some good in the world.

Still, like many volunteer groups, NAMI Barrington Area is a little short on funds and especially short on people to implement our programs. I'd like to ask you to step forward to help out.

If you think you might be able to help, please use our volunteer form to let us know what you're able to do. You'll need to print it, fill it out and mail it to the address on the form. Or you could just call Maryrose, our volunteer coordinator at 847-382-6623.

Have some fun—make a difference—and help your loved one!

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