| In This Issue |
| Who We Are |
NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation's foremost grassroots mental health organization. We are dedicated to improving the lives of people living with serious brain disorders that cause mental illness and to improving the lives of their families. Founded in 1979, NAMI is active in all 50 states, Canada, and Mexico with over 1100 local chapters across the country. Our mission is one of education, support, self help, advocacy and research.
NAMI Barrington Area is a new NAMI chapter located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. We are a dedicated group of people serving Barrington and nearby suburbs hoping to help you or someone you love on the path to recovery from mental illness. Call us at 847-496-1415.
About NAMI Barrington area chapter
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April Events
Sunday, April 3, 2 pm. Youth Depression and Bipolar Disorder Alliance group for consumers will meet for their monthly Snack & Yack at the Arlington Heights Corner Bakery. Parents of Youth can come, too, and meet in their own group. Email Leah for details.
Monday, April 4, 9:00a.m. - 11:00a.m. NAMI DKK sponsors a Legislative Forum. Hear from your elected officials on mental health treatment and public policy. Also hear an update on mental health services in Illinois. A short general meeting for NAMI DKK members, with lunch, will follow. At Dunleavy/Walsh rooms, Behavioral Health Center, Provena Mercy Campus, Aurora. For more info, contact NAMI DKK at (630) 896-6264 or info@namidkk.org. Please RSVP 630-553-5777 if you plan to stay for lunch.
Wednesday, April 6, 7-8:30 p.m. The NAMI Criminal Justice Action Committee, part of NAMI BA, meets the first Wednesday of every month, and we'd love to have your help and support. We meet at the Alexian Center for Mental Health, 3350 Salt Creek Lane-Suite #114, Arlington Heights. For more information, email Joseph M. Jason or phone him at (847) 537-3009. Help us make a difference.
Wednesday, April 13, 6:30p.m. NAMI Barrington Area board meeting in the Kildeer Village Hall, 21911 Quentin Road, Kildeer. Drop in and learn what's going on in the chapter!
Saturday, April 16, 2 pm. Youth Depression and Bipolar Disorder Alliance for consumers will meet for LASER TAG. Email Leah at for all the details! Parents of Youth will meet offsite same time.
Beginning on Tuesday, April 26, and continuing until May 31. NAMI CCNS hosts NAMI Basics. This is an education program for parents and other caregivers of children and adolescents living with mental illnesses. Classes will be held at New Trier Northfield. For more information, please contact NAMI CCNS at (847) 716-2252, email info@namiccns.org or Fay Anderson fanderson@namiccns.org
Saturday, April 30, 6:30 p.m. NAMI CCNS Gala: Recovery - Making the Pieces Fit. Master of ceremonies: WGN's Orion Samuelson. Guest speaker: Dr. Fred Frese, who overcame a diagnosis of schizophrenia to become a Marine Corp officer and later a university professor. For more info contact Pat Rodbro or Frieda Ankin or phone (847) 716-2252.
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May Events
Wednesday, May 4, 7-8:30 p.m. The NAMI Criminal Justice Action Committee, part of NAMI BA, meets the first Wednesday of every month, and we'd love to have your help and support. We meet at the Alexian Center for Mental Health, 3350 Salt Creek Lane-Suite #114, Arlington Heights. For more information, email Joseph M. Jason or phone him at (847) 537-3009. Help us make a difference.
Thursday, May 12, 12:00p.m. Chicago and 2:00p.m. Springfield. Mental Health Rally and Lobby Day. There will be simultaneous rallies at noon: in front of the Thompson Center, 100 West Randolph, in Chicago and in front of the statue of Abraham Lincoln in front of the State Capitol in Springfield. Buses for Springfield will leave at 7:00a.m. and return the same day.
Wednesday, May 18, 6:30p.m. NAMI Barrington Area board meeting in the Kildeer Village Hall, 21911 Quentin Road, Kildeer. Drop in and learn what's going on in the chapter!
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Area Support Groups
You may find that a support group can be very helpful, especially if you, a partner, friend or family member is going through a crisis. A very large number of groups meet in our area for consumers as well as family members and friends.
Each month, we publish a list of support groups that you can attend, generally at no charge and with no need to make a reservation. You can access that list in a printable format here.
We would also like to invite you to the groups hosted by our own chapter, NAMI Barrington Area. This month we will offer a NAMI Connection group for consumers and a family support group every Thursday at Northwest Community Hospital at 7 p.m. (call Nora at 847-899- -6264 for more information). |
Family to Family Registration Open
It's not too soon to register for our summer Family to Family classes in Barrington and at Northwest Community Hospital.
Family to Family, a series of 12 weekly classes structured to help you understand and support individuals with mental disorders while maintaining your own well being, will soon begin.
These NAMI classes 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 skills-training with emotional support, self care and empowerment."
There is no cost to participate in a Family to Family class, you don't need to be a NAMI member, and it doesn't matter if you live in a particular chapter's area to attend a class. Call Maryrose at 847-496-1415
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Cancer Survivors Boast, So Should Mental Illness Champs
Something of interest to anyone with a mental illness, by Burt Constable in the Daily Herald.
While society often fears or mocks people with mental illnesses, many people today manage their mental illnesses in the same ways that people live with diabetes, says Tica King, 59, a peer counselor at the Kenneth Young Center in Elk Grove Village. Once debilitated by her mental illness, King recovered more than 25 years ago.
Read the article.
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State Mental Health Cuts: A National Crisis
From the President's Desk by Joseph M. Jason
I urge all of you to read the NAMI publication State Mental Health Cuts: A National Crisis.
Many of us have loved ones that need mental health services and so it's important for us to note that states across the country are making massive cuts to non-Medicaid mental health funding.
Illinois has cut funding for mental health programs by $113.7 million, or 15%, over the last three years. "Illinois' community mental health system is in a shambles," according to the report. As a result of these cuts, the burdens have been put on law enforcement, and police officers and judges have become the most vocal critics of these funding cuts.
Learn more about the report and what we can do. - Read From the President's Desk April 2011.
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A Coping Tip
In the Trench by Toni Hoy
"Dear Mom, I hope you have a nice day. I hope you are busy at work today. I hope God brings you home safely from work. With love, from your son."
During one of my recent NAMI Family to Family meetings, a mother, whose son is in his early 20s, was sharing a tip about how she was able to cope better with some of her son's bipolar mania symptoms. During frustrating moments of dealing with her son while experience manic symptoms, whose thoughts were fleeting and incongruent, she would pull out a sweet, handwritten note that her son had written to her on a non-manic day. The note brings her back to home base, a place where she can remember that he is not always like this and that, in time, he will return to a non-manic state. The frustration will leave. They can once again converse and enjoy each other's company. She is reminded to relish the good times with him and to really enjoy each moment of spending good times with him.
When the mania leaves, it's time to put the note away, but not too far away. The day is sure to come again when she will once again, need her little note.
Spring is here. Roses will soon be blooming. While they are here, we will enjoy their beauty and inhale their sweet fragrance. We will navigate carefully around the thorns. They are here for but a season and will be back for us to enjoy once again.
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House Budget Cuts May Devastate Children and the Economic Recovery
Legislative Alert by Hugh Brady
Voices for Illinois Children warned recently that the U.S. House's recently approved plan would slash $61 billion from education, health care, human services and public safety efforts for the remaining seven months of Fiscal Year 2011. According to the Goldman Sachs investment firm, such cuts would create enough "fiscal drag" to cut the nation's projected economic growth in half for the year, as well as devastating children's welfare.
NAMI members are urged to contact U.S. Senators Mark Kirk and Dick Durbin today and ask them to protect kids and families - and our nation's fragile economic recovery - by holding firm against the deep cuts proposed by the House.
Learn the details of the cuts and their effects
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EPSDT Can Help Children at Risk
By Toni Hoy
In March, I listened in on a teleconference hosted by NAMI National with Jane Perkins, who is the legal director of the National Health Law Center. She is the leading national expert on Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment, which is Medicaid's child health component.
Jane traced back to the origin of this law, noting its original purpose, which was to screen children at very young ages and implement services to correct known or suspected issues during early stages of development.
Jane noted that many states are in non-compliance with this helpful provision, and, in fact, that is an issue in Illinois.
If you have a child at risk, or one that may not be receiving the services he or she is entitled to, you can learn more about the teleconference and the law here.
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Illinois Budget Makes Disproportionate Cuts to Human Services
by Hugh Brady, President, NAMI Illinois
It's important for every Illinois citizen to note that Governor Quinn's budget proposal contains deep cuts in human services, including those for mental illness, that are far out of line with the proposed budgets for other state departments, most of which contain modest increases.
Over the past three years, the Department of Human Services (DHS) budget has been cut by 9%, the most of any major state department. Cuts made to budgets for the current year won't be known until July, but so far the human service cuts are very large. And now the Governor has proposed a further 11% cut to the DHS budget for FY 2012, while at the same time proposing increases for most other departments.
This is unacceptable and easily corrected. It's not a case anymore of lack of funds, but of how we are spending them. It's time that our governor hears from us.
Read the specifics of the cuts and how you can help.
NAMI Illinois responds to Governor Quinn
On Thursday, March 10, NAMI Illinois held a press conference in Springfield to respond to the deep budget cuts to mental health programs proposed by Governor Quinn.
According to the NAMI report, Illinois was 8th in the nation when it came to the size of cuts to mental health programs over the past three years. And that was before Governor Quinn's proposals for 2012.
Read more about the press conference and the NAMI Illinois position.
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Thank You, Brian
At their March meeting, the NAMI BA Board of Directors reluctantly accepted Brian Peters' resignation from the Board. Brian was one of the founding members of NAMI BA back in 2006. His specialty was technology, and he was responsible for setting up our website and phone system. He was also an occasional presenter at Family-to-Family classes.
Brian felt he had to resign because could no longer devote the time to NAMI activities that he felt he should as he is now working full time and taking a full load of classes at Harper.
We wish him the best and say a hearty "thank you" for all he has done to help NAMI BA. |
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Gear Up for Action
Mental Health Rally for 2011 will be Thursday, May 12
NAMI Illinois and the Mental Health Summit, an umbrella group of mental health service providers and advocacy groups, will again be sponsoring a mental health lobby day. This year's lobby day will be on Thursday, May 12th.
The main events this year will be two simultaneous rallies, one in Chicago and one in Springfield. The Springfield rally will also include time for participants to meet their legislators in person and make the case for protecting mental health services and fixing Illinois' broken mental health system.
The Summit plans to provide busses to Springfield from several Chicago area locations. Stay tuned for further details.
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A Genetic Link to Schizophrenia
Research Update by Hugh Brady
It has long been known that genetics play a role in schizophrenia, but scientists have had a very difficult time locating particular genes that might be associated with the disease. Now a group of researchers led by Jonathan Sebat of the University of California at San Diego has identified a rare gene mutation that is strongly linked to the disorder.
But this mutation is very rare, even among people with schizophrenia. This confirms a growing suspicion by many researchers that, instead of one genetic cause for the illness, it appears that a number of different rare mutations may each lead to the disease. Dr. Sabat noted, "The growing number of such rare duplications and deletions found in schizophrenia suggests that what we have been calling a single disorder may turn out, in part, to be a constellation of multiple rare diseases."
Learn more.
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Volunteers Needed
Do you really mean it when you say you want to help people with mental health issues?
If so, we can use your help at NAMI Barrington Area. I want to invite you to help us support and advocate for people with brain disorders, and in so doing, help yourself. Are you willing to lend a hand? It's a wonderful experience to be involved and make a difference!
There's so much we can accomplish, but only with more good people like you pitching in. Please call Maryrose at 847-496-1415.
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Local Hospitals
With Mental Health Serivces
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We hope you'll pass this newsletter on to friends, family members or professionals who might get some useful information from it. Even though you don't know if your friend would need this valuable information and support, you never know who may have a co-worker or neighbor who would. (Just hit the 'forward email' button at the bottom of this page.)
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Join NAMI
We hope you'll join NAMI and support our advocacy for the mentally ill. The cost is only $35 (adult and spouse) or $10 (for consumer). If this cost will create a financial hardship, we have a limited number of open door memberships available at a reduced fee. Please register online if possible or download our paper membership form.
If you don't wish to join right now, but you'd like to receive our free newsletter, simply use the "Join our mailing list" button in the blue column to the right.
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Emergency Numbers
Local police/ambulance: 911
State police: 847-294-4400
Crisis team, Alexian Brothers, Hoffman Estates
(24 hour): 800-432-5005
Illinois state suicide line: 800-784-2433
Ecker Center 24-hour emergency program (Elgin) 847-888-2211
More emergency numbers
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