| 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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NAMI National Convention in Chicago
The NAMI National Convention is coming to Chicago - at the Chicago Hilton Hotel, 720 S. Michigan, July 6-9.
Always interesting, inspiring and very helpful, with plenty of great information for consumers, family members and professionals, the convention is a 'must do' this year, since it's so close.
The complete schedule and program are online here. Advanced registration required. |
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New Support Groups for Parents and Younger Teens
NAMI Barrington Area began offering a new support group in May and we would like to invite you to join.
Our NAMI PACT offering is a dual group, one for parents of younger teens (consumers 10 or over), and one for the teenagers. We will meet the first and third Friday of each month at Northwest Community's Mental Health Network building, 2nd floor, 901 Kirchoff, Arlington Heights (note no meeting on June 3 or July 1). Like our other support groups, there is no charge to attend and no need to make a reservation. Natural and adoptive parents are welcome as well as other caregivers. Call Toni at 847-804-2088 after 5 on weeknights for information. (Please leave a message if you don't catch her.) |
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June Events
Thursday, June 2, 12:00p.m. - 1:00p.m. The Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health hosts The Sibling Balance. These educational calls are offered to all parents in Illinois who have a child with an emotional and/or behavioral concern. The calls focus on giving parents information they need to advocate for and support their children. Toll free: (800) 260-0712 Participant Access Code: 120964. For questions, please call (618) 838-9382.
Sunday, June 5, 2 - 3:15p.m. The Arlington Heights Youth DBSA (Depression Bipolar Support Alliance)will meet at the Arlington Heights Corner Bakery for their monthly Snack & Yack. Parents of Youth meet for their own group at the same time, same place, different tables! Contact Leah Nakamura at (847) 541-7754 or mrsn@comcast.net.
Sunday, June 5, 11:30a.m. - 5:00p.m. Bipolar Disorder: Progress and PromiseOvercoming the Stigma of Mental Illness, a Community Mental Health Conference hosted by the Naomi Ruth Cohen Institute for Mental Health Education at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Early registration fee $30. At the Beth Emet Synagogue, 1224 Dempster St, Evanston, IL.
Tuesday, June 7, 7:30a.m. - 4:14p.m. Attend the Illinois Mental Health and Justice Conference for information, education, application, and motivation on Mental Health Courts in Illinois. Heathcote Wales, professor from Georgetown University Law Center, will give the keynote address on the mental health court judge's role in reducing recidivism. At College of DuPage Student Resource Center, 425 Fawell Blvd, Room 2800, Glen Ellyn. Registration fee of $75 includes lunch and continuing ed credits. Registration instructions on flyer.
Wednesday, Jun 15, 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, June 18 at 2p.m. The Arlington Heights Youth Depression Bipolar Support Alliance will have a "Croquet Bash" at the church with snacks to follow. Parents of youth will meet same time, same place, inside. For location and other details, email Leah Nakamura or phone her at (847) 541-7754.
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July Events
Thursday, July 7, 12:00p.m. - 1:00p.m. The Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health hosts The Family Meeting (Crisis planning and family communication). These educational calls are offered to all parents in Illinois who have a child with an emotional and/or behavioral concern. The calls focus on giving parents information they need to advocate for and support their children. Toll free: (800) 260-0712 Participant Access Code: 120964. For questions, please call (618) 838-9382.
Wednesday, July 6 - Saturday, July 9, all day. 2011 NAMI National Convention in Chicago. Come for top-notch researchers and clinicians providing information and tools to advance and sustain recovery from mental illness; the country's keenest minds and savviest policymakers offering strategies and tactics to effectively advocate for changing the mental health system in our nation; abundant networking opportunities so we can learn from each other on how to make change on the local level. At Chicago Hilton Hotel, 720 S. Michigan. Registration and fee required. Register online or by mail - early bird rate is available until 5/31.
Sunday, July 10 at 2p.m. (Note change!) The Arlington Heights Youth Depression Bipolar Support Alliance will host their Snack & Yack on at the Arlington Heights Corner Bakery. Parents of Youth will meet same time, same place, different tables! Ask servers for Leah's tables and contact her in advance for further info at mrsn@comcast.net or (847) 541-7754. Bring some money for a snack...
Wednesday, July 20, 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! |
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) plus NAMI PACT dual groups for parents and younger teens, 10 and older, the first and third Friday of the month, also at Northwest Community. (Note - no meeting June 3 or July 1. Call Toni at 847-804-2088 for information weeknights). |
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Taking Care of the Helpless Among Us
Lee Daniels, former GOP leader of the Illinois House comments in the Daily Herald on budget cuts and who will be hurt:
"As a former lawmaker who sat at the budget table, I understand the challenges legislators face. Times have changed, and so must we. Regrettably, the discussions in Springfield are veering off course...
"In tough times, tough choices must be made...[Yet] there are some groups in Springfield that are not willing to negotiate for the good of all and only interested in protecting their own at the expense of people in need.
"There is sacred ground in every state budget - ground that a truly great society would not sully. Our most vulnerable citizens await their fate at the epicenter of that ground.
"Let's not let them and our state down again."
Read Daniels article. (Maybe this is something worth passing on to your legislators.)
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Largest Mental Health Provider is Corrections System
From the President's Desk by Joseph M. Jason
Our NAMI organization needs to do a better job in advocating for change for the mentally ill who are in jails and prisons.
There are more people with mental illness in Illinois' prisons and jails than in all the residential mental health facilities public and private combined. In fact, more than 50% of prison inmates in the US have symptoms of serious mental illness. In 1970 only 4% of people institutionalized with a mental illness were in prison. Today that figure is over 70%.
One ray of hope is now in Baltimore, a new initiative called the Mental Health Case Management Docket, and perhaps this following initiative can be followed in Illinois.
Read more about the problem - and the Baltimore solution. |
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Last Chance to Avert Deep Cuts to Mental Health Programs
Legislative Alert by Hugh Brady, President, NAMI Illinois
The Illinois House and Senate are on the verge of passing a state budget that severely cuts funding for the state's mental health programs. There are three different versions:
The Governor proposes to cut mental health programs by $49.1 million, a reduction of 16.3% from the current year's spending. The House version cuts mental health programs by $54.3 million, a reduction of 21.2%. The Senate cuts mental health programs much less, however - "only" $16.7 million, or 6.5%.
It's time to call your state Senator and Representative with a simple message: "Don't vote for any budget which contains disproportionate cuts to mental health funding."
Developmental disabilities budgets increased, in part, because so many people called and demanded that legislators do so. We must do the same.
Learn more about the bills and how you can contact your legislator.
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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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Amazing Research
Research Update by Hugh Brady
In the past several months some amazing research into schizophrenia and other mental illnesses have been announced by several teams of researchers. None of these studies promises to lead to more effective treatments any time soon, but they are fantastic in and of themselves and the basic understandings they provide may eventually lead to better diagnoses and treatments.
In one study at Penn State, researchers generated stem cells from a group of people with schizophrenia and from a control group of people without the illness. Then, through a remarkable process, they were able to grow neurons from the stem cells and study the differences in cell-to-cell interactions between the cells in each group.
In another, a research studied a rare genetic disorder,velocardiofacial syndrome, which can be a predictor of schizophrenia, using MRI scans to study the early onset of the mental illness in adolescents with VCFS over a 10 year period.
In a third, researches used recent advances in the sensitivity of EEGs to study the brain waves of people with schizophrenia, which shows promise of helping develop early diagnosis and early treatment of the illness.
Read more about these studies.
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For Better or Worse, in Sickness and in Mental Health
In the Trench by Toni Hoy
Standing at the altar, repeating vows, couples make forever commitments to each other not knowing what challenges lurk in the future. Discovering that a spouse has mental illness tests and sometimes breaks the tie that binds.
Spouses of the mentally ill share common types of loss, including grief, heartbreak, loneliness, worry.
For those who commit to staying the course, how do they survive it?
Read this month's In the Trench
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Legal Representation Committee Formed
by Gertie Rodig
Legal Representation for Individuals with Mentally Illness is a new committee formed at NAMI Northwest whose aim is to seek justice as consumers enter ERs, the court systems, seek civil rights, etc.
We are seeking case histories to back up our information that there are many north and northwest suburban families affected by the actions and inactions regarding the above encounters. And, yes, we do need educated judges hearing our cases, complete care in hospitals, etc. Please help us add to our case histories by requesting a Helpline sheet. No last names will be used.
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Mental Health Court Rolls in Rolling Meadows
by Hugh Brady
This spring, the Rolling Meadows Courthouse began its first mental health court.
Mental health courts are a jail diversion program. Typically and with the agreement of the court, and prosecuting and defense attorneys, a defendant with mental illness pleads guilty and is then sentenced to two years of probation and treatment. The judge and the defendant, together with the State's Attorney's and Public Defenders offices, and therapists and case managers from mental health service providers work out a treatment plan. Then the defendant returns to court, with a case manager from the mental health center where they are the receiving treatment, for a progress report to the judge every week at first, and then as the treatment progresses, every other week and then perhaps every month. As long as the defendant keeps going to therapy and following the prescribed course of treatment, he or she stays out of jail.
Learn more about the Rolling Meadows program.
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NAMI Illinois Training Held
Report from the workshop by Rita Bala
On Saturday, May 14, NAMI Illinois held two simultaneous workshops, one on strategies for member and volunteer recruitment, one on chapter continuity.
In Session 1, participants discussed the importance of matching volunteers' interests and experience with a volunteer position, the importance of clear job descriptions and ways to recognize volunteers. The group also looked at ways to recognize and reward unpaid volunteers, and they looked at contact points and ways to organize and process membership records.
Session 2 focused primarily on effective and continuous training of volunteers and the establishment of clear plans of succession for leadership positions.
Learn more about the workshops.
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Therapy Opens the Door
by Serena Wadhwa, Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital
Clarissa sat across from me staring at the floor. She was a petite, well-dressed and well-groomed young woman. When asked what brought her to therapy, she stated she was having trouble sleeping and not doing activities she usually enjoyed doing. "My heart beats so fast I feel it's going to explode," she said quietly. "Sometimes I find myself having trouble breathing and I can't stop the thoughts in my head." She reported having challenges at work and home, and a recent break-up with a boyfriend she dated for two years. And she said that what she wanted from therapy was to feel better, feel more in control, and stop the racing thoughts.
Did you know that Alexian has an extensive Outpatient Group Practice for individuals, couples, and families? Here is one client's story.
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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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| Community Mental Health Services
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| Please pass on this newsletter
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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