News from Butler County NAMI

Please join us for our NAMI meetings to hear local speakers, get answers to questions, share stories and find support. March's guest speaker is Kara Frederick of LifeSpan, Inc. Kara will speak about Guardianship - how one qualifies for this service, how to access it, what the service provides, when does the guardian manage the consumer's money, and other questions you may have. Kara will also discuss other services provided by LifeSpan, Inc., which is one of the major mental health agencies in Butler County.

Mark your calendars now for the April Educational Meeting on Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 7:00 PM. We will be showing the DVD "Out of the Shadow" which is an official selection of the Vancouver International Film Festival. Mike Wallace of CBS News says this is a "fascinating and important film". Join us for movie night complete with popcorn, soda and snacks!

NAMI Book Club

Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 7:00 PM

NAMI Butler County Offices

This month's book is Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert.

We welcome anyone interested in an evening of fun, food and friends to our regular book club which meets at 7:00 pm on the second Thursday of each month.

If you can't make it in March, we will be discussing On the Edge of Darkness by Kathy Cronkite on April 14th, Stop Walking on Eggshells by Paul Mason on May 12th, and Worry by Edward Hallowell on June 9th.

NAMI Ohio's Annual Regional Meeting

Wednesday, March 16, 2011 7:00 PM

Lindner Center of Hope

4075 Old Western Row RD, Mason OH 45040

Terry Russell, NAMI Ohio's Executive Director, will speak of the state of NAMI Ohio and its advocacy efforts to stem the tide of additional cuts to the state mental health budget. NAMI Butler County members are invited to attend. Please call the NAMI office at 860-8387 for reservations - a light dinner will be served at the meeting.

"Improving Physical Heath Care in Community Agencies" Conference

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Summit Behavioral Healthcare

1101 Summit Road, Cincinnati OH 45237

People with mental illness die much earlier than others - 60% of these premature deaths are a result of "natural causes" such as heart disease and diabetes. This conference/training is to review strategies for addressing the integration of physical and mental health care. Families and mental health consumers will learn about the risk factors for diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease and strategies for prevention, detection, treatment and healthy lifestyle changes.

NAMI Ohio Advocacy with Governor Kasich

With an 8 billion dollar budget shortfall looming, no organization is exempt from cuts. NAMI Ohio is aggressively advocating our governor and legislators to understand that by making additional cuts to mental health, massive increases in hospital and jail costs drastically increase. Homelessness will also increase and lives will be in jeopardy. NAMI Ohio's Executive Director, Terry Russell, has had a special meeting with Governor Kasich with the message that untreated mental illness has dire consequences on people with mental illness and on tax payers. A unifying message is that Behavioral Health Care IS a part of Health Care, not separate.

More Advocacy Efforts

The newly formed MHAC - Mental Health Advocacy Coalition - had its first meeting with legislators, court magistrates, judges, agency directors, NAMI staff and other stakeholders on Friday, March 4th in West Chester. This first "get acquainted" meeting promises to increase our budget advocacy power in Columbus. The next meeting will be March 24th. To attend, call the NAMI Butler County office. Additional information can be found at www.facebook.com/MHAC.Ohio.

SAVE THE DATE

NAMI Ohio "Sleep Out"
May 10, 2011 4:00 PM - 11:00 PM

What will happen to thousands of people with mental illness as they fall through the cracks of care? We hope to have 10,000 participants for this event. Funding for mental health has been disproportionately cut in the state budget for years and further cuts would cause even more crises in care.

Grant Award Recieved

NAMI Butler County was recently awarded a $500 grant from the Rotary Club of West Chester/Liberty. The Rotary Club is dedicated to identifying and addressing unmet needs in their local community, and we are honored that they have chosen to partner with NAMI Butler County through this grant.

In addition to the grant, the Rotary Club of West Chester/Liberty is collaborating on a summer fundraiser with NAMI Butler County. More details to follow!

Finally, all Rotary Clubs in District 6670 in southwest Ohio are participating in a video contest to introduce the local Rotary Club to the community, increase their membership and feature a project that meets a community need. The Rotary Club of West Chester/Liberty has chosen NAMI Butler County to partner with in this endeavor. First price is $5,000 which will go to NAMI Butler County if we win. Since voting is done online, we will need your support. Watch for more details!

Our thanks to the Rotary Club of West Chester/Liberty for their interest in and support of NAMI Butler County, and a special thanks to Anil Marfatia for his work in promoting our organization.

Family to Family Graduates Support Group
April 5, 2011 6:30 PM

NAMI Butler County Offices

The Family to Family Graduates Suport Group meets monthly on the first Thursday at 7:00 PM for on-going support and discussion for graduates of the Family to Family program. For more information, call the NAMI office at 860-8387.

Faith Mental Health Conference

NAMI Butler County, along with four other regional NAMI organizations is co-sponsoring the second Faith/Mental Health Conference at the Lindner Center of Hope again in May. Date and details soon to be announced. We are gathering names of churches and clergy to put on the mailing list. If you are associated with a church or synagogue and think this conference would be helpful, please email information to info@nami-bc.org and we will see that an invitation is sent out.