NAMI Mt San Jacinto Board member Teresa Bullock has taken on the project of starting a NAMI Frontline project in the Riverside County area. Teresa and her husband are both military veterans and lost a son, Christopher in Iraq over 2 years ago. They know all too well how much families suffer from the effects of the losing a child  during our Nations current war in Iraq and Afganistan.  They also have a son who is active military that suffers from PTSD.

Teresa attended the NAMI National Conference in San Francisco and is involved with the NAMI Frontline project in Bakersfield. She is on the Riverside County Veterans Advisory Board as a member to assist her in networking with organizations necessary to make this project a success.

Teresa also attended the NAMI California Conference and her primary focus was to find out all she can about NAMI Frontline and establish connections in the Community at the Local, State and National Level.

Riverside and San Bernardino County are fortunate to have Teresa involved in this project. She is an organized and well spoken woman who is dedicated to making a difference in our Military based community.

NAMIWALKS has made NAMI Frontline a primary focus in our local area and we encourage you to find out more about NAMI Frontline and encourage your active Military, their  families, Veterans and their families to become a part of this program. With so many Veterans returning from Iraq and Afganistan we need to have the support that they need and this collaborative will be a monthly meeting with numerous Veteran groups with  both Counties participating.

Teresa is also planning on teaching a Family to Family class at the Veterans Administration in Loma Linda to further educate families of the active military and Veterans in understanding mental health diagnosis like PTSD and other illnesses. 

NAMI encourages you to become involved in the NAMI Frontline project. For mor information please  contact Teresa her email address is
bullock_teresa@hotmail.com   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Dear WALKERS,

We had a great turn out at the Benedict Castle in Riverside for our NAMIWALK Luncheon.  There was so much excitement in the air that day. The room had bright blue and gold colors and all the team captains and sponsors had a balloon tied to their chair so you could recognize them. We had over 60 team Captains in attendance. The room was brightly decorated with NAMIWALK posters and information was available for all sponsors, team captains and volunteers.  Over 30 more  people volunteered to be team captains and we encouraged you to sign up your team online at www.nami.org at your convenience to help you on your way with a successful team. By signing up your team online you can easily send letters to your friends and families with a link to your web-page or your team page.

 

We all enjoyed the Cappucino Cafe with the free latte's and coffee drinks. NAMIWALKS pays for all this as a part of your being involved in the WALK.  Teen Challenge did a great job serving us and this is a fundraiser for them. This event helps their organization further its mission by working with young men and women who have substance abuse problems. These young men are the servers and many of us had the opportunity to speak with them regarding Teen Challenge and how it helps their lives by giving them tools to be successful. By our organization having the luncheon at this venue we not only help promote our WALK but we also assist another organization in their mission and vision.  

 

Both Riverside County Mental Health Director Jerry Wengerd and San Bernardio County Behavioral Health Director Allan Rawland were there to motivate us to support the organization.  Our Directors work together on many projects throughout the year and this WALK is the one project they really are dedicated to. Both County Directors realize the importance of NAMI, and they are both appreciated by the local affiliates for their leadership in helping the organization to work towards its mission and to grow in their perspective counties. By working together we are a much stronger organization.

 

We had 3 inspirational speakers who told us about their journey in Recovery and how NAMI has helped them to realize their full potential. Recovery is about finding the person you are meant to be. The person who was always there just waiting for someone to support you and accept you for who you are and appreciate this in you.

 

Gracious thank you's to all our Team Captain's  at this event. We thank those who had planned on this and also thank you to all that decided to that day.  We want to encourage you to sign up online and get your team started. To sign up a team go to www.nami.org/namiwalks/CA/Riverside  then you click on NAMIWALKS then you click on California, Then click on Hemet. From there it gives you some options. One option is to become team captain and form a team. You would click there and you need a user name and password. You do not need to join NAMI to get one of these. But if you want to join NAMI at this time you can. Then after you get a free account you can sign up your team. Be sure and email yourself a copy of the team page you develop as this will help you later when you write letters.

 

We will be having numerous competitions and hope you form your team and get involved in the fun. At this time we have 28 teams so far that have signed up online. Our goal is 80 teams this year so we are almost 1/2 way there!! 

 

The largest team so far is a two way tie. The teams are Inland Psychiatric and Palm Desert Development Company.

 

The largest online fundraising team is Dawn Armendariz team Captain of  "Brand New Day" - Inland Psychiatric Medical Group. Great job to Dawn and her team!

 

Lets get out there and sign up those teams. We have 39 days until the WALK. If you need any brochures or team captain information please call the office at 951-765-1850 and we can mail the information to you. If you can receive it by email please contact namihemet@gmail.com  We look forward to seeing you out there on WALK day.

 

Sincerely,

 

Brenda Scott

NAMIWALK Manager/Chair

 

 We encourage you to consider the donation of being a  "Kilometer Sponsor" in their honor. We will have a Kilometer sign along the WALK route with their name on it.  Click on "Be an event Sponsor" and add their name as  the recipient of this honor.

 

www.nami.org /namiwalks/CA/Riverside