The 2012

NAMI

National Convention

will be held at the Seattle Sheraton Hotel, June 27-30.

The Sheraton is located in the heart of Seattle, an area rich with restaurants, shopping, attractions, and the world famous Pike Place Market.

The convention theme 

Think, Learn and Live: Wellness, Resiliency and Recovery

highlights this year's focus on developing effective programs and resources to increase resiliency and advance recovery. Click on  www.nami.org/convention to see the full convention program.

CEUs AVAILABLE!

Please make sure to visit each tab for important information on hotel, travel, FAQs, program, exhibits and more! For questions, please email 

convention@nami.org 

Dear Members and Friends of NAMI Idaho:

This quarterly newsletter is the first state-wide electronic communication to everyone

who is interested in the work of NAMI Idaho. Its goal is to INFORM you of the activities

of the organization; INVITE your comments about our education and advocacy initiatives;

and CHALLENGE you to become involved in raising awareness and advocating with us.

With your help, we can reduce stigma and improve the access to and the quality of care

and treatment for people with mental illness. All of these activities CREATE HOPE for

better lives for individuals living with mental illness.

The Board of Directors of NAMI Idaho welcomes you to this forum for the exchange of information and ideas about how we can make things better for individuals in our state

who live with mental illness. It is our hope that you will pass this newsletter along to

 friends and family members so they will know that they are not alone in dealing with

their own mental illness or that of a loved one. We believe that mental illnesses are

treatable and that recovery is possible.

Sincerely,

Doug McKnight, President

NAMI Idaho

Idaho CIT In Action

Crisis Intervention Training for Law Enforcement is an evidence-based pre-booking jail diversion program designed to improve the outcome of inter-action between law enforcement officers and people experiencing a mental illness crisis. Begun in Memphis, Tennessee in 1988, the Memphis model remains the gold standard in CIT programs. It consists of a 40-hour educational program and a community coalition among law enforcement, mental health providers and mental health advocacy groups like NAMI. Officers receive basic information about mental illnesses and how to recognize them,

 learn about the local mental health system and local laws, gain understanding of  the experience of living with mental illness from people with mental illness and their families, and develop skill in how to verbally de-escalate a crisis. They have the opportunity to practice these skills in scenario-based training exercises. 

The coalition works to determine how the existing community mental health resources  

can most effectively be used to transfer an individual experiencing a mental illness crisis from law enforcement custody to treatment within the mental health system when appropriate. The coalition also assesses the needs for resources in the

community and explores how to meet these needs. The use of all-volunteer CIT faculty trainers, primarily mental health professionals practicing in the community, leads to increased communication between them and the officers.

Although mental illnesses are biologically based diseases, the first responders to

mental illness crises are usually law enforcement officers. People with mental illness

who are diverted from law enforcement in CIT programs have been found to receive more medications and therapy than individuals who are not diverted. Pre-booking jail diversion programs, including CIT, have been found to reduce arrests and re-arrests of people with mental illness. CIT also decreases SWAT Team call-outs and officer injuries on mental disturbance calls.  CIT can save taxpayer dollars in communities by diverting people

 from incarceration and involuntary commitment -- the two most expensive ways to treat mental illness -- into community treatment. CIT works in rural as well as urban areas.

The first Idaho CIT academies for law enforcement officers were held in Idaho Falls and Sandpoint in February 2009. Since then,  academies have also been held in Boise, Pocatello, Twin Falls and Hailey with five DHW regions conducting CIT academies at

least yearly and two others working to implement CIT academies. The Idaho

Department of Correction recently also began planning for a CIT program.

NAMI, NAMI Idaho and many local NAMI affiliates support CIT. A NAMI list serve helps CIT programs share information nationwide and NAMI distributes an email CIT

newsletter several times a year. NAMI Idaho was instrumental in establishing the Idaho

CIT Work Group which meets quarterly via the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare video conference equipment. The next issue of this newsletter will cover what the Idaho

CIT Work Group has accomplished to date

Ann Ferguson Wimberley, M.D. (retired)

NAMI Idaho CIT Committee Chairman

  

   

 

   

Inquire about the availability of these programs from your local Affiliate.

NAMI Idaho 2012 Annual Meeting

The NAMI Idaho Annual Meeting will be held in Sandpoint, ID on September 15, 2012

 in conjunction with the North Region Conference. The Annual Meeting will include a President's Report, a Treasurer's Report, and the formal results of the voting on election

of Directors and amendment of the Bylaws.  

Director Nominations 

The NAMI Idaho Board of Directors must have a minimum of twelve but not more than sixteen Directors, with a maximum of four Regional Directors residing in each of the

state's three Regions. This year, members from each Region will elect two Regional Directors

to serve two-year terms. In addition, the West Region may elect a Regional Director for

a one-year term to fill a position that was not filled in last year's election. No more than

two Regional Directors (including those who were elected last year and are continuing

 the second year of their term) can be Members of the same Affiliate.

Up to four Directors at-large may also be elected to the Board by all of the Members in

the state. In September, Members will elect two Directors at-large who will serve two

year terms and one Director at-large who will serve a one year term.

The Regional Directors serving the second year of their two-year terms are:

            North Region:

                       Ruth McKnight - NAMI Far North

               Vinetta Ruth Spencer - NAMI Coeur d'Alene

            West Region:

                       Wendy Norbom - NAMI Wood River Valley

            East Region:

              John Tanner - NAMI Upper Valley Idaho

                      Kim Jardine-Dickerson - NAMI Southeast Idaho

A Director at-large serving the second year of her two-year term is:

               Amika DuPree - NAMI Coeur d'Alene

Directors can be nominated by Members, local Affiliates or self-nominated. Nominations must be submitted on a Board of Directors Nomination form that will be provided to local Affiliates by the end of May and will be available on the NAMI Idaho website.

Are you interested in being a Director of NAMI Idaho? Do you know of someone who you think would make a good Director? If so obtain and complete a Board of Directors Nomination form and send it to the Elections Committee of the Board to be received

before July 17, 2012. The Elections Committee will confirm that each nominee is a

qualified NAMI member, is willing to serve as a Director,andhas been nominated by a qualified Member or local Affiliate.

Amendment of the NAMI Idaho Bylaws

In the course of being re-chartered by NAMI as the state organization in Idaho, a review

of the NAMI Idaho bylawa revealed three items that needed to be changed:

1. The legal name of the national organization is NAMI and the Bylaws used the
2. term NAMI National.
3. Standardized annual dues are established by NAMI and not by NAMI Idaho.
4. Only NAMI can charter local Affiliates and terminate Affiliate status. The Bylaws
5. had allowed NAMI Idaho to terminate the status of an Idaho Affiliate.

In order to correct these issues and to make a number of minor wording changes to

clarify other sections of the Bylaws, the Board will propose the amendment of the

NAMI Idaho Bylaws and ask the Members of NAMI Idaho to approve these changes

by their positive vote at the Annual Meeting.

Benefit Tips

 Do you know the difference between SSI and SSDI?

• A monthly payment to people, up to the maximum amount allowed by the       federal government. This money to help people comes from general tax revenue.    In 2012 the maximum federal payment amount is $698.
• Some states choose to use state tax revenue to add additional money to the  federal limit. In Idaho some people get an extra $53 in their SSI check.
• To get SSI, adults must be 65 or older, determined disabled by the Social    Security Administration, or blind. A person must have very limited income and resources too.
• In Idaho, folks with SSI will be automatically eligible for full Medicaid Health   benefits if they apply at the Department of Health and Welfare.
• Folks with SSI who can work will have their payment amount reduced if they      earn over a certain amount a month.

 SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance)

• A monthly payment amount that is based on the work record of the person         who is 'insured', after they have been determined blind or disabled by the          Social Security Administration. The payment begins 6 months after the date     the disability is determined to have started.
• The benefit is usually paid to a person who has worked but may be paid to a worker's widow, child, or adult disabled child in some circumstances.
• Folks with a limited SSDI benefit amount (below the maximum SSI amount)     might still be eligible for SSI payments to bring their income up to the SSI  maximum amount.
• Nationwide, after 2 years of SSDI payments, a disabled worker or the eligible dependent of the disabled worker will become eligible for Medicare, the federal health insurance program.
• Folks with SSDI who want to work should contact SSA about the work incentives programs, and how to get help with education and training.                    

Heather Taber, Secretary

NAMI Idaho Board of Directors

For more information about SSI and SSDI,

or to apply, go online to www.ssa.gov 

or visit your local Social Security Administration office.

Tell them NAMI sent you!