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STATE ESSENTIALS
NAMI News for Hoosiers Volume 1, Issue 6
Criminal Justice
2009 Event Dates Announced

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Save the date for NAMI Indiana's 6th annual Mental Health & Criminal Justice Summit which will take place on March 20, 2009 at Holiday Inn North at the Pyramids in Indianapolis. This full day conference event is targeted for professionals in the field of criminal justice including law enforcement, judges, public defenders and prosecutors, parole/probation officers, correctional officers, dispatch, first responders, advocates/family members, school and hospital administrators, mayors and other community leaders.

This annual summit offers insight and information from well-known and highly qualified professionals on topics such as Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT), suicide prevention, mental health courts, coordinating emergency care, and more.

Attendees of past NAMI Indiana Criminal Justice Summits have praised not only the conference content, but the opportunity to network and interface with other professionals and interested parties on the topics of criminal justice and mental illness.

Also announced this week were three new dates for NAMI Indiana's highly successful Mental Health & Criminal Justice Training 101. Next year's trainings will occur on Thursday, May 28, 2009, Thursday, August 27, 2009 and Thursday November 5, 2009.

The Mental Health & Criminal Justice Training is an intensive one day course that includes information on categories of mental illness, biological basis of mental illness, active listening and tools for crisis situations and In Our Own Voice presentations by persons with mental illness. More information and online registration for the Mental Health and Criminal Justice Trainings can be found by clicking HERE.

Registration for the 2009 NAMI Indiana Mental Health & Criminal Justice Summit will be available online at namiindiana.org on Monday, December 1
 
Greetings! 

Thank you for your support of NAMI Indiana's efforts to improve the lives of persons affected by mental illness. You can always reach the NAMI Indiana team at 317-925-9399 or 1-800-677-6442.
VA LogoNAMI Launches Revolutionary Partnership with Veterans Administration

Tuesday, November 11 is Veterans Day. This year's holiday holds special significance for Hoosier veterans and military families affected by mental illness. It will be the first Veterans Day celebrated since the Veterans Administration formally established a special partnership with NAMI National.

Under the terms of the ground-breaking collaboration, military families will have access to NAMI's "life-changing" Family-to-Family program in Veterans Health Administration facilities. This NAMI program is a 12-week course for family members of veterans who live with mental illness such as major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is taught by trained family volunteers who themselves have experience with the challenges posed by mental illness. Family-to-Family is offered at no cost to participants.

Family-to-Family is the most widely-used family education program in the United States. Two scientific studies on the effectiveness of the program found that course participants had a significantly decreased subjective (emotional) burden of mental illness, and an increased sense of empowerment regarding the system, the community and family.

Under the terms of the national agreement, one facility was identified in each state for initial implementation of the program. In Indiana, that facility is the Roudabush Veterans Hospital in Indianapolis. NAMI Indianapolis is spearheading efforts to develop a 2009 implementation strategy for that facility.

Other NAMI affiliates in Indiana, such as NAMI Fort Wayne, are building relationships with veterans and military family members that use NAMI programs and resources to find effective treatment and achieve recovery.

The collaboration between the Veterans Administration and NAMI will continue to expand over the coming years. Current NAMI members who are veterans or family members of veterans are encouraged to contact their local NAMI affiliates to learn more about support and volunteer options.

To learn more from NAMI about mental illness and verterans, CLICK HERE.