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MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
November 2013

National Alliance on Mental Illness, California State Organization 

Welcome Members and Affiliates
We welcome your ideas for topics to cover, your feedback on issues that face consumers, families, and providers across the state. Contact us at [email protected].
NAMIBikes: A Fun Day and a Great Success


NAMIBikes participants rode out from downtown Davis on a beautiful Fall day, Nov. 2. Bike riders chose from three courses along bike paths and rolling farmland while passing through Davis and Winters.
 

Thank you to all our riders who raised funds and to the volunteers who served breakfast and lunch, staffed the rest stops and kept the riders safe on the road. And thank you to our sponsors.

"We brought four people to crew Rest Stop #2 in Winters", said Angelique Donovan, Community Manager  at Academy Lane Apartment Homes in Davis.  "We had a great day having fun with the riders and keeping them safe on the road."      

 

If you couldn't attend, you can still participate by making a donation to the event.

 

Click to view our gallery of photographs by Kelley Boyle.

NAMI California 2014 Conference Super Early Bird Registration

Looking for a thoughtful holiday gift, answer to a New Year's resolution, or just like to get things over and done with? We've opened Super Early Bird registration for the conference just in time for the holidays.

The conference will be held at the Newport Beach Hotel and Spa, August 1 and 2, 2014. 
 
Pack your sandals! Remember: Super Early Bird registration adds up to super savings on the conference registration fees.
Help Promote the Directing Change Student Video Contest

Students throughout California are invited to Direct Change by
submitting 60-second videos in two categories: "Suicide Prevention" and "Ending the Silence about Mental Illness". 

 

 

The winning teams and their associated schools will win cash prizes, qualify to win mental health or suicide prevention programs for their schools, and will be recognized at an award ceremony at the end of the 2013-14 school year. 

 

Visit the campaign website for contest rules and information: 

www.directingchange.org.

 

Submission Deadline: February 1, 2014

 

Please help spread the word:  Print and post this flier.

At Age 18, a Framework for Family Inclusion

Column by Roger Greenbaum

 

When we reckon up the challenges of preserving connection as a young person "ages out" of child and adolescent healthcare at 18, the metaphor of the house with four cornerstones is instructive. How can well-being be maintained, when the land shifts at one of those four cornerstones?

 

At 18 years of age in the United States, a young person not only acquires the right to vote. Among other facets of legal majority, he also acquires the right to prevent disclosure of details of his ongoing health status, including of course mental health care. Up to a point, he (or she) need answer to no one in asserting that right.

 

It's unrealistic to believe that suddenly at his or her 18th birthday, the young person suddenly and magically will no longer need the parent's ideas, questions, concern, support, and guidance.   For persons 18 to 22 - - no less than for the rest of us - -  those ways of experiencing connection can be as vital as the air we breathe.  There is no reason to believe this is any less true for the many young persons going through mental health challenges.

 

Therefore, what is needed is a clinical care framework to support continuing family inclusion.

 

Read the column. 

Donate Your Vehicle to NAMI California

 

Your tax-deductible donation of your vehicle to NAMI California goes the extra mile toward helping us provide advocacy, leadership, education, and guidance to persons living with mental illness and their families.


Donating is easy and fast, and they'll come for your car the very next day!

 

Click here to donate or for more information.

NAMI Offers Toolkit to College Students, Faculty, Coaches

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is offering college students and others free tools to increase mental health education on college campuses. The special toolkit also supports the National Dialogue launched by the recent White House Conference on Mental Health.

 

The toolkit is based on NAMI's College Students Speak , a survey report published last year in which college students who experienced mental health problems called for greater education about mental health issues and access to mental health care on campuses. The survey report indicated that stigma surrounding mental illness is the greatest barrier to college students seeking help.

 

The toolkit includes:

  • A PowerPoint presentation titled Raising Mental Health Awareness.
  • A step-by-step guide for a successful lay presentation.
  • Four fact sheets to complement the presentation. Promotional flyers for campus distribution.
  • A template to list local campus mental health resources.
  • Sample social media posts.
  • Video clips of students talking about mental health issues.
Half the State's Children Eligible for Medi-Cal
 
Callifornia Healthline reports that California's  ambitious transition of Medi-Cal beneficiaries in rural areas from fee-for-service care arrangements to managed care plans is underway. Half of the kids in the state are Medi-Cal kids, making the stakes are pretty high. If it's not working out, the "Department of Health Care Services wants to know."

Staff Shortage Forces Closures at Atascadero

 

Atascadero State Hospital is admitting fewer patients each week and has closed one of its special admission units in response to a shortage of psychiatrists there. 

 

The forensic hospital, which treats mentally ill violent offenders, has about 22.5 psychiatrists on staff, down from 33.7 in September 2012, according to the Department of State Hospitals. That's a staff reduction of about 33 percent in a facility licensed for 1,275 patients.

 

Atascadero is one of five state hospitals. The goal is to stabilize patients through medication, therapy and daily programs so offenders can return to trial or prison within an average of six months.

 

In addition to providing ongoing treatment, the hospital's psychiatrists are part of a team that assesses newly admitted patients to determine what types of treatment they need.

 

This year, the psychiatrist staffing shortage got to a point where the caseload of incoming patients exceeded the number of psychiatrists available, so patient admissions were reduced in September from 24 to 15 per week and one of two units dedicated to admitting patients deemed incompetent to stand trial was closed this month.

Read more.

Working Well Together Update 

working well
Looking ahead to 2014, Working Well Together will be sponsoring three Central Region trainings for volunteers or employees of the Mental Health Community. As the dates quickly approach, details will follow in upcoming issues.

 

Mark your calendar for February 26th in Sacramento; Connie Burgess will be our trainer. The topic of focus will be Organizational Wellness with a perspective lens of 'Compassion Fatigue'.  Connie will explore and provide organizational assessment tools to view the organization as an entity. Ongoing research states an organization must be practicing wellness for the workers to be healthy.

 

In March, a statewide webinar will be available on Trauma Informed Care within the Pacific Islander Community. There exist unique strategies to address culturally sensitive trauma from a traumatic event, not witnessed, experienced, or observed on American soil.  Raksmey Castleman, a Behavioral Program Director working in San Joaquin County's Behavioral Services Community, will use lived experience to suggest and guide participants through effective strategy practices.

 

Finally, in late March or early April, a Stanislaus County's Behavioral Health Services will host a county-wide Showcase Event. The daylong event will focus on progressive service delivery partnerships models. Various workshops and site visits will share their 'best practice' methods and 'evidence based' strategies of 'peer driven' work force development.

 

Each 'leading edge' training will provide a wealth of knowledge from Peers with lived experience who are working within the mental health community of the Central Region.

 

If interested, reserve your spot now with Ron Shaw, Technical Assistance Coordinator at: [email protected].

NAMI California Staff Corner

 

Katherine Ferry, Director of Community Engagement

 

Katherine Ferry is a graduate of UC Davis with degrees in Linguistics and Spanish and is currently a Master's degree candidate in Linguistics at San Francisco State University. 

 

Before coming to NAMI California, Katherine worked in a variety of educational and nonprofit settings throughout California and in Mexico. A fluent Spanish speaker, she has worked extensively with Latino communities as an English teacher, translator, early childhood educator and as a tutor for homeless families. She also wrote for a local newspaper in Santa Barbara.  Katherine's own experience of living with a mental health condition motivates her to help other consumers and family members.   

 

Katherine began her work at NAMI California in March 2013. She manages a number of projects designed to reduce the stigma of mental illness, with a focus on outreach to California's diverse communities.  Her biggest project is the CalMHSA-funded cultural adaptation of In Our Own Voice. Katherine and her team are working to make the program, including its videos and training materials, relevant to people of all cultural, linguistic and geographic communities statewide. 

 

In her free time, Katherine loves to travel, particularly to visit friends in Michoacan, Mexico, where she once lived. Having lived in seven cities in the last ten years, she has friends and family all over the world and enjoys keeping in touch with and visiting the wonderful people in her life.

Family Programs Update

 

A Family to Family training was held in Chico in early November. Above is a photo of the happy graduates. Says one trainee: "It was fabulous. The teachers were very informative, but also added levity to the class..."

 

Our next Family to Family training will be held the end of May.   

 

Family Programs Trainings:

 

Family Support Group and  Basics Trainings:

February 7-9th, 2014 - Modesto, CA 

 

De Familia a Familia Teacher Training

March14-16, 2014 - Ontario, CA

 

Family Support Group and Basics Trainings:

April 11-13, 2014 - Encino, CA                                                 

 

Family to Family and de Familia a Familia Teacher Trainings:

May 30-June 1, 2014 Elk Grove, CA

 

The Family Programs Blog at namifamily.blogspot.com is no longer in use. In the interim weekly postings will be made on Facebook. New blog address to be announced soon.

 

Peer and Stigma Reduction Programs Trainings

Peer to Peer October 11-13th 2013 - Modesto (previously Persona a Persona)

 

Peer-to-Peer 11/22/13 - 11/24/13 - Orange

 

Persona a Persona (Western Riverside Region only) 2/21/14 - 2/23/14 - Ontario

 

Connection 3/15/14 - 3/16/14 - Ontario

 

In Our Own Voice Training of Trainers - 3/28/14 - 3/30/14 - Sacramento

 

Peer-to-Peer 5/9/14 - 5/11/14 - Ventura

 

Peer-to-Peer 5/16/14 - 5/18/14 - Sacramento


Provider Education Trainings: To be announced

 

Send inquiries to:  

Family Programs

[email protected]


IOOV, Peer to Peer and Connection

[email protected]

 

Parents and Teachers as Allies, Ending the Silence, NAMI on Campus, Provider Education
[email protected] 


Programs Director

[email protected]

 

NAMI California Office: 916-567-0163

AFFILIATE NEWS

NAMI Merced County

 

NAMI Connection will meet on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 - 7:30 pm, beginning December 4, at 1137 B Street in Merced. This recovery support group is open to adults with mental illness regardless of their diagnosis. Every group is offered free of charge. For more information, contact Jan Morita at (209) 812-4058.

 

On October 29, NAMI Merced County hosted "Community Dialogue--a conversation about mental health and well being" Over 180 guests attended this event and viewed the documentary "A New State of Mind," while enjoying lunch. The event was well received and earned the praises of those who attended. Two  additional community dialogues will be offered--one in Livingston at the end of January 2014 and the second in Planada the first part of April 2014.

NAMI California Financial Statements and Supplemental Information

 

Click below to view the NAMI California 2011-2012 Final Audit.

PROUD SPONSORS OF NAMI CALIFORNIA

Sutter(1)
AZ logo
Teva logo
Santa Clara
Telecare
Triology
Otsuka


Lilly


Janssen logo


Contact Information
[email protected]
or call NAMI California
(916) 567-0163
In This Issue
NAMIBikes: A Fun Day and a Great Success
NAMI California 2014 Conference...Super Early Bird Registration
Help Promote the Directing Change Student Video Contest
At Age 18, a Framework for Family Inclusion
Donate Your Vehicle to NAMI California
NAMI Offers Toolkit to College Students, Faculty
Half the State's Children Eligible for Medi-Cal
Staff Shortage Forces Closures at Atascadero
Working Well Together Update
NAMI California Staff Corner
NAMI California Programs News
Affiliate News

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NAMI California's Tree of Tribute
Fiscal Year 2012-13

tree of tribute

Each year many donors elect to give a gift in celebration of an event, in honor of a special individual or in memory of a loved one. The Tree of Tribute formalizes this tradition by providing a lasting acknowledgement for individuals who are remembered, individuals who are honored or have an enduring record of a significant celebration.
 
Gifts of $500 or more will be eligible for an engraved leaf on the Tree of Tribute or an engraved stone at the base of the tree.

$500 - Bronze leaf
$1,000 - Silver leaf
$2,000 - Gold leaf
$3,000 -- Small stone
$5,000 - Large stone

Major Donors donors

NAM
I California thanks the following for their very generous contributions of $500 or more, 2012-2013.

Humanitarian: $5,000 - $36,000
Ruth Knudtson
California Community Foundation Short Term Liquidity Account
American Endowment Foundation
May S. Farr  
 
Patron:  $2,500 - $4,999
The Thompson Family Trust UA
Attias Family Foundation
William Ortega
Benefactor:  $1,000 - $2,499
Stephen Dwelle
Frances Tibbits
Sons of Italy Western Foundation
Gunnar Christiansen
Ronnie Okon
Albert Bendich
Alison C. Marer
Donna Butcher
Henry Garner
Miriam C. Wille
Rita Tamerius
Santos Properties
Schwab Charitable Fund
William Ruiz 

Shareholder: $750-$999

United Way
Ralph & Denise Nelson
Ray & Dorothy Hendrickson
Teresa A. Walker  

Sponsor:  $500-$749
Order Sons of Italy in America
Monterey Lodge
Rita Tamerius
The Clorox Company Foundation
George Greenspon
Linda K. Pontious
United Way Silicon Valley
Arnold Klein
Bryce Tanner
Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC
Jack Glantz
Jane Hanauer
Joseph Kotzin
Katherine Kitchens
Lorna B. Bjorklund
Rita J. Boppana
Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola
Virginia Whitcombe
  

     _________________________

 

All donations,
large and small,
are greatly appreciated by
NAMI California and help
us achieve
our mission
at the state level.
_______________________
state-advocacy-2013

This educational newsletter is supported, in part, by an educational grant from Lilly USA, LLC.  For further information concerning Lilly grant funding visit www.lillygrantoffice.com.