AlanMcDaniel77
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National Alliance on Mental Illness - 2009/09/06 12:58
Hello Fellow Dragons!
Just wanted to bring some stuff to your attention. As many of you know, I work with the National Alliance on Mental Illness because of my passionate desire to improve the lives of those with a mental illness and their families.
Mental illness is still, sadly, a taboo subject to discuss for too many people. It is nothing more than a very serious illness, not unlike heart disease, cancer, diabetes or so many others. The big problem is that there is this nasty stigma and a huge lack of education about the subject.
That's where NAMI (sounds like mommy with an N) comes in. We are the largest grass roots organization in the country, and now in Canada, dedicated to improving the lives of the individuals and families dealing with the illnesses. In raw numbers, 1 in 4 adults will deal with a serious mental illness at some point.
NAMI provides support, education and advocacy for all in hopes of improving the situation.
You may not know how bad the mental healthcare situation is in Georgia, but it is really bad. Every two years NAMI grades the states. The last two times, Georgia has gotten a grade of D. There was a series of articles, called "A Hidden Shame", in the AJC back in 2008 that chronicled and detailed the abuses in the state run mental hospitals over a 5 year period. Countless physical and mental abuses and 113 unexplained deaths. The rate of these deaths and abuses has slowed but does continue. Just last week, September of 2009, a young main hung himself in his room in one of these hospitals.
NAMI Georgia has been instrumental in forcing change in Georgia of late. We urged the US Department of Justice to come and investigate the hospitals based on what the AJC reports found. The DOJ was not and still is not happy. They laid the law down for the Governor and told him and his staff what HAD to happen and that if it did not, the DOJ is prepared to take over the hospitals. While that may be good for the hospitals and the people, it is just not good for the state government as it comes with large fines, terminations, etc. The best approach is for the state to fix it, the right way, now.
The state is now seeking the help of NAMI to understand and to get it right. Long time overdue!
Check out what NAMI is about at any of these websites:
www.nami.org (the national site)
www.namiga.org (the state site)
www.namigwinnett.org (Gwinnett affiliate site)
We have an upcoming signature class for family members and loved ones of a person or persons dealing with a mental illness. The class is called Family to Family and will be held in Loganville starting Monday evening, September 14th.
If you are interested in that, check this out and register soon.
Loganville (Gwinnett/Walton) Open
Class starts: Sept 14, 2009
Mondays 7:00 - 9:30 PM
Dream Center of Walton & Gwinnett
109 Lee Byrd Rd
Loganville, GA 30052
Contacts:
Brenda Vinson
678-231-6263
bvquilts@bellsouth.net
Jean Dervan
770-234-0855
jdervan@nami.org
(An ad for this class is in the Walton Tribune today (09/06))
We are a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization and as such, we have to hold fundraisers to survive and keep doing what we do.
Our largest fundraiser is the NAMI Walks for the Mind of America. Held this year on Saturday, October 3 at Tribble Mill Park in Lawrenceville, Ga.
To join us, check this link out (be sure to join a Gwinnett team so we get 40% of the funds raised)
www.namiga.org/NGA-Walk.htm
If you would like to support me in the walk that would be greatly appreciated.
www.nami.org/namiwalks09/GEO/alan
If you have any questions or comments about NAMI or mental illness, don't hesitate to let me know. I will do all I can to help!
Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for your help!
Special thanks go out to Jimmy Fleming for securing a $250.00 walk sponsorship from Vulcan Materials and to Jay Clingman for his generous donation of a silent auction item!
We couldn't do it without gifts like this and great people like you!
Alan McDaniel
678-773-0496
alanmcdaniel@bellsouth.net
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