NAMI News: February 2020
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Planning has begun for our Annual Beautiful Minds Walk which will be held in Mission Plaza this year on May 2, 2020 from 8:30 to Noon. Now is the time to start forming your fundraising teams in honor of your loved ones who struggle. This downtown location will give us much more visibility to get our message out. THERE IS NO HEALTH WITHOUT MENTAL HEALTH! Please contact me if you would like to participate on the planning team. The more people helping, the more fun we will have!
Our Family to Family Coordinator, Henry Herrera has scheduled two Family to Family Classes which will begin soon. The SLO Class will begin on February 12th, led by Betsy and Glenna. The Paso Robles class will begin on February 19th led by Diana and Aurora. Please spread the word and call Henry at 805-440-3516 if you know someone who would benefit from taking the class.
Madeleine Johnson is bringing on two new Family Support Group Leaders for the San Luis Obispo and Arroyo Grande groups. John Klimala will be taking over the Arroyo Grande group which meets on the third Saturday of each month from 10:00 to 11:30 A.M. at Safe Haven, 203 Bridge Street. The San Luis Obispo group will be led by Linda Cohen. It will continue to meet on the 4th Tuesday of the month from 5:30 to 6:45 P.M., just before our NAMI General Meeting. Madeleine is looking forward to retiring after many years of service and we thank her for her dedication and gift of her time and talent to our NAMI SLOCO families.
The City of Morro Bay is resuming its Farmer’s Market on Saturday afternoons from 2 to 6 P.M. and we are looking for people who would like to represent NAMI San Luis Obispo County at our Resource Table. Please let me know if you are interested.
Heidi Bezaire, our fabulous Librarian, is leaving the position after several years to take care of her own mental health. We thank her for bringing our collection of mental health titles out of our storage shed and into the Parents Helping Parents Library for everyone to enjoy. We are looking for someone who loves books to take over for Heidi. Please call me for further information.
The largest Sheriff’s Crisis Intervention Academy so far was held beginning on February 3, 2020 with 60 law enforcement personnel in attendance. NAMI SLOCO is privileged to kick off the Academy with Martha Bess sharing what it is like to have a loved one who struggles. Danielle Friedrich shared the lived experience and I gave the NAMI SLOCO overview including all the resources we can provide for families. We end the session with a very powerful exercise that demonstrates what it is like to navigate life while hearing voices. Over 360 law enforcement personnel have been CIT trained in our community so far and the difference in the way they interact with our loved ones really shows. It is great to know that our NAMI SLOCO Brochure is part of their resource kits.
I hope to see you all at our General Meeting on February 25th at 7:00 P.M. in the Boysten Room at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. I know Trista will give an excellent presentation.
Cheers!
Pam Zweifel
President, NAMI SLO County
Click here for the February 2020 Newsletter from NAMI SLO County