National Alliance on Mental Illness Updates

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Champlain Valley was started by Betty Conway in 1989. She served as the chapter’s President for 12 years. In 2002, we incorporated and applied for our 501(c)(3). Today, over 80 individuals/families are Friends and 50 individuals/families are Members of our chapter. Two grants from the Clinton County Community Services Board—one for peer advocacy and the other for parent respite reimbursement services—have enabled us to open an office and hire staff.

While NAMI: CV’s basic organizational philosophy is identical to that of our state and national organizations (a three-fold emphasis on mental health education, advocacy, and support), our chapter has some unique aspects and issues as well.
Our Board of Directors is composed of a majority of consumers, many of whom are also the parents or relatives of a consumer or consumers. We are specifically concerned with the mental health needs of the rural north country. We know that geographic isolation exacerbates the problems that consumers and families face. Education and support for consumers and family members is generally lacking in our region. Through our programs and outreach efforts, we attempt to provide this education in various formats: large groups, small groups, and one-on-one. In addition, we believe that there is a need for more mental health care professionals—particularly psychiatrists—and for more treatment choices for consumers and their families. We work for both improved and increased mental health services in our area, especially for services that focus on recovery and empowerment.

Opening our own office has been a dream come true. Our goal has been to create a place where consumers and family members feel welcome. The old medical laboratory that members and friends have helped to rehab over the past two months has turned out to be perfect for our needs. We have a family room, conference room, classroom, kitchen, library, and two small offices. Almost all of the office furnishings have been donated, maximizing our use of grant monies for services and resources.

We’ve come a long way in 12 years. Stop by our office at 14 Healey Avenue, Suite D, in Plattsburgh. You can browse through our library of 186 books and 25 videos, pick up a free brochure, or enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in our family room.

What We Do

We--the members of NAMI: Champlain Valley--determine the organization's activities and programs. In general, we sponsor and participate in:

Educational Programs.
We convene FREE monthly meetings to provide educational information to each other and to discuss continuing and emerging mental health care needs in the community. Our educational meetings are usually held on the fourth Thursday of each month at 7 PM at our offices.

Support Groups.
We offer FREE ongoing support to families and consumers. Our support groups are usually held on the second Thursday of each month at 7 PM in our offices. Family-to-Family, a 12-week education program, is available to family members.

WRAP-Wellness Recovery Action Planning-is available to consumers.
Advocacy. We work at the local, state, and national levels to improve our mental health care system and to guarantee adequate funding for research and services. We provide FREE advocacy services to consumers as well as to the parents of children with mental illnesses or serious emotional disturbances.

Volunteering. We give freely of our time to support families and consumers afflicted by mental illness and to monitor the quality of local services.

Meet the Staff

Amanda Bulris is NAMI: CV's Executive Director as well as Peer Advocate/Educator.

You can read more about our services for parents of children with mental illnesses on page 3 and our services for consumers on page 4 in this newsletter. For peer advocacy services, call Amanda at 561-2685. Our services are free. We're here to serve you and to make mental health information and resources more accessible.

Parent Respite Services

A recent survey conducted by the Mental Health Subcommittee of the Clinton County Community Services Board identified a number of gaps in the children’s mental health care delivery system. At the top of the list, parents and caregivers identified an inadequate system of respite care for families of children with psychiatric, emotional, or behavioral disorders. In the present system, parents and caregivers feel isolated and alone; scheduled breaks--with adequate care for their children--would give them a chance to renew their inner resources, attend important meetings, and strengthen family relationships.

When a Coordinated Children’s Services Initiative (CCSI) grant was opened for proposals, NAMI: CV parent advocates co-wrote a Clinton County grant to fund the hiring of a Respite Services Coordinator to administer a Short-Term Planned Respite Program. The New York State Office of Mental Health selected Clinton County’s grant for funding, and NAMI: CV has subcontracted with the Clinton County Community Services Board to provide this new and much needed service.

The Short-Term Planned Respite Program will provide parents and caregivers of children with psychiatric, emotional and behavioral needs with short breaks, helping them to prevent or reduce stress. The program is flexible and can be utilized by parents or caregivers in a number of ways: 1) to spend time with a sibling or with a disabled child; 2) to help a disabled child participate in activities; 3) to assist parents with activities that involve the whole family; 4) to allow parents to attend CCSI meetings; or 5) to accompany a child to social and recreational activities.

Any family in Clinton County with a child (or children) with a psychiatric, emotional or behavioral disorder resulting in a mental health diagnosis will be eligible for Short-Term Planned Respite. The focus will be on serving those families not currently being served by any existing respite programs.

The Respite Services Coordinator, will work with each family to develop flexible and creative respite options. Participating families will be responsible for selecting a respite provider to match their individual needs (the program does not license or certify a pool of respite providers). Anna will process receipts for payments made by the families to their respite providers and ensure prompt reimbursement.

For more information about the program, call Amanda Bulris at 518-561-2685.

Family-to-Family

NAMI: CV just completed its first Family-to-Family Education Program for 16 family members of close relatives with bipolar disorder (manic depression), major depression, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and co-occurring brain disorders and addictive disorders. Family-to-Family, a series of 12 weekly classes structured to help family members understand and support their ill relative while maintaining their own well being, is taught by a team of trained volunteer family members who knows what it’s like to have a loved one with a serious mental illness in the family. More than 75,000 family members in the U.S. and Canada have completed this course. There is no cost to participate in the program.

If you are interested in participating in NAMI: CV’s next Family-to-Family course, please call 561-2685 and ask to have your name added to the waiting list. We expect to offer the course in the spring or fall of 2003.

Wellness Recovery Action Planning

WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Planning) was developed by Mary Ellen Copeland (MS, MA) as an educational curriculum which complements, but does not replace other mental health protocols. WRAP is a 12-week workshop for people who experience psychiatric symptoms and for those who care about them, including health care professionals, family members, supporters, and friends. The WRAP course allows people to work together in a facilitated small group to prepare a customized plan for daily living as well as for taking preventive action early. Empowerment and responsibility are emphasized. A "toolbox" of wellness skills is introduced and then expanded from the group's experiences. Examples from the "toolbox" are developing and keeping support systems, peer counseling, and changing negative thoughts to positive ones.

The facilitator, Barbara Copeland Perry (MS), is a recovering person and certified mental health educator. WRAP is co-sponsored by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill: Champlain Valley and the Mental Health Association (a program component of Behavioral Health Services North--www.bhsn.org).

A new WRAP workshop will be offered in the NAMI:CV classroom at 14 Healey Avenue in Plattsburgh beginning Monday, March 3, 2003 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. There is no charge, but the group is limited to 12 participants and pre-registration prior to February 28, 2003 is required. Please phone 643-8822 to sign up or ask for further information.

Peer Advocacy: A New Initiative

Finding your way through the maze of social services is a difficult task for anyone. Imagine trying to make sense of these various systems in the middle of a psychotic or manic episode or while clinically depressed.

The primary purposes of NAMI: CV’s peer advocacy program are:

· to assist consumers in resolving complaints with the human service system and/or support services,

· to protect the rights of consumers,

· to promote empowerment and recovery, and

· to educate consumers about available services.

Amanda Bulris, NAMI: CV’s Peer Advocate/Educator, will help the consumer determine exactly what kind of assistance is needed and the type and extent of involvement that s/he wants from the Peer Advocate/Educator. Such requested assistance may take many forms:

· Helping the consumer define the problem and some possible solutions/strategies for addressing it;

· Accompanying the consumer to meetings, hearings, appointments, etc.;

· Working with providers of mental health services or community agencies;

· Assisting the consumer with accessing, understanding, and completing paperwork;

· Helping the consumer access and review mental health or other records;

· Working with the consumer to resolve immediate life problems—food, housing, bills, legal issues, etc.; and

· Providing one-on-one support, skill training, and encouragement.

NAMI: CV’s advocacy program will go beyond offering one-on-one assistance. Educational services and support programming—such as the WRAP class outlined on the last page of this newsletter—will be provided as well. A more knowledgeable consumer population will be more capable of advocating for themselves as well as for each other collectively. Consumers need to be informed of their legal, medical, and political rights; understand their treatment plans; know their treatment and service options; and be in control of their own health care. Such large-scale educational programming serves to empower consumers and acts as a preventative strategy, reducing the number of cases that will require intervention. In addition, support groups that focus on the particular needs or identities of a consumer group (individuals with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, mentally ill substance abusers, parents with mental illness, young people with mental illness, individuals working on recovery, etc.) will be key in building a supportive community of consumers who can work together and advocate for change.

NAMI: CV’s peer advocate program will also address problems in the mental health care and social services systems by collecting and analyzing the types of complaints that require peer advocacy services and then working to eliminate those problems. Information will be collected through surveys, interviews, focus groups, informal discussions at drop-in centers/programs, etc. The Peer Advocate/Educator will also be involved in groups and task forces that are meeting to address the problems of consumers.

If you need peer advocacy services or want to know more about support groups and programs, call Amanda Bulris at 561-2685 or stop by our offices at 14 Healey Ave., Suite D, in Plattsburgh.

NAMI: CV 2009 Calendar

Join us for these regularly scheduled NAMI: CV meetings. Support group meetings for both consumers and family members are held on the second Thursday of each. The fourth Thursday of each month features an educational program that is open to consumers, family members, professionals, and interested individuals. All NAMI: CV programs and meetings are FREE and held at our offices (unless otherwise specified) at 14 Healey Ave., Ste. D, Plattsburgh.
For information, call us at 561-2685.