NAMI MC September/October 2014

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014
newsletter
The County’s Voice
on Mental Illness
11718 Parklawn Drive Rockville, MD 20852
301-949-5852 | www.namimc.org
INSIDE THE ISSUE
15th Annual
Heroes Celebration
honoring
Virginia State Senator
Creigh Deeds
Cover Story
1
NAMI Programs/
Letter from ED
2
Calendar
3
Cover Story, Cont’d
4
Photo Page
6
Essay by Susan Kornspan/
Meet the Iterns!
7
Doreen Gentzler,
NBC 4 anchor
NAMI Thrift Shop
8
Wayne Fenton Memorial Award
presented to Dr. Lance Clawson
"Changing Minds"
Mental Health Public
Awareness Campaign
to our newsletter donors this
month, Trevor & Genevieve
Albuquerque. We couldn’t do
what we do without you!
Buy your
tickets today!
www.namimc.org/heroes
November 7, 2014
at the
Special Thanks
Bethesda Marriott
on Pooks Hill Road
on
NAMI MC’s Ending the Silence Coordinator Shares Her Story, Ends the Silence: By Megan Pauly
In 2013, Kenya Sesay’s scholarship advisor through the Hillman Entrepreneurship Scholarship mentioned NAMI to her. She thought it might
be a good fit for an internship that would allow her to apply her entrepreneurial skills to NAMI MC programs. And so Sesay’s journey with NAMI
MC began, as she started an internship with NAMI MC in August 2013.
During her internship, Kenya started “NAMI On Campus” at Montgomery College and started hosting meetings twice a month to allow students
an outlet to speak about mental illness. (story cont’d on pg. 4)
NAMI Program List: Ever Expanding!
For General Public Awareness:
General Education Meetings - presentation
Awareness in the Workplace - presentation/class
In Our Own Voice - presentation
Newsletter
For Family Members of Individuals Living with Mental Illness:
Family-to-Family - 12 session class
Family Support Groups
For Individuals Living with Mental Illness:
Peer-to-Peer - 10 session class
Connection Recovery Support Groups
For Parents & Teachers of Children & Adolescents:
NAMI Basics - 6 session class
Parents and Teachers as Allies - presentation
For Adolescents:
Ending the Silence - presentation
Sources of Strength - in school support program - Coming Soon!
For Young Adults:
NAMI on campus - club
For Family & Friends & Caregivers of Seniors:
Side by Side - series/class - Coming Soon!
For Family & Caregivers of Veterans or Service Members:
NAMI Homefront - 6 session class
For Veterans Living with Mental Illness:
Connection Recovery Support Group
For Police:
CIT Training - presentation
For Mental Health Care Providers:
Provider Education - 5 session class - Coming Soon!
For Spanish Speaking Communities:
Compartiendo Esperanza - presentation
En Nuestra Propia Voz - presentation - Coming Soon!
Padres y Maestros Como Aliados - presentation
Familia-a-Familia - 12 session class
Persona-a-Persona - 10 session class - Coming Soon!
Bases y Fundamentos - 6 session class
Grupos de Apoyo
For African American Communities:
Sharing Hope - presentation
For Faith Based Communities:
Sharing Hope - presentation
Compartiendo Esperanza - presentation
Advocacy:
Smarts for Advocacy - workshop - Coming Soon!
Ambassadors Training - workshop - Coming Soon!
What’s New with NAMI MC & What’s to Come Soon
From the NAMI MC Executive Director
Dear NAMI MC Members,
We’ve had an extremely busy and
productive summer at NAMI MC and
are sure that the momentum we’ve built
up will continue into the fall months
ahead. We’re busy setting up Ending
the Silence presentations in middle
schools and high schools as the new
school year begins. We also attended
the NAMI National convention in
Washington, D.C. in early September
and were inspired to continue to
strive to achieve our mission after
many informative sessions about
programming, policy and the future of
mental health research.
We welcomed a slew of wonderful summer interns who have since
gone back to school. Jenna Kress, daughter of board member
Mimi Kress, was instrumental in helping plan for our Latino Mental
Health Networking Breakfast among other outreach events. She is
a sophomore majoring in social work at the University of Georgia.
Michelle Markowitz came to us during the summer before her senior
year at the University of Rochester. She previously interned for an
evidence-based suicide-prevention program called Sources of Strength
and introduced this wonderful program to us. Janie Gelfond was our
third intern of the summer and helped Michelle update the NAMI
MC resource book and helped in the beginning planning stages of
our Heroes gala. She is now beginning her freshman year at Tulane
University in New Orleans where she plans to major in psychology
and get involved with NAMI New Orleans. Ethan Ulanow, son of board
member Les Ulanow, joined us late in the summer and was vital to our
whole office update from Windows XP to Windows 7. Ethan attends
American University and is studying psychology.
On the last day of her internship, Janie sent us an e-mail that one
of her friends from Wootton High School died by suicide. This news
was deeply saddening and disturbing to us, as it was just one more
reminder of how desperately needed suicide prevention programs like
Ending the Silence and Sources of Strength are in our community.
This is why we have decided to partner with Sources of Strength to
bring their evidence-based suicide prevention program to Montgomery
County Public Schools. Funds raised from this year’s Heroes Gala,
honoring Virginia Senator Creigh Deeds, will go towards implementing
this program in our schools! Get your tickets now for NAMI MC Heroes
at www.namimc.org/heroes!
Please also see page 7 for bios of our current fall interns from the
University of Maryland! They’ve been working hard and learning a lot.
And thanks to all of our dedicated volunteers, board members and
general members who have all contributed to our mission in their own
unique ways. We couldn’t do what we do without you.
Sincerely,
october 2014
Please visit www.namimc.org for calendar updates!
SUNDAY
5
MONDAY
6
TUESDAY
7
7:00 pm NAMI
Connection @ MedStar
Montgomery Medical
Center
4:00 pm
Family-to-Family @
NAMI MC Office
WEDNESDAY 8
2:30 pm Family
Support Group @
Rockville Uniterian
Universalist Church
THURSDAY
9
7:30 pm General
Education meeting @
NAMI MC Office
FRIDAY
10
7:00 pm Family
Support Group @ St.
James Episcopal
Church
7:00 pm
Family-to-Family @
Family Services, Inc.
12
13
19
20
14
15
21
16
9:30 am Family
Support Group @
MedStar Mont. Med
Center
7:00 pm NAMI
Connection @ Adult
Behavioral Health
Program Building
22
17
18
8:00 am FRI and SAT
NAMI MD Annual Conference @ Sheppard Pratt
7:00 pm Grupo de
Apoyo Familiar en
Espanol @ NAMI MC
Office
7:00 pm Spouse
Support Group @ NAMI
MC office
23
24
25
3:00 pm NAMI
Connection @ Silver
Spring Wellness &
Recovery Center
7:00 pm NAMI
Connection @ MedStar
Montgomery Medical
Center
4:00 pm
Family-to-Family
@ NAMI MC Office
11
3:00 pm NAMI
Connection @ Silver
Spring Wellness Center
7:00 pm NAMI
Connection @ NAMI
MC Office
4:00 pm
Family-to-Family
@ NAMI MC Office
SATURDAY
7:00 pm Peer-to-Peer
@ NAMI MC Office
26
4:00 pm
Family-to-Family
@ NAMI MC Office
27
7:00 pm Peer-to-Peer
@ NAMI MC Office
28
29
30
7:00 pm NAMI
Connection @ NAMI
MC Office
31
Thrift Shop: Bag sale!
$15 for a bag full of
clothes
1
10:30 am Family
Support Group @ NAMI
MC Office
7:00 pm
Family-to-Family @ Blair
High School
Save the Date: Nov 7th Heroes Celebration
Save the Date: Oct 9th General Education Meeting – Youth Transitional Services
Save the Date: Nov 13th General Education Meeting – Ptsd Research
**TELL YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND CO-WORKERS TO REGISTER NOW!**
Peer-to-Peer starting Oct 20th email [email protected]
Family-to-Family starting Oct 28th email [email protected]
NAMI MC’s Ending the Silence Coordinator Shares Her Story, Ends the Silence (cont’d from cover)
By Megan Pauly
NAMI MC Young Adult Program Coordinator Kenya Sesay is pictured while working hard on the Ending the Silence program.
In March of 2014, Kenya became a part-time staff member to help
launch NAMI MC’s first Ending the Silence presentation at Blair
High School. NAMI MC’s Ending the Silence program is the first in
Maryland. The program was developed by NAMI DuPage County in
Illinois in 2007 and was just adopted by NAMI National last year.
personal experience being bullied in high school.
Ending the Silence is an in-school presentation about mental health
designed for high school students. The fifty-minute presentation
is designed to be implemented in a freshman/sophomore health,
science or psychology class and is provided free of charge. The
presentation is also led by a team of trained presenters including
a young adult living in recovery from mental illness and includes
presenter stories, educational slides, videos and discussion.
Students take away from the presentation a list of symptoms/
warning signs of mental illness as well as recovery and coping
strategies, recommendations on how to help a friend who is
experiencing mental health problems and cards with contact
information for mental health agencies.
“Why give her the opportunity to continue to bully me?” Sesay said.
“It was easier to hide than to face her.”
“People are just now starting to get it,” Sesay said.
Sesay finally contacted her school principal. However, the school
was slow to take action. Eventually, her bully did apologize. But
this still left Sesay feeling unsatisfied. She described the event as
“bittersweet.”
(story cont’d on page 5)
Translating personal experience to a professional platform
Sesay could definitely relate to the students because of her own
“It’s hard to get picked on and try to deal with that myself,” Sesay
said. Sesay said that during her lunch period she would run to get
her lunch and then run to her next class.
And it wasn’t just getting “picked on.” Sesay was taunted, called
names, pushed, shoved and had false rumors started about her. But
eventually – after a year of being bullied - Sesay gathered up the
courage to tell her mom what was going on.
“I learned how to put on the front of being happy around family; I
didn’t want them to know that something was wrong. My parents
thought I was just a normal grumpy teenager and it took courage to
tell my mom about the bullying,” Sesay said.
“I wanted to know why and she didn’t have a reason,” Sesay said.
Although the experience was a rough one for Sesay – and even led
to suicidal ideations – she has been able to stay strong for others,
like her sister.
“Anytime my sister has problems she comes to me first,” Sesay said.
Sesay is now able to transfer her personal experience to her
professional life, continuing to coordinate outreach events in middle
schools, high schools and colleges.
“I know kids get bullied even at the college level,” Sesay said.
“People are still figuring out what mental health means to them.
They’re skeptical, they don’t want to be labeled.”
Sesay has seen amazing results from the program. She receives
evaluations after each presentation.
“One girl said she’s going to tell her counselor her friend was going
to kill herself,” Sesaid said. “It’s really great for me to hear that now
there’s going to be a difference made.”
But Sesay is always open to suggestions to help make the
programs better.
“Students are my biggest critic. If they don’t like it, I’m not doing a
good job,” Sesay said.
‘A healing process’
Sesay said it’s even been a healing process for Ending the Silence
presenters to share their stories.
“It’s their way of giving back,” Sesay said. “If they can make a small
difference they’re happy.”
Last fall Sesay planned presentations in Blair High School, Sherwood
High School, Northwest High School, Seneca Valley High School,
Clarksburg High School, Poolesville High School and Westland
Middle School. There are many more planned for this fall.
The program currently has 22 volunteer presenters, but Sesay is
always on the lookout for others who might be interested. She’s
looking to have 50 trained Ending the Silence presenters by this
next June.
Even though Sesay has been through her own tough times, Sesay is
working hard on finishing her Bachelor of Science in Psychology with
a minor in Entrepreneurship from the University of Maryland. She
wants to eventually attain a PhD in Forensic Psychology.
“I don’t want to give up ending the silence,” Sesay said.
Sesay is inspired by her mother, who works many jobs.
“If she can do it, I can,” Sesay said. Sesay attributes much of her
recovery to her parents, who always had her back and helped her to
get the help she needed every step of the way.
Sesay said she even began attending individual and group therapy
sessions on her road to recovery and said that even though it was
hard to talk about her own problems she said it was helpful to
hear the stories of others as well, and she even made a friend in
the group.
She said these therapy sessions gave her all of the coping skills
she needed to pass on information of how to get help to others who
might need it.
“Now I know how to talk about my experience,” Sesay said. “It’s
important to not feel alone and know that it’s never as bad as you
think it is.”
To read Kenya’s advice about how to talk to kids and teens about
mental illness in U.S. News and World Report, go to this link:
http://bit.ly/1ypykIv
To read about Ending the Silence in The Gazette, go to this link:
http://bit.ly/1yr1qal
NAMI EN ESPAÑOL
¿Necesita apoyo para una enfermedad mental, como
ansiedad o depresión?
¿Tiene un familiar que padece de una enfermedad
mental?
Ofrecemos clases gratuitas de 6 semanas. para padres de
hijos menores de 18 años que padecen de enfermedades
mentales.
Además, ofrecemos clases gratuitas para familiares de
adultos con enfermedades mentales.
También, tenemos presentaciones educativas para
iglesias, escuelas y colegios--para audiencias de padres,
maestros, y estudiantes.
Finalmente, tenemos un grupo activo para todos, el tercer
viernes de cada mes, de las 6:30pm-8:30pm en la oficina
de NAMI: 11718 Parklawn Drive, Rockville, MD 20852.
No hay que inscribirse por este grupo, y ¡es gratuito!
¡Estamos expandiendo nuestros programas en espanol!
Con más interés, podemos ofrecer aún mas programas.
Si le interesa inscibirse para una clase, grupo, o
presentación, ¡por favor contáctenos!
Para más información:
Elyssa Diamond 301-949-5852 x103
[email protected]
Edith Salazar 301-949-5852 x112
[email protected]
Ending the Silence
Meet the NAMI MC Interns!
By Susan Kornspan
Do you know what makes me so enthusiastic now? NAMI’s
Ending the Silence program! Oh, how I wish this had been
available to me! In my case, I had trouble adjusting from middle
school onward. Anxiety exploded inside me while trying to
interact with 240 kids and 7 teachers. Ultimately, I was bullied.
My stomach was always upset but I feared being beaten up if I
used school bathrooms. I had exhausting nightmares for years.
By high school, I was so depressed that I prayed to God to let
me die in my sleep. One teacher told me I needed help but I
just stared at him, too numb to argue, without knowing how to
get treatment. I stopped talking to a favorite teacher, hoping
she would notice my pain and connect me with free school
resources. Instead, she threatened to contact my parents, who
had already told me, without understanding my problems, to
just grow up. I resumed talking only superficially to this teacher.
After high school, I moved away to college. Within a month, it
felt like my depression was drowning me. I couldn’t concentrate
on homework and slept, rather than studied, in the library. I
started having thoughts that the world was ending. Somehow,
I finished that miserable year, however, I came back home
to attend community college. Suicidal feelings and psychotic
thoughts assaulted me day and night so I barricaded myself in
my bedroom. Finally, my treatment journey began.
Recently, I decided it was time to talk calmly, and without
blaming, to my father about my early symptoms. He listened
thoughtfully, and then asked why I didn’t confide in him that I
was so depressed.It thrilled me to know that he cared so much.
The Ending the Silence program has the potential to bring
affected students earlier into treatment, cause less disruption
in their lives, and prevent suicide attempts. Your suffering is real
but preventable. With treatment, you can have a brighter, more
hopeful future.
We're looking for volunteers for Ending the Silence.
Please e-mail [email protected] if you're interested!
Cynthia Osemene is a senior at the University
of Maryland, College Park majoring in
Psychology and Community Health. On
campus, she volunteered as a counselor
for the UMD Help Center, a peer counseling
and crisis intervention hotline. As a full-time
Program Coordinator Intern at NAMI MC
she helps coordinate the Family-to-Family
class and Family Support Group in addition
to assisting with our various social media
campaigns. She understands the importance
of mental health advocacy and awareness and
is excited to be part of the NAMI MC team.
Julianne Grothe is a senior at the University
of Maryland, College Park majoring in
Behavioral and Community Health. As a
full-time Program Coordinator Intern at NAMI
MC she is responsible for managing the
Peer-to-Peer class, writing blog posts about
various topics discussed at General Education
Meeting, and managing some of NAMI MC’s
social media accounts. Due to personal
experience with mental illness herself,
Julianne is passionate about helping others
find the treatment they need and know that
recovery is possible.
Fatima Conteh, originally from Sierra Leone,
is a student at Montgomery College majoring
in general studies with a concentration in
Psychology and Social Work. In addition to
her work with NAMI MC, she is employed at
MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital and
has a background working with individuals
with autism and has served as a tutor working
with underprivileged youth in the Gaithersburg
area. Fatima has a passion for helping others
and is excited to join the NAMI MC team.
Enjoy the Volunteer Experience!
On September 21, NAMI MC volunteers and office staff gathered for an afternoon out at SPAGnVOLA Chocolatier in the Kentlands
for a Truffle Factory Tour. Those in attendance learned about handcrafting chocolate; highlighting the origin of cacao, growing
regions and SPAGnVOLA’s farming practices. During the tour, we experienced their entire manufacturing process, from roasting,
winnowing, pre-grinding and refining, providing a rewarding experience. At the end of the tour, each of us received a taste of
SPAGnVOLA’s AMAZING blueberry bonbon. It was a great bonding experience for all involved!
[Photos on opposite page] Center: Edith Salazar (Latino Program Coordinator) with the “Obamas” at NAMI Convention. Clockwise from upper right: NAMI MC staff
celebrating a great Convention, Former Congressman Patrick Kennedy with Stephanie Joseph (Office Administrator), NBC 4 reporter Shomari Stone making a donation to
Miriam Christenson (Thrift Shop Manager), Stephanie Rosen (Executive Director) at NBC 4 Changing Minds Town Hall, Nicole Lucas (Director of Programs) giving a Sharing
Hope presentation, NAMI MC volunteers getting a chocolate making tour at SPAGnVOLA, Stephanie Rosen on Let’s Talk Live.
NON-PROFIT ORG.
US POSTAGE PAID
PERMIT NO. 3818
SILVER SPRING, MD
11718 Parklawn Drive
Rockville, MD 20852
Phone: (301) 949 - 5852
Helpline: (301) 949 - 9630
[email protected]
www.namimc.org
United Way #8687
CFC #27615
THRIFT SHOP
(301) 949 - 5731
Shop NAMI MC Thrift Shop!
When you donate or shop at the NAMI MC Thrift
Shop you are supporting the programs and mission
of NAMI MC. All of our programs are free to our
community. Support our thrift shop! It supports us!
Donations Accepted
Monday- Saturday 11 AM- 5 PM
Shop Hours
Monday- Saturday 11 AM- 6 PM
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Help NAMI MC Go Green!
TO STOP RECEIVING A HARDCOPY AND GET A DIGITAL COPY OF THE NEWSLETTER
CONTACT [email protected]
THRIFT SHOP
Donate. Shop. Do Good. Repeat.
Find all of your fall fashions at the NAMI MC thrift store, and don't forget to
start stocking up on holiday decorations!
Gil Knight (President)
Les Ulanow (Treasurer)
Josh Wooldridge (Secretary)
Bernard Raiche
Mimi Kress
Nancy Wolf
Michael Murray
Holly Funger - Welcome!
STAFF
Stephanie Rosen, Executive Director
Stephanie Joseph, Office Administrator
Megan Pauly, Communications Director
Nicole Lucas, Director of Programs
Elyssa Diamond, Latino/Youth/Advocacy
Program Coordinator
Edith Salazar, Latino Program Coordinator
Kenya Sesay, Young Adult Program
Coordinator
Miriam Christenson, Thrift Shop Manager
Becky Hosselrode, Thrift Shop Executive
Assistant & Bookkeeper
**The NAMI MC Thrift Shop is also currently looking for volunteers. If you're
interested, please e-mail [email protected].**
STORE HOURS
M-Sat: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sunday: Closed
DONATION HOURS
M-Sat: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday: No donations accepted
When you donate or shop at the NAMI MC Thrift Shop you are supporting the programs and mission
of NAMI MC. All of our programs are free to our community. Support our thrift shop! It supports us!
301-949-5731 | [email protected] |
etsy.com/shop/ThriftShopNAMI