and advocacy. January 2015 News Volume 7, Issue 1

Transcription

Our mission is to improve the
quality of life of those persons
affected by acute and chronic
brain disorders through
support,, education,
and advocacy.
January 2015 News
You Are Needed at NAMI Day
in Olympia on January 19!
Schedule
9:00-9:30 a.m.
Arrival and continental breakfast
9:30-10:30 a.m.
NAMI's 2015 Legislative Priorities
Tips for meeting with your legislators
Volume 7, Issue 1
CONTACT INFORMATION
Office hours: (call or email)
Phone: (253) 854-6264
Address: 515 W. Harrison St., Suite 215
Kent, WA 98032-4403
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.NAMIskc.org
Twitter:
10:30-11:30 a.m. NAMI WA Open Board Meeting
11:30 a.m.
Legislative Visits Begin
Come and share your story with our legislators. Please
RSVP to Dorina at [email protected] or NAMI South
King County office at [email protected] that you
are planning to attend. This will help us prepare the
correct number of information packets for attendees
and for legislators, and will also help the NAMI
Thurston/Mason Affiliate plan for food.
MEETINGS
Connection and Recovery Support Group for adults living
with mental illness, offering a casual and relaxed approach
to sharing the challenges and successes of coping with
mental illness: 6:30 to 8 p.m. every Thursday in Kent
Family and Friends Support Group for family
members/loved ones of someone living with a mental
illness: 6:30 to 8 p.m. every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the
month in Kent
Board meeting begins at 8:10 p.m. every 2nd Tuesday
of the month in Kent
Monthly Forum Speaker begins at 8:10 p.m. every 4th
Tuesday of the month in Kent
Also in this issue:
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Upcoming Events
NAMI Washington State 2015 Legislative Agenda
NAMI National Advocacy Update
The Cost of Not Caring
NAMI Membership
Find us at this website link and like us to join our page:
https://www.facebook.com/namiskc
Or befriend us at
https://www.facebook.com/nami.southkingcountywa
We’d love to see you online!
Emergency
Crisis Clinic
Information 211
Warm Line
Ombudsman
911
24 Hour Line: (206) 461-3222
Toll Free: (866) 427-4747
TDD Line: (206) 461-3219
211
http://www.resourcehouse.info/Win211/
(877) 500-9276
(206) 205-5329
NEW RECOVERY and WELLNESS
RESOURCES FOR MILITARY VETERANS
Guest Forum Speaker
Jessica Neilson, JD, LLM, Attorney at Law
Mental Illness and Preparing for
Employment
Tuesday, January 27, 8 p.m.
More information on page 2.
Questions or comments? Send e-mail to [email protected] or call (253) 854-NAMI (253) 854-6264 or write
NAMI South King County, 515 W. Harrison St., Suite 215, Kent, WA 98032-4403.
NAMI South King County News, January 2015, Page 2 of 9
Find help, Find hope.
GUEST FORUM SPEAKER
Please join NAMI South King County for a free Speakers' Forum entitled:
Mental Illness and Preparing for Employment
by Jessica Neilson, JD, LLM, Attorney at Law
Meaningful employment is underscored in current literature as being vitally important to mental health. For those
who simply are unable to be employed, meaningful volunteer positions may also contribute to a sense of mental
wellness. Ms. Neilson will present details and activities necessary to prepare for
employment, so that job seeking may be a successful and fulfilling experience.
Ms. Neilson attended Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington, to study
English literature. She then attended law school at the University of Oregon,
graduating second in her class of 1991. Her first position was with the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the
Second Circuit in New
Date: Tuesday, January 27, 2015
York. Next, after
working for five years
Time: 8 to 9 p.m.
for litigation firms in Los
(after Family and Friends support group)
Angeles, she went to
Harvard Law School
Place: The Alliance Center
and obtained an LLM
First floor conference room
(Master's in Law)
515 W. Harrison Street
focusing on contracts and teaching. Moving back to the
Kent, WA 98032
West, she taught at University of Washington for three
years. Following, she took her current position as
(Please enter on the west end of the building
through the first floor door. The conference
Program Coordinator for the Paralegal Department at
room will be immediately ahead.)
Highline College in Burien, Washington. There she
devotes much of her time preparing individuals
for employment.
Ms. Neilson is transparent with the fact that she lives with mental illness herself. She has been diagnosed with
Bipolar Illness and PTSD since she was 22 years old while in law school. She has a real commitment to her
mental illness community. One example of this commitment is her preparing persons with mental illnesses
for employment.
All are welcome to this free presentation. We hope you will join us to learn tangible helps for employment
preparation, whether this be for yourself or a person you may know...or you may just come for general
information about this relevant topic.
For questions or comments about the Speakers' Forum, please contact NAMI South King County at
(253) 854-6264 or [email protected].
UPCOMING EVENTS
NAMI Day 2015 in Olympia, and NAMI Washington State Open Board Meeting,
January 19, First Christian Church, 701 Franklin St SE, Olympia 98507
Affiliates should schedule their own appointments for NAMI members attending NAMI Day. Please attempt to
schedule appointments to begin after 11:30 a.m. so that as many NAMI members as possible can attend the NAMI
WA Open Board Meeting. You can find members legislative districts here. Most appointments can be scheduled via an
email request, although it is often better to call the legislator's office.
Transportation to Olympia will be coordinated by your affiliate.
A light continental breakfast will be provided. Lunch may be purchased in the Legislative Building Dome Deli and the
Pritchard Library or from other places near the campus.
Training on our issues and etiquette will be provided from 9:30-10:30 a.m. in Olympia.
Please RSVP to Dorina ([email protected]) or to NAMI South King County ([email protected]) if you are
planning to attend NAMI Day. This will help us prepare the correct number of information packets for attendees and for
legislators, and will also help the NAMI Thurston/Mason Affiliate plan for breakfast.
NAMI Washington State Train-the-Trainer Program for 2015
The NAMI Washington Education Committee has announced the following NAMI Program Training schedule.
Training Dates and Locations
February 21– 22 In Our Own Voice, Kirkland
March 14 – 15 Family Support Group, Ellensburg
May 2 – 3 Connection, Kirkland
June 26 – 28 BASICS, Kirkland
July 17 – 19 Peer-to-Peer, Kirkland
September 11 – 13 Family-to-Family, Ellensburg
Guidelines for Participation in Education & Training Program:
1. All participants must be a minimum of 18 years of age.
2. All participants must be NAMI members in good standing.
3. All participants will be screened by the class Teachers who will determine if the applicant is appropriate to become
a teacher.
4. All participants commit to attending the full training. Failure to do so will result in the forfeiture of the deposit check
for that participant.
5. Completion of the full training does not guarantee participants will receive a Certificate of Completion. Skills will be
evaluated by the State Trainers who will determine if participants have learned and can exhibit the skills needed to
become teachers.
6. No guests are permitted to attend the training.
7. Hotel accommodations are for registered participants only, unless the participant is paying the extra cost for a
single room.
We thank the Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery and the state DSHS Discretionary Block Grant which
enables NAMI WA to offer these courses free to our affiliates.
For answers to any questions contact NAMI WA Education Coordinator: NAMI Washington State, 7500 Greenwood
Avenue N, Seattle WA 98103, phone (206) 783-4288, FAX (206) 783-4614, email [email protected].
(Continued on page 4)
Upcoming Events
(Continued from page 3)
NAMI Family Support Group—2nd and 4th Tuesdays 6:30 to 8 p.m. in Kent
NAMI Family Support Groups are for relatives,
caregivers, and others involved with individuals
with mental illness. The support groups are run by
local affiliates and have facilitators trained by NAMI
in order to provide a structure which encourages
full group participation. Support groups provide a caring atmosphere for individuals to share their common
experiences and assist individuals in developing the skills for understanding and the strengths needed to cope.
NAMI Connection Support Group—Thursdays 6:30 to 8 p.m. in Kent
Website: nami.org/connection Click the hyperlink to watch program video
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NAMI Connections is a recovery support group
program for adults living with mental illness.
NAMI Connections groups offer a casual and
relaxed approach to sharing the challenges
and successes of coping with mental illness.
All groups are confidential—participants can
share as much or as little personal information
as they wish.
Support groups are open to all adults with
mental illness, regardless of diagnosis.
Everyone is a valued participant.
We meet each Thursday in Kent, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Fred Meyer Community Rewards, Where Shopping and Giving Unite
Support your favorite nonprofit just by shopping at Fred Meyer with your Rewards Card. We’re donating $2.5 million each year—
up to $625,000 each quarter—to the local schools, community organizations and nonprofits of your choice. All you have to do is
link your Rewards Card and use it when you shop at Fred Meyer.
Are you a Fred Meyer customer?
You are now able to link your Rewards Card to your favorite nonprofit by following the link below.
Whenever you use your Rewards Card when shopping at Freddy’s, you will be helping that organization earn a donation from
Fred Meyer. If you do not have a Rewards Card, you can sign up for one at the Customer Service Desk of any Fred Meyer store.
Frequently Asked Questions
To support us enroll by adding NAMI South King County (organization # 82218)
to your existing rewards account.
NAMI Washington State 2015 Legislative Agenda
NAMI WA (National Alliance on Mental Illness of Washington) with our 22 affiliates advocates
that the 2015 Washington Legislature expand treatment and facilities for those with mental
health conditions. Seven percent of the US population is seriously affected by mental health
challenges. Another 20-45% need mental health care, including counseling, at some time in
our lives. We can limit or prevent the homelessness, loss of productivity in the workforce and
mental anguish brought on by depression, delusions, hallucinations, substance use and
other brain disorders by focusing on prevention and recovery and not just crisis intervention.
The 2014 investments of $23 million for specialized crisis services, $28 million to implement changes that broaden the criteria for
commitment under the state’s involuntary treatment act, and $863,000 requiring the use of Evidence Based Practices and the creation
of performance measures for service organizations are steps towards building a more comprehensive mental health system.
There is more to do. Community hospital adult admissions in our state are up 117%, more than double since 2007; meanwhile,
expenditures on mental health care grew only 28% during the same period. Six percent of those with a mental health condition are
homeless or in jail. Washington also ranks next to the bottom in the percentage of affected individuals who are employed at 8.6%.
Medicaid, not the state, funds 70% of our publicly funded mental health clinics. We must invest in more specialized care for children and
young adults too, where mental health challenges threaten to derail their hopes and likelihoods of achieving self-sufficiency as
productive citizens. Lamentably, Washington spends 40% below the average of other states per capita in mental health care.
PRIORITIES
1. NAMI advocates care to be readily permitted by changing the current “imminent” standard for involuntarily committing patients
for hospitalization with a “substantial” likelihood of serious harm to others, self or grave disability. (The proposed revision would be
to R.C.W. 71.05.153) Enabling early emergency treatment can prevent life-threatening danger or further loss of mental capacity
during a crisis.
Concomitantly, NAMI advocates Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) as a last resort to prevent hospitalization. AOT provides a
less restrictive alternative to civil commitment for inpatient care. Those eligible for AOT, and needing emergent crisis care, will be
required to adhere to medication within daily or weekly treatment programs within 3 or 6 month segments of time. AOT meets the
intent and policy statements of R.C.W. 71.24.01.
2. NAMI advocates increasing access to fully-fund PEER-infused Crisis Stabilization Units/Triage Centers. State credentialed PEER
Specialists are effective, empathetic mentors, who frequently have creditability with those in crisis. They can inspire critical steps
toward recovery. They can inspire adherence to medical advice which helps individuals avoid criminal prosecution. According to the
National Treatment Advocacy Center, prisons and jails have become America’s “new asylums” in the wake of continued
deinstitutionalization, closure of hospital beds, without adequate community-based mental health care. In fact, the number of
individuals with serious mental illness in prisons and jails now exceeds the number in state psychiatric hospitals by tenfold. (For
example, similar to our penal institutions, 40% of those confined on Rikers Island (NYC) have a diagnosed mental health condition.)
3. NAMI advocates increasing funding for non-crisis community-based mental health services, including the necessary resources to
serve those in crisis. In August, 2014, the Washington Supreme Court banned the use of “psychiatric boarding” or holding patients
involuntarily in emergency rooms or other acute care facilities because of a lack of available beds in certified psychiatric treatment
programs. This situation, where even patients from Port Townsend have been sent to residential treatment facilities in Yakima,
needs correction. Until more community-based treatment facilities, including beds, are constructed NAMI advocates reopening
wards at Western State Hospital for 90 patients.
(Source: www.namiwa.org )
NAMI National Advocacy Update, December 19, 2014
Congressional Budget Bill a Mixed Bag
Congress passed the “Continuing Resolution – Omnibus” spending bill (HR 83) for the remaining months of fiscal year 2015 which runs through September
30, 2015. The measure is now waiting for the President’s signature. This bill contains good news and bad news for mental health. The good news: HR 83
provides a small increase in funding for mental illness research. Bad news: the bill includes a small reduction for mental health services.
Read more
Mental Health Investment by States Slowed in 2014
NAMI just released a report highlighting what went on in state legislatures in 2014 across the country when it comes to mental health issues. The report,
State Mental Health Legislation 2014 shows that investment in mental health services slowed from last year and that when progress was made around specific
policy issues much of the legislation felt like it only skimmed the surface.
Read more
Write to your Governor and State Legislators! Urge them to make mental health care a priority.
Click here to send a message.
NAMI Submits Comments on NIMH Strategic Plan
On December 11, NAMI submitted comments on the proposed five-year plan for the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The plan includes a range of
ambitious goals for mental illness research including:
Defining the biological basis of complex behaviors.
Charting mental illness trajectories to determine when, where, and how to intervene.
Striving or prevention and cures.
Strengthening the public health impact of NIMH-supported research.
View NAMI’s comments on the NIMH 2015 Strategic Plan.
View the NIMH Strategic Plan
Veterans Suicide Prevention Bill Fails, but Mental Health Screenings for Active Duty Passes
Legislation to bolster veterans’ suicide prevention has failed in Congress after outgoing Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) placed a hold on it. Known as the Clay
Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act (HR 5059), the $22 million bill would increase access to mental health care and expand the VA workforce.
Coburn said the bill duplicates existing VA efforts, but NAMI will work with other advocacy organizations to work towards its reintroduction and passage in the
next Congress.
At the same, Congress did include an important new set of requirements for the Department of Defense (DoD) to undertake annual mental health screenings
for Active Duty, National Guard and Reserve service members as part of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (HR 4435). This legislation has cleared
both houses of Congress and will soon be signed into law by the President.
The final agreement on the defense bill includes a Senate provision – sponsored by Senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) – that requires
DoD to provide a person-to-person mental health assessment for Active Duty and Selected Reserve members each year. The amendment would also require
the Secretary, through 2018, to provide person-to-person mental health screenings once during each 180-day period in which a member is deployed.
We are grateful for your advocacy year-round!
(Source: www.nami.org)
The Cost of Not Caring
'Bleak picture' for mentally ill: 80% are jobless
Liz Szabo, USA TODAY 1:52 p.m. EDT July 10, 2014
(Photo: William Bryant Rozier for USA TODAY)
Eighty percent of people with mental illness are unemployed, a statistic that says more about the
lack of support for this group of people than it does about the economy, according to a new study.
As in so many other areas of mental health, solutions to this problem exist, but simply aren't
utilized, says Mary Giliberti, executive director of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
"These statistics paint a pretty bleak
picture," she says. "We think we can do
a lot better."
USA Today has launched a special
series, The Cost of Not Caring ,
about the inadequate mental health
care system which inspired dialogue
in communities around the country.
NAMI worked closely on the series,
helping identify people affected by
the issues so their personal stories
could educate readers.
About 60% of people with mental illness
want to work. And two-thirds can
successfully hold down a job, if they're
given appropriate support, the report
says. Yet fewer than 2% of people in the
public mental health system receive this help, a cost-effective program called supported
employment, which has been studied in 20 high-quality clinical trials over the past 25 years.
Yet supported employment programs are rare, partly because of the difficulty of cobbling together
sufficient funding, says Robert Drake, a professor at the Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center in
New Hampshire. Unlike medication, which is covered by health insurance plans, there's no central
funding source for employment support.
Although the payoffs to helping people with mental illness succeed in the workplace are enormous, achieving that goal will "take both leadership and
resources," Giliberti says.
Unemployment among those with mental illness dwarfs the overall rate in the USA, currently at 6.1%. Yet the new report probably underestimates the true size
of the problem because researchers didn't factor in the more than half a million people with mental illness who are homeless or in jail, Giliberti says.
In a series of stories over the coming months, USA TODAY will explore the human and financial costs that the country pays for not caring more about the
nearly 10 million Americans with serious mental illness.
The benefits of work
Beyond allowing people to support themselves, work is also a powerful form of therapy, Giliberti says.
People with mental illness who find competitive jobs have higher quality of life, fewer symptoms and lower mental health care costs, studies show.
A year of supported employment – in which job coaches help people cope with the demands of their new jobs – costs about $4,000, Drake says. But it can
save the mental health system tens of thousands of dollars over the course of a person's lifetime, because participants use fewer services.
"Work is critical to identity, to dignity, to who you are," Giliberti says. "When we are funding work, we are decreasing the cost of future treatment."
Unemployment costs the entire country.
About two-thirds of the $444 billion cost of mental illness in the USA comes from lost earnings and disability payments, says Thomas Insel, director of the
National Institute of Mental Health. Nearly half of those receiving federal disability income – 44% of the total – have a mental illness.
That makes people with mental illness the largest and fastest growing group of people on disability, according to the NAMI report.
Many factors keep people with mental illness out of the workforce, including discrimination. In a 2006 survey, 62% of Americans said they were unwilling to
work with someone with schizophrenia.
Diane Volpe says her sister, a survivor of a violent crime, was fired from her job as medical technician after she began to show signs of bipolar disorder. "They
never gave her the option of medical leave or short-term disability" to get treatment, says Volpe, of Warren, Vt. "Maybe that would have prevented her from
spiraling out of control."
Disability payments and federal health insurance programs, such as Medicaid and Medicare, can provide vital help to people too sick to work. But some people
with mental illness find that they can't afford to work for fear of losing these payments, Giliberti says.
"We have state-enforced poverty," says Judge Milton Mack, a member of the Michigan Mental Health Commission in 2004 who has presided over
guardianship hearings for people with mental illness for many years. "If they get a job, they lose their benefits."
(Continued on page 8)
The Cost of Not Caring (Continued from page 7)
A helping hand
Stephanie Joseph, who suffers from major depression and attention deficit disorder, says she works only 25 hours a week, mostly to avoid losing her benefits.
Yet Joseph – a certified public accountant working on a master's degree in business at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland – is one of the few people with
mental illness lucky enough to enroll in a supported employment program.
Joseph, 50, lost a string of jobs over the years, sometimes after as little as a few days, because she would oversleep – a symptom of her debilitating
depression and fatigue caused by breast cancer treatment. One day, after her father's suicide, Joseph overslept again and became overwhelmed by the fear
of losing her job. "I made a snap decision to swallow a bottle of pills and follow my father," Joseph says.
Joseph survived but continued to struggle with depression.
Her prospects improved after she found Cornerstone Montgomery, in suburban Maryland, which offers supported employment. She was accepted after 10
months on the waiting list and has been working as an office administrator at NAMI's office in Montgomery County, Md., since August.
Cornerstone assigned Joseph a job coach who trained with her. When Joseph was too nervous to ask her supervisor questions about her job, she turned to
her job coach, who had taken detailed notes. When Joseph had trouble remembering all of her daily tasks, he reminded her to make a list.
Her job coach also stepped in when Joseph became too overwhelmed by depression to go to work for two days. She didn't return phone calls or e-mails and
was on the verge of losing another job. Her job coach asked Joseph's therapist to call her, which finally prompted her to respond.
Joseph says she would have been too ashamed to return to work on her own. Her coach accompanied her, however, and helped break the ice with her boss.
"Work helps me stay healthy and grounded," Joseph says. "It gives me a reason to swing my legs over the side of the bed and get up in the morning."
Joseph's supervisor, Stephanie Rosen, says that working with her has been a "100% positive experience."
Rosen encourages other employers to give people with mental illness a chance and says that hiring Joseph was not an act of charity. "We're a non-profit, but
we're also a place of business," says Rosen, executive director of the Montgomery County office. "People give us donations in good faith that we will use their
money efficiently, so all of our employees need to be efficient and reliable."
Steven Manning says his experience also shows the value of supported employment.
Manning, of Fort Wayne, Ind., lost his job after developing bipolar disorder at age 38. At one point, he was even homeless.
"Depression is like torture," says Manning, now 56. "I tried to commit suicide because I wanted out of that."
Yet Manning found a full-time job through an employment program offered by the Carriage House clubhouse in Fort Wayne, part of Clubhouse International.
The group offers places for people with mental illness to socialize, as well as find work.
Today, Manning says, "I'm enjoying my life, every moment of it. I never thought I would go back to work."
The clubhouse helped place Manning in a 6-month job in the mail room of an attorney's office. A clubhouse staff person trained with him on the job. In the
event that Manning couldn't report to work, the clubhouse staffer would have reported to work for him.
Manning's mail-room job led to a part-time job at a radio station. Manning also began producing videos for the clubhouse. Today, he runs his own video
production company, Manning Video Productions, shooting everything from TV commercials to weddings. He takes medication and sees a mental health
provider every three months.
"On this side of my illness," Manning says, "my life is about 10 times better than before."
(Source: http://www.usatoday.com/topic/4138a246-2c2a-45a4-a36a-9aacb070fe2d/mental-illness/)
NAMI MEMBERSHIP
We invite you to develop a relationship with the National Alliance on Mental Illness
(NAMI), and to come to a meeting. Are you and your family enjoying the benefits of
being registered members of NAMI?
When a loved one is stricken with a brain disorder, every member of the family is affected in some way. Whether the relative is a
son, daughter, sister, brother, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or friend, you share in the suffering. Before the doctors gave you a
diagnosis, you probably went through a long period of uncertainty – trying to make sense out of what was happening. You were
stunned and confused. You hoped that the unusual behavior would stop, that soon things would be back to normal. You may have
faced one or more severe crises that left you devastated.
In one way or another, you survived those first difficult days or weeks and eventually got your loved one into treatment. Once the
diagnosis was made (schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, or whatever it turned out to be), you began asking yourself a
host of questions like “Will my loved one get better and lead a normal life again?”, “What did I do wrong?”, “Why did this have to
happen to us?”
Your questions and your feelings are quite natural. Your grief, shame, and anger, your sense of helplessness, your hours of
anxiety, all are shared by others going through similar experiences. NAMI South King County has a support group for you and for
your family member. Often, we can supply you with answers and suggestions that will make it easier for you to obtain what your
family needs.
Will you join NAMI today?
To join in the support of those affected by brain disorders, you can complete this form, detach and mail it
with your check to NAMI South King County.
You can also join online.
With your help, NAMI can continue its work as
America’s largest grassroots mental health
organization dedicated to improving the lives of
individuals and families affected by mental illness.
Make a difference as a member of the NAMI
movement! Become a NAMI member today and add
your name to the list of thousands raising their voices
to demand services, support and respect for the
millions affected by mental illness. NAMI membership
demonstrates your support for the important work
being done at NAMI and helps us make our voice
heard in your community and the nation's capital.
Members receive NAMI's national news magazine, the Advocate, in addition to local and state newsletters. Members also enjoy
reduced costs at conventions, the NAMI Store, and other events, as well as voting privileges through their NAMI Affiliate to shape
the future of America's largest grassroots organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions affected by mental illness.

and advocacy. January 2015 News Volume 7, Issue 1

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