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 MC’s Ending the Silence Coordinator Shares Her Story, Ends the Silence: By Megan Pauly

INSIDE THE ISSUE Cover Story NAMI Programs/ Letter from ED Calendar Cover Story, Cont’d Photo Page Essay by Susan Kornspan/ Meet the Iterns! NAMI Thrift Shop

1 2 3 4 6 7 8

The County’s Voice on Mental Illness

newsletter

11718 Parklawn Drive Rockville, MD 20852301-949-5852 | www.namimc.org

to our newsletter donors this month, Trevor & Genevieve

Albuquerque. We couldn’t do what we do without you!

Special Thanks

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014

Bethesda Marriott on Pooks Hill Roadat

the

on

November 7, 2014

15th Annual Heroes Celebrationhonoring

Virginia State SenatorCreigh Deeds

"Changing Minds"Mental Health PublicAwareness Campaign

Doreen Gentzler,NBC 4 anchor

Wayne Fenton Memorial Award presented to Dr. Lance Clawson

Buy your tickets today!www.namimc.org/heroes

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,

For General Public Awareness:General Education Meetings - presentationAwareness in the Workplace - presentation/classIn Our Own Voice - presentationNewsletter

For Family Members of Individuals Living with Mental Illness:Family-to-Family - 12 session classFamily Support Groups

For Individuals Living with Mental Illness:Peer-to-Peer - 10 session classConnection Recovery Support Groups

For Parents & Teachers of Children & Adolescents:NAMI Basics - 6 session classParents and Teachers as Allies - presentation

For Adolescents:Ending the Silence - presentationSources 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 - presentationEn Nuestra Propia Voz - presentation - Coming Soon!Padres y Maestros Como Aliados - presentationFamilia-a-Familia - 12 session classPersona-a-Persona - 10 session class - Coming Soon!Bases y Fundamentos - 6 session classGrupos de Apoyo

For African American Communities:Sharing Hope - presentation

For Faith Based Communities:Sharing Hope - presentationCompartiendo Esperanza - presentation

Advocacy:Smarts for Advocacy - workshop - Coming Soon!Ambassadors Training - workshop - Coming Soon!

NAMI Program List: Ever Expanding!What’s New with NAMI MC & What’s to Come SoonFrom the NAMI MC Executive Director

october 2014Please visit www.namimc.org for calendar updates!

SATURDAY 11FRIDAY 10THURSDAY 9WEDNESDAY 8TUESDAY 7MONDAY 6SUNDAY 5

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1313029282726

7:00 pm NAMI Connection @ MedStar Montgomery Medical Center

7:00 pm Family-to-Family @ Family Services, Inc.

2:30 pm Family Support Group @ Rockville Uniterian Universalist Church

7:30 pm General Education meeting @ NAMI MC Office

7:00 pm Family Support Group @ St. James Episcopal Church

9:30 am Family Support Group @ MedStar Mont. Med Center

3:00 pm NAMIConnection @ Silver Spring Wellness Center

7:00 pm NAMI Connection @ NAMI MC Office

7:00 pm NAMI Connection @ Adult Behavioral Health Program Building

3:00 pm NAMI Connection @ Silver Spring Wellness & Recovery Center

7:00 pm Peer-to-Peer @ NAMI MC Office

Thrift Shop: Bag sale! $15 for a bag full of clothes

7:00 pm NAMI Connection @ MedStar Montgomery Medical Center

7:00 pm Peer-to-Peer @ NAMI MC Office

4:00 pm Family-to-Family @ NAMI MC Office

4:00 pm Family-to-Family @ NAMI MC Office

4:00 pm Family-to-Family @ NAMI MC Office

4:00 pm Family-to-Family @ NAMI MC Office

10:30 am Family Support Group @ NAMI MC Office

7:00 pm Spouse Support Group @ NAMI MC office

7:00 pm Grupo de Apoyo Familiar en Espanol @ NAMI MC Office

7:00 pm NAMI Connection @ NAMI MC Office

7:00 pm Family-to-Family @ Blair High School

8:00 am FRI and SAT NAMI MD Annual Conference @ Sheppard Pratt

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 p2p@namimc.org

Family-to-Family starting Oct 28th email f2f@namimc.org

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.

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.

“People are just now starting to get it,” Sesay said.

Translating personal experience to a professional platform

Sesay could definitely relate to the students because of her own

NAMI MC Young Adult Program Coordinator Kenya Sesay is pictured while working hard on the Ending the Silence program.

NAMI MC’s Ending the Silence Coordinator Shares Her Story, Ends the Silence (cont’d from cover) By Megan Pauly

personal experience being bullied in high school.

“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.

“Why give her the opportunity to continue to bully me?” Sesay said. “It was easier to hide than to face her.”

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. 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)

“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 therapysessions 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.”

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 elyssa@namimc.orgEdith Salazar 301-949-5852 x112 edith@namimc.org

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/1ypykIvTo read about Ending the Silence in The Gazette, go to this link: http://bit.ly/1yr1qal

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.

Ending the SilenceBy Susan Kornspan

[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.

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.

Meet the NAMI MC Interns!

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!

Enjoy the Volunteer Experience!

We're looking for volunteers for Ending the Silence. Please e-mail ets@namimc.org if you're interested!

Help NAMI MC Go Green! TO STOP RECEIVING A HARDCOPY AND GET A DIGITAL COPY OF THE NEWSLETTER

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11718 Parklawn DriveRockville, MD 20852Phone: (301) 949 - 5852Helpline: (301) 949 - 9630comments@namimc.orgwww.namimc.org

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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 AcceptedMonday- Saturday 11 AM- 5 PMShop Hours

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Gil Knight (President) Les Ulanow (Treasurer) Josh Wooldridge (Secretary)Bernard RaicheMimi KressNancy WolfMichael Murray Holly Funger - Welcome!

STAFF

Stephanie Rosen, Executive DirectorStephanie Joseph, Office AdministratorMegan Pauly, Communications DirectorNicole Lucas, Director of ProgramsElyssa Diamond, Latino/Youth/Advocacy Program CoordinatorEdith Salazar, Latino Program CoordinatorKenya Sesay, Young Adult Program CoordinatorMiriam Christenson, Thrift Shop ManagerBecky Hosselrode, Thrift Shop Executive Assistant & Bookkeeper

Monday- Saturday 11 AM- 6 PMFind all of your fall fashions at the NAMI MC thrift store, and don't forget to

start stocking up on holiday decorations!

**The NAMI MC Thrift Shop is also currently looking for volunteers. If you're interested, please e-mail thriftshop@namimc.org.**

STORE HOURSM-Sat: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.Sunday: Closed

DONATION HOURSM-Sat: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.Sunday: No donations accepted

Donate. Shop. Do Good. Repeat.

THRIFT SHOP

301-949-5731 | thriftshop@namimc.org | etsy.com/shop/ThriftShopNAMI

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!