sign up your team today for free at: …...there are no easy, clear-cut solutions. living with...

1

..your local voice for mental health

Volume 44 No. 1

Winter 2020

Upcoming Community

Forum Crisis De-escalation with CAHOOTS

Wednesday, February 26th at 6:30-8:30 PM University of Oregon McKenzie Hall room 125

Board of Directors

Officers President: JD Olsen

Vice-President: Janine Amador

Treasurer: Ariann Harrelson

Secretary: Shawn Lockery

Finance Director: Becky Hayes

Members-At-Large Chaine Bryant Shawn Murphy

Alisha Wells

Staff

Executive Director: Jennifer MacLean

Development Director: Sarah Merkle

Multicultural & Rural Outreach Manager:

Pedro Pacheco

Programs Manager: AimieLisa Hook

NAMIWalks is coming to Lane County

Saturday, May 9th at

Alton Baker Park

Sign up your team today

for free at:

www.namiwalks.org/

lanecounty

Join NAMI Lane County Today!

Household memberships are $60/year

Individual memberships are $40/year.

Open Door memberships are $5/year.

Annual membership benefits include:

Local, informative newsletters

National membership magazine

A voice on vital advocacy issues

Representation on state and local boards

You’ll be supporting your local voice for mental

health helping provide education, advocacy and

support in our community

2

Thanks to the funding from the Oregon Community Foundation

NAMI Lane County has had the opportunity to expand our current

staff positions to increase our capacity to grow our programs

and services available for the community.

Congratulations AimieLisa Hook,

NAMI’s new Programs Manager AimieLisa Hook joined NAMI Lane County as the Volun-teer Coordinator in December 2018. During 2019, Aimie-Lisa worked hard to create a clear and concise volunteer orientation and onboarding process for interested volun-teers. Through this process, over 57 volunteers were able to be trained and placed in volunteer positions during the past year. In addition, AimieLisa advocated for and helped organize the first IOOV trainings in Lane County. They were able to increase the IOOV program by 81% with a total of 30 presentations being done in Lane County in 2019. AimieLisa was excited to build volunteer creativity and enthusiasm as they coordinated an art group, rock painting group, and volunteer appreciation awards. They also got to appreciate the NAMI events while coordinating all the volunteers at the 2019 NAMI Walks and Holiday dinner. AimieLisa is looking forward to her new role as the Pro-gram Manager. Over the course of this next year, Aimie-Lisa hopes to better meet the needs of the volunteers and programs by creating an atmosphere in which volunteers and facilitators are being heard, empowered, and fulfilled in their roles. They are striving to promote sustainability in the current programs while also finding opportunities to launch new programs in the rural areas of Lane County.

When AimieLisa is not busy at work they are studying to

complete their MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. In

those joyous moments of no school and no work AimieLisa

relaxes outdoors, cooking great food, seeing shows, and

exploring all that Oregon and Eugene has to offer.

Congratulations Sarah Merkle,

NAMI’s new Development Director

Sarah Merkle joined the NAMI Lane County team as the Programs Manager in July 2016 shortly after moving to Eugene. Since then, they have helped implement new processes for database management and data collection and reporting, been integral in the negotiation of con-tracts with key funders like Trillium and PeaceHealth, and successfully written grants that resulted in over $110,000 of support from ten new funders in the community. They have presented at several community conferences and continue to engage in education and advocacy for the rights of individuals living with mental health conditions, particularly those in the LGBTQIA+ community. During their time as Programs Manager, they added three new signature program education courses to the NAMI Lane County roster, expanded both Family and Connection Support Groups into key rural communities, and added three new Connection Support groups in Eugene/Springifield, including one specifically for individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+ and one for individuals who identi-fy as survivors of a suicide attempt. Outside of their work with NAMI, Sarah spends their time reading, writing, gardening, traveling, collecting VHS tapes, doting on their dog, Poppins, and exploring the exquisite flora and fauna that Oregon has to offer with their family, friends, and partners. Sarah is extremely ex-cited for their new role as Development Director and is looking forward to continuing to bring financial and pro-grammatic stability to NAMI and allowing us to serve more of our amazing clients, volunteers, families, and community members.

3

An Unflinching Exploration of Psychosis and the Implications on Autonomy

Written by: Collin Buzzell and Edited by: NAMI Staff

In February of 2019, Graywolf Press published Esme Wang’s The Collected Schizophrenias. Wang was previously awarded a Whiting award for her debut novel, The Border of Paradise, and was named Granta’s best young novelist. In this new collection of essays she explores the intricacies of living with schizoaffective disorder.

The second essay in the collection should be especially noted by the NAMI community. In the essay, entitled “Towards a Pathology of the Possessed”, Wang explores the role of NAMI-sanctioned activism in passing California’s Assembly Bill 1421 (AB 1421). This bill allows for “involuntary treatment of any person with a mental disorder who, as a result of the mental disorder, is a danger to others or to himself or herself, or is gravely disabled.” In a way that is both philosophically profound and brutally practical, this piece of legislation raises questions about autonomy and civil liberties granted to sufferers of mental ill-ness. In her discourse, Wang discusses the story of Malcoum Tate (who was shot 13 times by his sister while experiencing a psychotic episodea), The Exorcist (a 1973 film that likens demonic possession with psychosis repeatedly), and the work of Julian Plumadore (a critic of NAMI’s parent-to-parent course developed in 1991). Her description of her own loss of autonomy during her three instances of involuntary hospitalization underscores the importance of individual experience; AB 1421 ostensibly ex-ists to ensure help is given to those in need, but the reality of involuntary treatment Wang describes is isolating and traumatic. Wang was stripped of all personal belongings (a bracelet from her grandmother and her favorite sock), closed off from the out-side world, and left unaware as to when she would be released. Involuntary inpatient treatment seems inhumane once one looks at it from her perspective: the patient’s perspective.

In other essays, namely “On the Ward”, Wang makes it clear that involuntary hospitalization had been traumatic and terrifying, and that she is staunchly opposed to the practice. Wang is also clearly aware that she offers no alternative; indeed, there are no easy, clear-cut solutions. Living with mental illness is often a confusing, bewildering existence. How could it not be? So little is understood about the human brain in general and mental illness in particular that the greatest tool the medical establishment has developed to diagnose mental illnesses (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, or DSM) classifies disease-states based solely on what symptoms patients present; mental illnesses aren’t, like other medical conditions, classified by their physical cause—because the physical cause is unknown.

The fact that living with mental illness is so often an unknowable nightmare is the reason The Collected Schizophrenias is such a valuable book. I picked up the book initially because I thought it would grant me insight into my family and friends’ conditions, but it managed to grant me greater understanding of myself as well. A diagnosis, Wang shows us, does not simply have to be taken as a label and a burden; a diagnosis is an idea that connects us to a body of work and a new language we can use to describe the events of our inner lives. It is a language others speak as well, and therefore proof that no one is alone in the wilderness. Wang’s work shows us that even chronic mental illness is not stagnant, that it is always changing, and that even though it defies understanding by its very nature, as long as we are trying to understand our own experiences and the experienc-es of those who suffer from psychiatric illness in our daily lives, we are working towards something beautiful.

Thank you to our 2019

Sponsors and Grant Funders!

4

We strive to recognize every donor in the way they wish. If we have made an error please let us know.

Bruce Abel

Amanda Adams

Advanced Relay Corp

Collin Alspach

Janine Amador

American Family Insurance

Vernon Arne

Cara Ashworth

Susan Ban

Patti Barkin

Kristen Bell

Mari Berg

Ward & Rae-Marie Biaggne

Hannah Biernacki

Elizabeth Bohls

Jocelyn Bonner

Daphne Brown

Jen & Forrest Castile

City of Eugene

CopyRite Printing

Michelle Cordon

Cottage Grove Community Foundation

Sally & Scott Diehl

Andy & Sheri Dinger

Judith Eisen

Janice Endicott

Eloyce & Richard Enloe

Erik Fisher

Mack Follmer

Tara Garkow

Robbie Garrett

Russell Geoffrey

Tiffany Gibson

Leslie Gottshall-Decker

Paula Guthrie-Scott

Cliff Harrold

Lauren Hatmaker

Kimberly Hawes

Marilee Hendrickson

John Henry

Ellen Herman

Melica Heuser

Bev Hickey

David Howard

Aiden Israel

Deirdre Jackson

Troy & Kathy Jones

Rachel Kahn

Diane Kaufman

Kevin Keeley

Kerry Kelly

Barbara Kenny

Oscar Krumdieck

Marylyn Larsen

David Leung

Joseph Lewis

Shelli Littlefield

Shawn Lockery

John Longchamps

Maile Maddox

Sherie Maddox

Mary Maxson

Amanda McAuley

Jim McAuley

Jennifer & Scott MacLean

Jennifer Mendez

Walter Meyer

Shelly Miller

Twylla Miller

Richard Moore

Mike & Ellen Morrow

Shawn Murphy

Gene & MaryAnne Obersinner

Bonnie Olin

JD Olsen

Oregon Health Authority

James Overton

PacificSource

PacificSource Foundation for Health Improvement

PakTech

Joyce Pappel-Kimura

Leslie Parker

Susan Polchert

Marta Powers

Denise & Richard Reeves

David Reinhard

Kathleen Rex

Lesley Rex

Kent Riesen

Linda Rosenberg

Jennifer Rowan-Henry

Alli Schwartz

Alan Sellers

Marsha Shankman

Sheltercare

Chris Skinner

Jim Sly

Jean & Fred Sperry

Spirit Mountain Community Fund

Jean Stover

Sheila & Kurt Sundahl

The Collins Foundation

The Oregon Community Foundation

Christina Thrasher

Christine & Richard Tinkey

Velarde Family Charitable Fund

Miranda Wilcox

Angelica Williams

Gordon Wright

Sara Wyant

Big thanks to our 2019 donors who donated $100 or more throughout the year.

You have helped sustain free and confidential mental health programs in Lane County.

5

When you shop

at AmazonSmile you’ll find

the same low prices, vast

selection and convenient

shopping experience as

Amazon.com,

with the added bonus that

Amazon will donate a

.5% of the purchase price to

NAMI Lane County.

go to:

www.smile.amazon.com

to sign up and choose

NAMI Lane County

You can help NAMI Lane

County every time you

shop at Fred Meyer.

You still earn your reward

points and fuel points,

but now NAMI receives a

donation too!

Sign up at

www.fredmeyer.com/

communityrewards

Just fill one of our

Blue Fundraising bags with

redeemable bottles &

either bring it by the

NAMI office or drop it

off at the Eugene or

Springfield Bottle Drop.

You can pick up the bags at

the NAMI office.

Bottle Drop will count the

bottles and credit the

NAMI account.

Congratulations!

Manuel Zarate

1.What volunteer positions have you done or currently do in NAMI? Family Support Group Facilitator 2. What keeps your inspired in your volunteer role at NAMI? Even when little help is given, folks just value suggestions. 3. Do you have a favorite quote or expression about Mental Health? Progress can be made in spite of difficulties.

Congratulations!

Lee Ann Thompson

1.What volunteer positions have you done or currently do in NAMI? Clothes Closet Volunteer and Organizer 2. What keeps your inspired in your volunteer role at NAMI? The people keep me inspired. I’ve made a lot of friends and all of the clients are so appreciative. I always feel comfortable here. 3. Why would you recommend others to volunteer at NAMI? Every time you volunteer it’s different. It’s never boring and you get to meet great people.

6

NAMI accepts donations of adult clothes,

general household items, shoes,

& personal care products during our open

Resource Center Hours:

Monday -Thursday

10am-2pm.

NAMI Support Groups across Lane County

Mondays Tuesdays Wednesdays Thursdays

Peer

Weekly 6 pm

MLK Community Health

Center, Room 198

Friends and Family

1st and 3rd Tuesdays

at 6 pm, Rural Outreach

Project, Cottage Grove

Coloring Group

Weekly 12 pm

NAMI Resource Center

Collage Group

Weekly 12 pm


Zumba in Spanish

Weekly 6:15 pm-7 pm

Camino Del Rio

Elementary School

Hablar es Sanar

(Women Support Group in

Spanish)

Weekly 6 pm-8 pm

Trauma Healing Project

Painted Rocks Group

Weekly 1 pm


Peer

Weekly 1 pm


Center, Room 198

Peer

Weekly 2:30 pm

Dexter Baptist Church

Dexter

Peer LGBTQIA+

Weekly 6 pm


Center, Room 208

Peer

Survivors of Suicide Attempts

Weekly 6 pm


Friends & Family

Weekly 7 pm


Peer

Weekly 6:30 pm

New Winds Apts

Florence

Friends & Family

4th Thursday 6 pm

1720 34th St Florence

Our Library Needs

More Books! If you have any mental health related

books you would like to donate to our

library, we are currently

accepting books with a

copyright date of

2005 or newer.

7

Starting

Tuesday,

January 14th-

March 24th

Family to Family Class

6:30 - 9 pm

MLK Community Health Center

Room 198

Monday,

February 24th

Volunteer Orientation

12 - 1 pm


Call 541-343-7688 to register

Wednesday,

February 26th

Community Forum:

Crisis De-escalation

6:30 - 8:30 pm

U of O, McKenzie Hall Room 125

Starting

Tuesday

March 24th-

May 12th

Peer to Peer Class

12:30 -2:30 pm

Laurel Hill Center


Starting

Tuesday

April 7-

May 26

Family to Family Class

6:30 - 9 pm


Room 198


Saturday,

April 25th

Annual NAMI Lane County

Membership Meeting

12 Noon


Saturday,

May 9th

NAMIWalks Lane County

Alton Baker Park

Walk at 12 Noon

Wednesday,

March 25th

Community Forum:

QPR Training

6:30 - 8:30 pm


Saturday,

August 1st

Annual NAMI Picnic

Roaring Rapids Pizza

Glenwood

CALENDAR

OF

EVENTS

Zumba Classes! When: Mondays 6:15 - 7 pm

Where: Camino del Rio Elementary

Call our office for more

information 541-343-7688

8

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. Postage Paid

Eugene, OR

Permit No. 562

2411 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Eugene, OR 97401

Address Service Requested

Call or email the NAMI Resource Center today

to sign up for our electronic newsletter.

Come Volunteer With Us!

Interested in being a Resource

Volunteer at one of our NAMI

locations? We currently are looking for volunteers to help

welcome individuals to our Hope Library.

Please call or email our Program Manager for more information on these

volunteering opportunities.

Phone: 541-343-7688. Email: [email protected]

.

Nominate your

Fellow Volunteers for a Spotlight!

We are eagerly accepting nominations for future volunteer spotlights Do you want to help us reach

more peers and families in Lane County?

Come volunteer and help us promote our resources,

support groups, and education groups in the

community. Bring your creativity, passion, and

unique self along!

sign up your team today for free at: …...there are no easy, clear-cut solutions. living with...

Documents