Nami - Howard County MD Inc

“Part iii, line 28 community education: nami hc offers a variety of community education programs to educate audiences about mental illness and to advocate for the needs of individuals and families affected by mental illness. We also participated in a number of community health fairs to increase awareness of mental illness in the community. Specific programs include: 1) in our own voice: an interactive presentation by two people whose lives were interrupted by mental illness, but who are now role models for hope and resiliency; 110 presentations were done this year reaching more than 2,018 participants in howard county public schools; howard county general hospital, sheppard pratt inpatient and outpatient clinic and throughout the community. 2) faith community: the nami hc faith outreach committee did presentations in 6 churches and organizations reaching at least 500 people. 3) education forums: nami hc presented six programs for nami members on topics related to mental illness. These forums are open to the public. Some of these specific programs were: raise: recovery after an initial schizophrenia episode; faith, spirituality and mental illness; what is hoarding? Definitions, signs and treatments; developing a beautiful picture of yourself: understanding eating disorders. 4) crisis intervention training (cit): in partnership with the howard county mental health authority, grassroots crisis intervention center and the police department, we trained 60 police officers and dispatchers in a 40 hour program designed to help them safely manage complex encounters with people who have mental illness. 5) sunday suppers: nami hc has been coordinating a dinner for adults with mental illness the third sunday of each month for 34 years. Supper is done in conjunction with a different congregation or civic group each month. The avg attendance is 50-70 people each time. We served dinner to over 840 guests. We periodically have other volunteers who sing songs, play instruments, provide mini massages, portraits of our guests and holiday-themed treats.”

“Part iii, line 29 support and education: nami hc provided the following free programs last year to fulfill our mission of support and education: support groups: nami hc offers family and parent support groups as well as a transitioned aged youth support group (for parents and caregivers of young adults between the ages of 18-26). Total attendance for our six support groups was 1023 for this fiscal year. Education courses: nami hc offered six educational courses in fy2015: four sessions of family-to-family, 96 graduates; one session of nami basics, 7 graduates; and four sessions of peer-to-peer, 26 graduates.”

“Part iii, line 30 nami helpline: last year 529 people called or emailed nami howard county to find information, support and resources. Over 300 of those calls were people in distress who were seeking support or resources for mental health treatment. Ninety-four percent of the help-line callers who responded to a survey reported that the service helped to alleviate their concerns. It is estimated that 40% of staff time is used to answer and respond to help-line calls and emails.”

“During the year, nami hc modified its bylaws to update its principal office location and to address inconsistencies and strengthen the process of having 3-year board terms.”

“Workshops & program direct expenses 8914.”

“Dues & subscriptions 3584.”

“CONFERENCES 1135.”

“BOARD 924.”

“WEBSITE 588.”

“MOVING EXPENSES 2152.”