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; 81 presentations were done this year reaching more than 1,372 participants in howard county public schools; howard county general hospital, sheppard pratt inpatient and outpatient clinic and throughout the community. We launched a new program called "say it outloud" to create a community for teens and young adults struggling with mental health problems and encourage them to talk about what they're experiencing by sharing their personal stories of recovery, tragedy, struggle or hope. We made presentations in howard county high schools reaching approximately 613 students. 2) faith community: faith communities are the first place many people in distress turn to for help. Clergy are often on the front lines of mental and emotional crises, but few feel well-prepared to respond effectively to troubled persons experiencing a psychiatric disturbance. Nami howard county has much to offer with its wealth of referral, support and educational information for faith communities. We are part of nami faithnet, an information resource for nami members and leaders, clergy and congregations of all faith traditions. The nami howard county faith outreach committee did presentations in 5 churches and organizations reaching at least 596 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: transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy (tms); live life more fully using self-help techniques to manage stress and anxiety; financial planning for people with special needs; faith, spirituality and mental illness. 4) crisis intervention training (cit): in partnership with the howard county mental health authority, grassroots crisis intervention center and the howard county police department, we trained 78 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 35 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 620 guests. We periodically have other volunteers who sing songs, play instruments, provide mini massages, portraits of our guests and holiday-themed treats. 6) grassroots advocacy is at the heart of nami hc. Last year we hosted nami smarts for advocacy training which provides step by step tools and hands on practice to help participants learn how to use their voice to influence policymakers and make a difference. We had 18 in attendance for the half-day training. Namiwalks is one of nami hc's largest fundraising efforts. Namiwalks bring together hundreds of individuals and supporters to celebrate mental illness recovery, combat stigma, honor those who have lost their lives to mental illness and promote awareness. We appreciate everyone who provided a sponsorship or supported one of our 15 teams.”

“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 connection is a recovery model in which individuals living with a serious mental illness share experiences in a safe, confidential environment and support each other. The 90-minute support group meeting also helps with overcoming isolation often experienced by mental health consumers. 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 1128 for this fiscal year. Education courses: nami hc offered six educational courses in fy2017: four sessions of family-to-family, 88 graduates and four sessions of peer-to-peer, 25 graduates.”

“Part iii, line 30 nami helpline: last year 525 people called or emailed nami howard county to find information, support and resources. Over 400 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.”

“Workshops & program direct expenses 6493.”

“Dues & subscriptions 4075.”

“CONFERENCES 2228.”

“BOARD 3535.”

“WEBSITE 603.”

“OFFICE SUPPLIES 1559.”

“TRAVEL 1950.”