Another year comes to its close and I wish everyone a happy and calm holiday season.
NAMI Four Seasons has had a very busy year. Board members and volunteers worked over 4000 hours. Here's a brief overview of our accomplishments:
A Family-to-Family class was held in Hendersonville in July. Charlie Moreland took the training to become a Family-to-Family Instructor.
We presented seven great Informational Programs.
Four programs were in Hendersonville and three in Polk County.
We collaborated with other agencies for CIT Training and Mental Health First Aid:
- Crisis Intervention Training for Law Enforcement with NAMI, THRIVE , Smoky Mountain Center and Blue Ridge Community College
- Two Mental Health First Aid classes held in Hendersonville and Polk Counties, with Smoky Mountain Center.
A Bridges of Hope two-part training was offered. Bridges of Hope helps educate church staff and members about mental illness so that they can create stronger safety nets and a welcoming community of faith for people living with serious mental illness.
We have a newly trained facilitator for the Hendersonville Family Support Group; Kathleen Cameron is now co-facilitating with Bob Anderson.
We received a grant for distribution of our "Mental Health Resource Booklet" and we hope to be able to have that ready for distribution in May of 2016.
Our Planning Meeting for 2016 took place in September and we are committed to beginning a community effort to create a Mental Health Court.
Our brochures have been updated and feature "Hope" on the front page.
We had six successful fundraising events.
We were invited to attend the Apple Festival. The four-day event was a great marketing success for NAMI Four Seasons. We also attended two Health Fairs and plan for more next year.
We are working on a NAMI Four Seasons information sheet to be put in the discharge packets for area hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and the Hendersonville Corrections Facility.
Board members and NAMI Members attended various community meetings concerning mental health.
Kathleen Cameron has worked and researched untold hours on the issue of adult guardianship and has helped to pave the way for meaningful discussions concerning better oversight. Amazing advocacy initiative!