Community News
Brain Health Awareness
National Sleep Awareness Week (Mar 2-9); Brain Awareness Week (Mar 13-19) and World Bi-Polar Day 30-Mar-2018
Dear NAMI Families and Friends,

Spring is in the air!

Not surprisingly many are feeling like we skipped the winter season all together given the ever so-light snow and rainfall. Winter for me has been an important time of stillness and reflection...a time to surround myself with warmth and positivity and deepen my knowledge of neuroscience as it relates to brain health.

The evidence-based promotion of long-lasting injectables by neuro-scientists and psychiatrists is working! We are seeing greater compliance, insight, cognition and quality of life reported by NAMI family's and friends that have been successful in migrating their loved ones to long-lasting-injectables. Delighted to see PsychU.org's coverage in this regard.

I just finished reading the fabulous and newly released "A Kind of Miraculas Paradise: A True Story About Schizophrenia" by Sandra Allen and recommended by Oprah's Book Club.
On behalf of our entire board of directors and volunteers let us each be the change we want to see in the world.

Cheers,
Jeanne Nelson,
President, NAMI El Dorado County
IN EVERY ISSUE:

What to say when calling 9-1-1  
for a Mental Health Emergency: click here

Mental Health Kiosks locations

Grievance Filing Tips/Links :


Communication Tips :

Psycho-Education is Core to Recovery: Recommended Reading

Which Way to Compliance? Ask about Long-lasting injectables

Spanish language resources are here

Genetics, Genetics, Genetics: Do you really know your family history? family-tree

Community Health Directory is on-line an d our county has Welldorado.org where data illustrates health by zip code, age, etc.

NAMI On Campus in El Dorado County : Learn more here

I n-Home-Support Services; Disability Benefit Information; and Legal Assistance: click here
Family Support Groups designed for family members and/or caregivers/friends supporting a loved one living with a mental health condition. 

3 Support Groups in El Dorado County:

Click here for meeting dates and details.

3 Warm-lines that offer non-judgemental experienced support to members of the community that want support, education or advocacy. M-Th 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. - leave a message and your call will be returned if you get voicemail.

These are confidential volunteer warmlines - not crisis lines.

Placerville / Western Slope:
530-306-7710

South Lake Tahoe: 650-740-5776

Spanish Warm-line: 775-407-0306.   
NAMI Walks Northern California,
SAVE THE DATE!
Planning has begun. Revenue from this annual fund-raiser NAMIWalk is important as it helps to fund our free NAMI programs. We ask for your assistance. Think about businesses where you know an employee or make frequent purchases. Could you ask them to sponsor our walk? YOU are our best advocates for asking your employer to sponsor our Walk. With mental illnesses so common and our community crushing stigma you may find co-workers to help you advocate. Click here to see our 4-page sponsor information sheet that shows levels of sponsorship. With over 500 in attendance at last year's walk it is very good exposure for businesses.

Join a walk team or create a new team or donate to a team.



By popular demand, NEW Mental Health Kiosks added!


  • Juvenile Detention Center in South Lake Tahoe
  • Placerville Main Library (mini kiosk)


Find a kiosk nearest to you here .

Thank you Ximena and Juline for kiosk management on the Western Slope. Thank you Marsha and Jeanne for kiosk management in South Lake Tahoe. We appreciate all our NAMI volunteers!
Need a Crisis Line?

If you or your child needs information, resources or someone to talk to during difficult times:
County H&HS Crisis Hotlines:
  • Placerville/Western Slope: (530) 622-3345
  • South Lake Tahoe: (530) 544-2219

Want NAMI Education?

NAMI California offers free trainer training; free webinars; and supports our volunteerism!

FREE Workforce/Education Webinar - by NAMI CA

NAMI Homefront - registration open

NAMI El Dorado County's first Peer-to-Peer education in SLT starts in March! registration open
Genetics!
Five major psychiatric disorders have overlapping patterns of genetic activity, new study shows
By: Amy E. Nutt, 8-Feb-2018
The Washington Post

Certain patterns of genetic activity appear to be common among five distinct psychiatric disorders —  autism ,  schizophrenia ,  bipolar  disorder,  depression  and  alcoholism  — according to a new study. The  paper , appearing in the journal Science, was released Thursday.
Scientists analyzed data from 700 human brains, all donated either from patients who suffered one of these major psychiatric disorders or from people who had not been diagnosed with mental illness. The scientists found similar levels of particular molecules in the brains of people with autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; other commonalities between bipolar and major depression; and other matches between major depression and autism.

CMBHC Strategies and Objectives 2018-2020 . Thank you CMBHC for promoting acute care service improvements as a stated goal and thank you Barton and El Dorado County for providing detailed metrics (to the CMBHC acute care work-team.)

Do you live in Placerville or a town on the Western Slope where your loved one has been taken to Marshall Hospital, Sutter or Kaiser? Ask for transparent duration metric reporting of the total number of hours these hospitals invest in nurses/medical-professionals monitoring acute mental health cases while waiting for an assessment; waiting for a bed; waiting for transport.The answer is crucial to understanding gaps in acute care for our loved ones.
Alone With My Husband's Secret:
NY Times, Feb 2018
By Caroline Ali

When my husband asked me to keep his secret, I didn’t hesitate. It never occurred to me, in fact, not to keep his secret. We had been married for nine years and that’s what partners do.
The hush developed as gradually as his illness did. For a few months, his energy level had been declining. He had stopped responding to friends’ phone calls. He always had a reason not to go out for movies, walks with me, or dinners with his parents.....

...

As his world became smaller, so did mine . I spent evenings gently cajoling him to come with me to...

Read full story here
BBRF Webinar -  Quantifying Difficulties in Social Interaction in BPD
Tuesday, Mar 13, 2018
1 1:00 AM - 12:00 PM

BBRF Webinar -  What's New with TMS for Depression and Other Brain Diseases?
Tuesday, Apr 10, 2018
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

BBRF Webinar -  Genomics Across Diagnostic Boundaries to Improve Precision Medicine in Psychiatry
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
PsychU.org

Addressing Diagnostic Complexities in BiPolar Disorder (Distinguishing BiPolar Type2)
Virtual Forum | Mar 14, 2018
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. 

Antidepressent Utilization in BiPolar: What is the evidence? | Mar 28, 2018
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. 



N ow in its 5th Season! New episodes are added as they stream through PBS.

Healthy Minds With Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, aims to remove the stigma of mental illness, educate the public and offer a message of hope by shedding light on common psychiatric conditions through inspiring personal stories and experts sharing cutting edge information on treatment. This season examines some of the most pressing public health issues including the opioid epidemic, traumatic brain injuries and concussions, and the rising rate of anxiety and other mental health issues affecting our youth.



NAMI Peer-to-Peer Program starts in South Lake Tahoe this Spring. Are you living with mild-to-moderate mental health issues or learning to manage a serious mental health condition? This class is for you!
Compliementary snacks and lunch and materials included.

Dr. Wayne C Deveat's is one of the keynote speaker's at NAMI California's annual conference this year!
We are pleased that several NAMI friends from our affiliate are planning to attend.
June 1-2 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa on Del Monte Golf Course in Monterey, California. Register today and take advantage of special pricing!


NAMI's Annual national convention is June 27-30 in New Orleans
Anne Ford, Author









The Stigmatized Child: "Mommy, am I stupid?": Heping Parents Overcome the Stigma attached to Learning Disabilities, ADHD, and Lack of Social Skills " - available on Amazon.

Anne Ford will be speaking in NY in March at the Women Breaking Silence About Mental Illness BBRFoundation event

Fun fact: Did you know that Ann Ford is the great-grandaughter of Ford Motor's Henry Ford?
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March 1 update:
New information has been provided from
Brian Richart, Chief Probation Officer, El Dorado County.
Thank you Brian!


The program planning process has started. Brian has planned a kick off planning meeting for late March to lay the ground work for responding to "Question 1" aka "Module 1" of the initiative. The kick off meeting will include members of the Executive Steering Committee as established by the CCP and other members of the community. This team's focus will be on the remaining four unanswered steps of Module 1, including the development of our infrastructure.

Measures need to be set such as Jail Bookings, Length of Stay, Connection to Care, Recidivism Rates -- a collaborative cross-functional planning team that includes someone familiar with the county's budgeting process is core to successful outcomes. Many county's have been awarded grants to fund this initiative.

Here is an interesting report "Reducing Mental Illness in Rural Jails"

To learn more - please visit
an  d
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  2018 Board of Directors

Board Meetings: Are open to the public - we meet every other month on the 1st Tuesday of the month.
Date: 3-Apr-2018
Time: 5:30 p.m. - 6:45 p.m. Conference Room C at the County Offices on Fairview Lane, Placerville

Future board meetings:
5-Jun, 7-Aug, and 2-Oct-2018.
Waitlisted to see a Psychiatrist?
Consider making an appointment with your Primary Care Physician and openly share symptoms and seek a referral to tele-psychiatry.

Our nation has a 50% deficit of psychiatrists. Rural county's such as ours understand first-hand the importance of tele-medicine.

Thank your psychiatrist today and appreciate getting onto their waitlist! (-:
We are feeling very grateful to the Soroptomist Club's that have recognized and supported our volunteerism in this community. Thank you for all you do for NAMI El Dorado County. Thank you too to all our volunteers, personal donors and other non-profits, and NAMIWalks donors that support our work. It is through each of you that we are able to provide our services in this community.
Thank you Karis for the mental health awareness presentation you provided to El Dorado County H&HS employees last month both in Placerville and South Lake Tahoe.

Thank you Jan for the mental health awareness presentation you have planned with SummitView Treatment in Placerville.







BHC -
Behavioral Health Commission



2 locations - both connected via video-link. Agenda/Minutes/Reports click here
  • Health and Human Services Agency, 3057 Briw Rd., Sierra Room, Placerville, CA 
  • South Lake Tahoe at the Wellness Center 1900 Lake Tahoe Blvd 


Thank you to the BHC volunteers and the public sharing their valuable time to provide some governance of the county's services & supports by serving on this commission. Get to know them - there is a personal story and passion that drives their volunteerism. There stories drive their collective desire for improvements in services & supports in our community.
Community Mental Health Events






SMART Recovery: This is a non-religious-based -support group that may be for you.

Weekly support group is back Tuesdays 6 p.m. in South Lake Tahoe and receiving positive reviews. Have anxiety or depression and/or co-occuring addiction?

Click here for list of other upcoming Mental Health events (this list excludes NAMI programs).

NAMI Programs/Groups - here
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Join or Renew Membership
Make sure the affiliate you select is " NAMI El Dorado County Western Slope and South Lake Tahoe"
You Shop and Amazon supports us when you select our affiliate : NAMI El Dorado County-Western Slope and South Lake Tahoe

"I shop routinely at smile.amazon.com and feel good that when I do I am helping NAMI El Dorado County!" NAMI El Dorado County Board Member
We are moving to a quarterly newsletter publication process that will begin 1-May and continue quarterly thereafter.
In May we will be featuring Adverse Childhood Experiences (and the intersection of genetics) and Men's Mental Health.
So many of us appreciate the talents of actor Richard Dreyfus and his interview with BP Magazine where he called Stigma "stupid!" Neuroscience researchers have known for several years that sleep patterns can be inherited. Dr. Carrie Bearden of UCLA has provided excellent research in this regard - demonstrating the importance of a routine sleep / wake cycle as it relates to mood.
Inspired, Informed, Involved