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Quote of the Week:
"Logic's performance during the 2018 Grammys was an incredible moment in suicide prevention... Logic demonstrated on a global scale that healing is happening every day for people in crisis, and that there is help available."-Frances Gonzalez, Director of Communications National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
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Quick Links
Click here to watch the latest episode detailing the importance Crisis Intervention Teams.
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This week's edition of the NAMI-NYS E-News features new resources designed to help our readers and NAMI-NYS members project their advocacy voice. We have information about Project RockSTARR, an innovative program designed to increase research participation and support mental health advocacy groups. In honor of Black History Month, we have a story about the first African-American psychiatrist as well as a story about the role of African-American churches in mental health services written by our 2017 NAMI-NYS Multicultural Award Winner.
As always, we want to know about the work you are doing.
Please email
Matthew@NAMINYS.org with details and pictures about your work. This way we can feature it in the E-News and print Newsletter. Showcasing your work will allow others to learn from you, and that's the best way we can grow together as an organization.
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New Advocacy Resources Available For
Legislative Advocacy Day
Register Today to Make Your Voice Heard
Click here to register to participate in our Legislative Advocacy Day on March 7th.
NAMI-NYS is committed to helping you project your advocacy voice and make the most impactful meetings with your legislators. We can help you identify your legislators and schedule meetings. You can indicate that you need help with this while
registering and you can also email
Bill Wallace for help with scheduling meetings.
We also have resources to help make your meetings successful. You can click here to read how to make the most impactful meetings and
click here to review our talking points for the issues.
NAMI-NYS Members Participate in NYS-OMH
RAC Meeting
Last week, the NYS Office of Mental Health held its Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) meeting at the Comfort Inn in East Greenbush, just across the river from Albany. Representatives from all over the state attended to network, share ideas and receive the latest updates from OMH.
Items under discussion included housing and managed care. NAMI was well represented, with many affiliates attending, including NAMI Huntington, NAMI Orange, NAMI Otsego, NAMI Buffalo and NAMI Staten Island.
RAC meetings are public meetings for recipients and their families to provide actionable advice within the divisions of the Office of Mental Health. If you are interested in attending the next quarterly meeting, contact the Regional Advocacy Specialist in your area.
Project RockSTARR Recognized by CenterWatch as
Top Innovator of 2018
NAMI-NYS is proud to participate in the STARR Coalition whose Project RockSTARR honors those who volunteer for a clinical trial while connecting them with local advocacy for education and support. The project was recognized as Top Innovator by CenterWatch, the leading source of clinical trials information for both clinical research professionals and patients.
Participating in a clinical trial gives hope to countless individuals throughout the world. Project RockSTARR celebrates everyone involved in improving the lives of those living with brain disorders and beyond. The idea is simple. Participating Sponsors agree to dedicate between $25-$200 for each volunteer subject enrolling into a trial to donate the dedicated amount to a local advocacy group of their choice. For instance, when a volunteer is completing the informed consent, they are given information about all advocacy groups within their area. Once they determine the advocacy group they wish to donate, they simply check off the group.
A certificate will be presented to the volunteer thanking them for their contribution. At a predetermined time designated by the sponsor, a check will be cut for each local advocacy group and sent to the clinical research site. The check will then be presented to the local advocacy group on behalf of the individuals who participated in the trial.
You can click here to view the NAMI-NYS Action Agenda sheet on Supporting New York State Research Institutions.
2017 NAMI-NYS Multicultural Award Winner Writes About Partnering With Black Churches to Increase Access to Care
Sidney Hankerson, MD, the recipient of the NAMI-NYS 2017 Multicultural Award, recently contributed an article to Psychiatric Services exploring the role African-American churches can play in increasing access to care.
Dr. Hankerson explains, "Religious congregations are often the first and, at times, the only point of contact for people seeking help for mental illness. As such, churches play a crucial role in providing potential support and connections to professional treatment. A study done throughout churches in America found that African Americans make up the majority of the population who goes to church or believe in God. Black churches have a long-standing history of providing social services for members of under resourced communities. However, it is striking that African Americans access mental health care significantly less than their Caucasian counterparts. Factors that may contribute to this disparity include a general distrust of mental health care providers, financial constraints, limited access to care, stigma associated with mental illness, and a preference for spiritually informed care."
NAMI-NYS also wishes to thank Dr. Lisa Dixon, who edits
Psychiatric Services for allowing us to share this article with you as well as articles that will appear in future issues of
Psychiatric Services.
Psychiatric Services, established in 1950, is published monthly by the American Psychiatric Association. The peer-reviewed journal features research reports on issues related to the delivery of mental health services, especially for people with serious mental illness in community-based treatment programs. NAMI-NYS encourages you to subscribe to this informative publication.
You can also
click here to read the NAMI-NYS Action Agenda sheet on Access to Appropriate Services and Medication.
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NAMI Quoted in Washington Post Article on Police Shootings
Last week, the Washington Post published an article on police shootings. The intersection of people with mental illness and law enforcement played an outsize role in the shootings: 236 people, or nearly 1 in 4 of those shot, were described as experiencing some form of mental distress at the time of the encounter with police.
While this is troubling, the article states that "mental-health advocates said they have been encouraged by the number of police departments that have created intervention teams to help people in mental distress but were dismayed at the persistence of the number killed."
Included in the article is Ron Honberg, NAMI's Senior Policy Advisor who said, "We call 911 for other medical emergencies and they bring specially trained medical technicians, but when it's a mental-health crisis, we send the police."
Click here to read the NAMI-NYS Action Agenda sheet on Improving the Criminal Justice-Mental Illness Interface.
Click here to watch the Mental Health Now episode on CIT.
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Dr. Lloyd Sederer Offers 4 Strategies for Families
Facing Addiction
Frequent NAMI-NYS collaborator Lloyd Sederer, MD, Medical Director of the New York State Office of Mental Health, recently published an article in Psychology Today offering strategies for families facing addiction. As Dr. Sederer states in the article, "Addiction is pervasive in our country and our culture. Hardly any family, friend or co-worker is spared. When we have confidence in what we see, know what to do, how to ensure effective treatment, and when we don't give up hope, addiction can be beat."
Dr. Sederer provides four strategic points for families and friends to face addiction:
1-Prevention
2-Uncover the problem and seek help as early as possible
3-Be active, and advocate for good care
4-Stay the course, and don't give up hope
Dr. Sederer's new book,
The Addiction Solution: Treating Our Dependence on Opioids and Other Drugs, will be published by Scribner (Simon & Schuster) in May.
Click here to read the article.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions in the article are those of Dr. Sederer and not necessary reflect those of the New York State Office of Mental Health or NAMI-NYS.
Click here to watch the Mental Health Now episode featuring Dr. Sederer.
New York City Sues Drug Companies Over Opioid Crisis
In other news about addiction, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City has filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers and distributors of opioid prescription drugs, joining a national campaign to hold the companies responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in costs related to the deadly opioid epidemic. Last year, Mayor de Blasio announced a plan to reduce opioid deaths through a combination of outreach, treatment and law enforcement.
The lawsuit alleges that the opioid crisis was caused by the deceptive marketing of drug makers, and by distributors bringing large amounts of prescription painkillers into the New York market. All of this has caused the city to spend millions of dollars on substance abuse treatment programs, hospital services, emergency medical services and law enforcement.
New York Times Examines Treating the Lifelong Harm of Childhood Trauma
The New York Times recently interviewed Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, who over the past decade has emerged as one of the country's strongest voices calling for a national public health campaign to raise awareness and a sense of urgency about the devastating and potentially lifelong health effects of childhood trauma. A growing body of evidence has indicated that severe or prolonged levels of childhood adversity are far more common and harmful than have been previously accepted. Dr. Burke Harris, a pediatrician, has led in developing methods to screen and treat children and families suffering health problems attributable to what is known as toxic stress.
Click here to read the NAMI-NYS Action Agenda sheet on Children's Mental Health.
Click here to watch the Mental Health Now episode on children's mental health which discusses ACES and trauma in children including socio-economic trauma.
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In Honor of Black History Month NAMI-NYS Recognizes
America's First Black Psychiatrist Solomon Carter Fuller
The first known black psychiatrist was Solomon Carter Fuller, M.D., who attained sufficient recognition and distinction as a neuropathologist and clinician to warrant an obituary in the New England Journal of Medicine when he died in 1953. Born in Liberia, he came to the United States in 1889 to attend Livingston College in Salisbury, N.C. He graduated from Boston University Medical School in 1894 and began an internship at Westboro State Hospital. In 1904 Fuller went to Munich, Germany, for a year to study psychiatry with Kraepelin and in the laboratory of Alzheimer. When the Veterans Administration opened the Tuskegee (Ala.) Hospital to serve black veterans, Fuller was instrumental in recruiting and training black psychiatrists for key positions.
Click here to
read more on about Solomon Carter Fuller and his accomplishments
More Attention Being Paid to Why A Disproportionate Amount of Doctors Complete Suicide
Five years ago Pamela Wible attended a funeral for a doctor who had completed suicide, the third doctor in 18 months and the most common thing she heard everyone say at the funeral was "Why?". No one knew the answer so she decided to find out the truth. She started a list and left the funeral with 10 doctors who had completed suicide, now her registry has 757 names. Pamela began writing and speaking about why doctors die by suicide and why it's so often hushed up.
The response was huge: So many distressed doctors (and medical students) wrote and phoned in. Soon she was running a de facto international suicide hotline from her home. To date, she has spoken to thousands of suicidal doctors; published a book of their suicide letters; attended more funerals; interviewed hundreds of surviving physicians, families and friends. She has spent nearly every waking moment over the past five years on a personal quest for the truth of "why." Guilt, bullying, exhaustion, and so much more are big factors.
365 Days with Schizophrenia in a Broken System:
Joey's Story
The Kennedy Forum recently detailed a family's story of their first year trying to access services for their son who was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. Early in 2017, while in China, Joey began experiencing delusions and paranoia. His parents, realizing something was wrong, decided that he needed to come back to the states for some evaluation.
Upon calling treatment facilities, they started to hear words and terms that they had never heard before when dealing with regular medical issues (i.e., private pay, financial contracts, pay-in-advance, out-of-network authorization, in-patient vs. out-patient treatment, self-funded plan, third party billing services, and patient care advocate). They quickly learned that almost all of the treatment facilities were out-of-network, and none were in Arizona where they lived. With so many questions ranging from how can they charge so much? Why are there so few quality in-network facilities under our health care plan? How does an average family afford this? Joey's parent looked for the best plan they could find.
Click here to read the full article.
Logic's Grammys Performance Tripled Calls to
National Suicide Prevention Line
Last week, we reported on Logic's Grammy performance of his hit song "1-800-273-8255," which is the number of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Calls to the Lifeline tripled during the two hours after the performance.
"Logic's performance during the 2018 Grammys was an incredible moment in suicide prevention," Frances Gonzalez, Director of Communications for the Suicide Prevention Lifeline, told CNN. "By sharing a message of hope and taking the stage with individuals who have been personally affected by suicide, Logic demonstrated on a global scale that healing is happening every day for people in crisis, and that there is help available."
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NIMH Update
NPR Speaks With NIMH Director About Researchers Discovering 'Anxiety Cells' In The Brain
Scientists have found specialized brain cells in mice that appear to control anxiety levels. The finding could eventually lead to better treatments for anxiety disorders, which affect nearly 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. Mazen Kheirbek, an assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco and an author of the study, and a team including several researchers from Columbia University, discovered the cells in the hippocampus, an area of the brain known to be involved in anxiety as well as navigation and memory. But there's a lot more to anxiety than just these cells in the hippocampus, Kheirbek says. "These cells are probably just one part of an extended circuit by which the animal learns about anxiety-related information."
The discovery of anxiety cells is just the latest example of the "tremendous progress" scientists have made toward understanding how anxiety works in the brain, says Joshua Gordon, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, which helped fund the research. "If we can learn enough, we can develop the tools to turn on and off the key players that regulate anxiety in people," Gordon says.
Mental Illnesses by the Numbers
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has launched a redesigned Statistics section on its website that features interactive data visualization tools and sharing capabilities. The section also features improved organization, navigation, and accessibility. The goal: To help people understand the impact of mental illnesses.
"There is power in numbers," said Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., director of NIMH. "Mental illnesses affect tens of millions of people in the United States and across the globe each year. Each of these individuals has a singular, compelling story that conveys an understanding of the depth of suffering. Statistics build on this foundation by helping us better understand the broader scope and impact of mental illnesses on society."
Clinical Trial Recruitment
Depression in Teenagers
Join a research study seeking to find causes and treatments of
depression in teenagers. The study is recruiting participants ages 11-17 who are depressed and have a pediatrician or medical provider. The study begins with an outpatient evaluation (clinical assessment, interviews, and questionnaires). Outpatient study visits include a clinical assessment, research tasks, and brain imaging, up to age 25. Eligible participants may receive treatment of evidence-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and if indicated, standard medicines. Enrollment is from across the United States. Transportation expenses to NIH in Bethesda, MD are reimbursed. There is no cost to participate, compensation is provided.
For more information you can
Call 1-
301-827-1350 [TTY: 1-866-411-1010] email: depressedkids@mail.nih.gov or by clicking here.
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FEBRUARY 8- Capital District Psychiatric Center Family Services Presents: "An Overview of
Albany County Department of Mental Health" presented by Cindy Hoffman, Associate Director of Clinical Operations, Ramona Bartholomew, Coordinator of the Community Mental Health Criminal Justice Unit/AOT and Tyleia Harrell Behavioral Systems Manager.
Thursday February 8th, 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.at the CDPC Family Resource Center 75 New Scotland Ave., Albany NY. To register contact Frank Greco at (518)549-6816.
February 15-NAMI Schenectady will host a lunch meeting discussing advocacy issues. NAMI-NYS's Matthew Shapiro will be discussing the 2018 NAMI-NYS Advocacy Action Agenda. The event will be held at the Swanker Room of the Schenectady Public Library, Central Library, located at
99 Clinton St, Schenectady, NY 12305. Lunch will be served.
February 15-
Capital District Psychiatric Center Family Services Presents: NAMI-NYS's Matthew Shapiro, who will be speaking about advocacy issues, ABLE Accounts and Paid Family Leave. This will take place
beginning
at 5pm
at the CDPC Family Resource Center 75 New Scotland Ave., Albany NY. To register contact Frank Greco at (518)549-6816.
February 9th
-MHA of Fulton and Montgomery Counties will be hosting Fun Fever-A Night of Stand Up Comedy, to benefit their new support group for families who have lost a loved one to opiates. The event will take place at the Country Club of Amsterdam, 130 Guy Park Ave. Amsterdam.
March 13-CAIC Advocacy Day 2018
On any given day, as many as 4,000 people are locked in isolated confinement in New York's prisons and jails. This practice is ineffective, unsafe, and inhumane. It causes people detained in terrible conditions to deteriorate psychologically, physically, and also harms their families and communities. On March 13th 2018, people will come together from across the state in Albany to demand an end to this torture! Meet with legislators, learn, and rally to get the Humane Alternatives for Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act [A. 3080/ S. 4784] passed.
April 20th-
NAMI-NYS Young Adult Network member Olivia Case will be hosting a screening of Suicide The Ripple Effect at the Regal Theatre in Victor, NY. The film chronicles Kevin Hines, who at age 19 attempted to take his life by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge. Seventeen years later, he still struggles with many of the same symptoms that led him to attempt to take his life, but he is on a mission to use his story to help others stay alive. The screening will benefit NAMI-NYS
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FEBRUARY 20-NAMI-NYC Metro NAMI Homefront, Tuesdays, February 20 - March 27, 2018, from 6pm - 8:30pm, Manhattan VA Medical Center, 423 East 23rd Street, 3 West Conference Room J, New York, NY 10010. To register, please contact NAMI-NYC Metro Helpline (212) 684-3264.
FEBRUARY 26-NAMI-NYC Metro Peer-to-Peer Spanish Class (De Persona a Persona), Mondays, February 26 - April 30, 2018, from 5pm - 7pm, NAMI-NYC Metro, 505 8th Avenue, Room 1103, New York, NY 10018. To register, please contact NAMI-NYC Metro Helpline (212) 684-3264.
MARCH 1-
Nami Queens Nassau Family-to- Family. Thursdays March 1-May 17 2018, 7:00 pm -9:30 pm at the Walk in Love for Jesus Church, 906 Newbridge Rd, North Bellmore NY 11710. To register: Please contact NAMI Queens Nassau at (516) 326-0797 or ( 718) 437-7284 or www.office@namiqn.org, or www.Namiqn.org, or www.facebook.com/namiqn. Co-leader Carol Ann Viccora ( 516) 221-6168 Elizabeth Janow.
MARCH 6-
NAMI Queens Nassau Family-to-Family. Tuesdays March 6- May 23 2018, 4:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m. atThe LaGuardia Community College, ECLC 31-10, Room MB09, Thomson Ave. LIC, NY 11101.To register: Please contact NAMI Queens Nassau at (516) 326-0797 or (718) 347-7284 or office@namiqn.org. or www.namiqn.org or ww.facebook.com/namiqn Co-Leaders: Sonya Evariste (718) 482-5217John Johnson.
MARCH 8-NAMI Rockland Family-to-Family. Thursdays, March 8, 2018 - May 24, 2018, 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM. Location: NAMI Rockland Rockland Psychiatric Center, 140 Old Orangeburg Road, Bldg. #57, 1st Floor Meeting Room, Orangeburg, NY 10962.Co-Teachers: Chris Vanasse & Marlene Becker. To register call NAMI Rockland at (845) 359-8787 or email: familysupport@namirockland.org
MARCH 17-
Nami Queens Nassau Family-to -Family. Saturdays March 17 -June 2, 2018,1:00 -3:30 pm at The Greater Springfield Community Church, 177-06 129th Ave. Jamaica, NY 11434 To register please contact NAMI Queens Nassau at (516) 326-0797 or ( 718) 437-7284 or www.office@namiqn.org, or www.Namiqn.org, or www.facebook.com/namiqn, Co-leader Susan Gambler (718) 297-0024 Sharon Ecke.
March 19-
Nami Queens Nassau Family-to-Nassau. Mondays March 19-June 18, 2018, 6:30 pm -9:00 pm at Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock 48 Shelter Rock Road,Manhasset, NY 11030. To register: Please contact NAMI Queens Nassau at (516) 326-0797 or (718) 347-7284 or www.office@namiqn.org. or www.namiqn.org or www.facebook.com/namiqn. Co-Leaders:Ellen Ritz RN (516) 330-9778 or el.ritz@yahoo.com.
MARCH 28- NAMI Huntington Family-to-Family. Wednesdays, March 28th-June 13th 7:00p.m. -9:00 p.m. at the Northport VA Medical Center, Building 200-A1-5, 79 Middleville Rd. , Northport, NY 11768. To register contact: Jill Ryan 516-695-0389(
quiltanp@aol.com), Barry Goggin 631-261-4400 Ext 2785 (
Barry.goggin@va.gov), Jane Dovi 631-835-2277 (
janedovi@icloud.com).
APRIL 3-NAMI Orange County Family-to-Family .Tuesdays, April 3rd - June 19th , 6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 33 Park Place, Goshen, 10924.To register contact NAMI Orange County
namiorangeny@warwick.net / (845)956-6264.
APRIL 9
- NAMI Staten Island Family-to-Family. Mondays, April 9th -June 25 from 7:00p.m. -9:30p.m. at the Holy Rosary Parish, 85 Jerome Ave., Staten Island, New York 10305. Paulette and Keith will be teaching. Please contact us to register(718)477-1700.
MAY 8- NAMI Orange County Family-to-Family. Tuesdays, May 8th -July 24th , 6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 145 Benkard Ave., Newburgh, NY 12550. To register contact NAMI Orange County namiorangeny@warwick.net / (845)956-6264.
JUNE 3- NAMI Orange County Basics. Sundays, June 3rd -July 8th , 6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 33 Park Place, Goshen, 10924. To register contact NAMI Orange County namiorangeny@warwick.net / (845)956-6264.
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2018 NAMI-NYS TRAINING SCHEDULE
Please contact your local affiliate program le
aders for more information and how to enroll.
NAMI Family-to-Family
April 6th -8th
Location: NAMI-NYS Office
NAMI Homefront
April 20th -22nd
Location: NAMI-NYS Office
NAMI Peer-to-Peer
June 8th-10th
Location: NAMI-NYS Office
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