As we come to the end of another year, we at NAMI CC&I see December as a time for reflecting on the events of the past year and a time of planning for the new year.

 

In reviewing our activities of the past several months, we see our programming and services moving forward in two distinct ways; one which I will call reactive programming and support and the other being hopefully proactive. Our traditional NAMI CC&I programs and support groups are directed toward and serve families and friends who are dealing with loved ones exhibiting serious mental/behavioral health challenges. We are very pleased with the success of our Family-2-Family and Borderline Personality Disorder programs as well as our nine support groups. Our support calls are constant and everyone in the office is becoming comfortable with picking up the phone as our knowledge of resources and our abilities to help clients navigate the fragmented system grow. We are also investing time and energy in developing the resources to furnish and monitor out- patient services for individuals in an effort to decrease hospital readmissions. Empathetic and positive support will always be the heart of the NAMI CC&I mission.

 

That being said, living in a society where one in five will experience a mental health issue at any given time, but also a society which stigmatizes mental illness, we feel that it is imperative to attempt proactive community programming in an effort to divert crises. Over the past year we have obtained funding to initiate three major programs impacting three very important groups who serve our community:  public school teachers, local police officers, and home health care providers. 

First, the introductory session of Think:Kids, a collaborative problem-solving(CPS), evidence-based program from Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard University was held this October with around 1000 educators in attendance including the entire staff of the Barnstable Public School system. The program will continue with a 2 ½- day intensive training of 150 mentors who will provide support and guidance as classroom teachers as they implement CPS in their respective classrooms. 

Second, we are in the midst of our second 5-day Community Crisis Intervention Team (CCIT) police training. We have 27 police officers from 13 out of the 15 Cape towns in this training. We have already seen positive results from our first CCIT training presented last February. We also had participants from community agencies such as the Homeless Prevention Council, Housing Assistance Corp, Baybridge Clubhouse, Relief Home Health and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

Third, we have been fortunate to obtain funding to present a Mental Health First Aid (a one-day comprehensive class) teacher training in 2018. We will be able to train 30 people to teach Mental Health First Aid to the many caregivers and home health aides who work with the elderly and the physically challenged people in our community.

 

With these three important programs, we feel that we have the ability to make a significant impact on the mind set and the skill sets of thousands of people who serve our community in their respective capacities. Hopefully, with the addition of these skill sets and techniques, these groups will have a better understanding of mental health issues and will treat them with compassion and understanding, helping to decrease the stigma related to mental health.