Community News
Increasing Access to Mental Health Care
Improving Services, Supports, and Community Knowledge
Dear NAMI Families and Friends ,

May is Mental Health Awareness month. We invite you to participate in awareness celebrations perhaps by electing all or portions of this 31-day challenge. Visit the fun Mental Health Awareness library display case at the EDC Main Library and we thank each of you who are proactive in providing decorations, personal shares, or events at work or in your social network.

Congratulations to the family/caregiver graduates of our first NAMI Family-to-Family in beautiful El Dorado Hills 24-Apr-2019. Thank you to Fred and Victoria for planning and teaching this program! Thank you to the talented guest presenters Jan, Amanda,Deputy Hangebrauck, Jeanne and Stephen, and Nathaniel. We appreciated representation from peers, EDC public guardian's office, and law enforcement. Good news for those waitlisted: another class coming this fall to El Dorado Hills.

Congratulations too to the El Dorado County Youth Commission - inspiring young leaders!

Thank you TWCF! We are over-joyed and humbled to have been selected as the recipient of this year's Tahoe Women's Community Fund's "Impact Grant." This grant will support our volunteerism specifically bringing NAMI Ending the Silence into the Middle and High School in South Lake Tahoe (and include the development of key educational materials/volunteers that seed the crucial conversation process within families.). We are aiming to reach over 300 tweens/teens - understanding symptoms and genetic history and how to seek help is crucial. We are working to find grant funds on the Western Slope to be able to expand this strategic offering there.
Thank you to SITS, Soroptimist of Tahoe-Sierra for the generous donation in support of our volunteerism in South Lake Tahoe.

We provided a pilot of NAMI Ending the Silence to 40 students at South Tahoe HS last month. Counselors and school psychologist and the students provided positive feedback asking us to return. Very insightful Q&A by the students/staff! It is wonderful to see Advanced Psychology and introductory Psychology offered in the high schools. Great article: great benefits to taking a high school psychology class .

Our 2019 Strategic Plan and our hospital transition tip guide are both available at namieldoradocounty.org. Thank you to Michael Tino, MichaelTino.co m, for his design assistance on our tip guide and other NAMI materials. The new hospital transition tips are available at any of the 15 mental health kiosk location s.

Our board elected to not participate in this year's Northern CA NAMI Walks due to the distance/time required for us to travel. That said, NAMI has just announced a new walk model that we may consider next year that supports local mini-walks! Everyone is welcome to participate at any of the walks - great way to get outside and enjoy nature with friends.

We encourage rotational leadership across our board and with our volunteers to ensure our volunteers have an opportunity to gain and share their wisdom/strengths. Our next board meeting, open to the public, is 4-June in Placerville at 5 p.m. in Conference room C at the County offices on FairLane.   

On behalf of our entire board of directors and our skilled and totally awesome volunteers and members let us each be the change we want to see in the world.

Cheers,
Jeanne Nelson and Fred Hjerpe
Pronouns She/her/hers and He/him/his respectively
Co-Presidents
NAMI El Dorado County
Warm-line: 530-306-4101 (M-Th 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.; leave message)
Play video clip - Take the 31-day Mental Health Awareness challenge!
IN EVERY ISSUE

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

 Mental Illness Arrests? Learn what you can do here .

Mental Health Kiosks locations

Homelessness Services: here

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.

I n-Home-Support Services; Disability Benefit Information; and Legal Assistance: click here

Board & Cares - Adult Residential Facilities: how to find them

IN EVERY ISSUE

Family Support Groups designed for family members and/or caregivers/friends supporting a loved one living with a mental health condition. 

Monthly Family Support Groups:
  • Placerville: 1st Tuesday monthly starts 7 p.m.
  • South Lake Tahoe: 2nd Tuesday monthly starts 6 p.m.

Click here for logistics/details.

Warm-lines that offer non-judgmental 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 warm-lines - not crisis lines.

ENGLISH:530-306-4101

SPANISH: 775-407-0306  
4 years ago a collaborative
leadership team identified high priority opportunities

Today we celebrate tripling the volume of psychiatrists on both slopes; tele-psychiatry short wait-times; the availability of skilled Clinical Psychologists and therapists; our own affiliate providing services to over 700 cases per year and more than 50 warm-line callers per month; 15 mental health kiosks filled with FREE quality educational materials; and active involvement with several schools. Thank you to each of you working collaboratively every day to help others
A special thank you to Michael Ward, Executive Director, Highbar Consulting, strategic performance consulting specializing in facilitating broad improvements in mental health services/supports community-wide. Michael has facilitated a healthy collective impact in our community - what a pleasure it has been to hear his wisdom and see his facilitation techniques in action these past years. More great things to come.

A special thank you to Arturo Salazar, Director, Shingle Springs Health & Wellness, for his rapid expansion of services to the community in such a short amount of time.

Mental Health Month 2019 Community Events
  • Tuesday, May 7 ~ 3:30-5pm - Survivors of Suicide Support Group at the South Lake Tahoe Library
  • Tuesday, May 7 ~ 5:30-8:30pm - "Raising Resilient Kids" by Sonia Rupp, MD at Lake Tahoe Community College
  • Thursday, May 9 ~ 6pm - Free Mental Health Wellness Lecture, "Your Brain & Stress" by Betsy Glass, LCSW at the Barton Center for Orthopedics & Wellness
  • Friday, May 10 ~ 9am-1pm - Parent Leadership Workshop at A Balanced Life (530.544.1748)
  • Tuesday, May 14 ~ 6-7:30pm - NAMI Family Support Group at the South Lake Tahoe Library
  • Friday, May 17 ~ 9am-1pm - Parent Leadership Workshop at A Balanced Life (530.544.1748)
  • Friday, May 17 ~ 10am-4pm - Sometimes What Hurts the Most Can't be Seen, But Sometimes What Helps the Most is Easy to DoPresentation by David Woods Bartley at Lake Tahoe Community College (RSVP Required: kehuxtable@ltcc.edu)
  • Friday, May 24 ~ 9am-1pm - Parent Leadership Workshop at A Balanced Life (530.544.1748)
  • Tuesday, May 28 ~ 5:30-8:30pm - Grief & Loss: The Impact of All Family Members Recognizing Mental Health Concerns & Navigating Care with Mariana Randolph, LCSW at Lake Tahoe Community College
  • Friday, May 31 ~ 9am-1pm - Parent Leadership Workshop at A Balanced Life (530.544.1748)
Breakdown: A Clinician's Experience in a Broken System of Emergency Psychiatry by Lynn Nanos, L.I.C.S.W. now available at the El Dorado County community library system and Amazon.

This is an excellent read for all community leaders and family/caregivers advocating to improve emergency psychiatric services/supports.

The author is very experienced and articulate in describing opportunities and solutions. She describes heart-wrenching stories of real cases but also suggests what could make a difference.

If you have a friend/family-member experiencing psychiatric emergency - this book may help you understand how to navigate challenging systems of care.
" Recipe for Success: When there is a history of psychosis reported by the family – provide AOT – obviously adhering to the AOT acceptance criteria.  When in doubt – provide AOT; when in transition out of PHF or jail – provide AOT; when deemed not appropriate for in-patient psychiatric but family/caregivers have reported psychosis – provide AOT.   Let’s err on the conservative side of saving brains and ultimately lives.   The truth is that while most people with mental illness are not a danger to others those living with untreated psychotic disorders can become violent.  AOT is a crucial component of treatment." Read full article by Jeanne Nelson, President NAMI El Dorado County here .


Family History Form (always provide this with an AOT Referral)
Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) 
Eligibility Requirements
California Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 5345-5349

1)  Referred by qualified party.
2)  The person is in the country or reasonably believed to be in the county.
3)  All nine criteria are met:
1.   18 years of age or older.
2.   Suffering from a mental illness (excludes dementia and organic brain damage).
3.   Clinical determination that the person is unlikely to survive safely in the community without supervision.
4.   History of lack of compliance with treatment for his or her mental illness and one of the following are true:  
(1) Mental illness has, 2 times within the last 36 months, been a factor in necessitating hospitalization, or receipt of services in a forensic or other mental health unit of a State or local correctional facility (excluding hospitalization or incarceration immediately preceding the petition); or
(2) Person’s mental illness has resulted in one or more acts of serious and violent behavior toward himself or herself or another, or threats, or attempts to cause serious physical harm to self or another within the last 48 months (excluding any period person was hospitalized or incarcerated immediately preceding filing of the petition).
5.   The person has been offered an opportunity to participate in a treatment plan by the Director of the local Behavioral Health Division, or his or her designee, and the person fails to engage in treatment.
6.   The person’s condition is substantially deteriorating.
7.   AOT would be the least restrictive placement to ensure recovery and stability.
8.   The person is in need of AOT in order to prevent relapse or deterioration (grave disability, serious harm to self, others).
9.   It is likely the person will benefit from AOT.
4)  The Treatment Plan involves services actually available from El Dorado County Behavioral Health.
MichaelTino.com - NAMI Peer Leader in South Lake Tahoe will have several art showings locally. Thank you Michael for leading the panel discussion on resources available through NAMI El Dorado County and around town at the MH Movie evening at Lake Tahoe Community College last week - over 50 students in attendance.
Stop by the El Dorado County main library in South Lake Tahoe to see our display case celebrating "Mental Health Awareness" - the Mental Health kiosk is in the same library entry area. People can and do recover with education, support, and treatment. Free brain stress balls available to the first 50 children/tweens/teens that share with the librarian what they appreciate most about the library!

Courtesy NAMI El Dorado County
NAMI On Campus / Mental Health Awareness / Brain Health Leadership starting at Lake Tahoe Community College.

Students from LTCC - come join NAMI leaders in South Lake Tahoe for a presentation and club planning meeting on Monday at 12 p.m. in A106.

1) We are seeking volunteers SPECIFICALLY to co-teach NAMI Family-to-Family in South Lake Tahoe. We have organized a train-the-educator program. Must have experience caring for a loved one with a serious mental illness and a passion to share best practices.



2) We are seeking Peer volunteers age 18-30 willing to share their story as a certified NAMI Ending the Silence presenter in South Lake Tahoe. Training and mentoring provided. Please contact f2fnami@gmail.com with interest.

NAMI Family-to-Family train-the-educator training is scheduled for July 19, 20 and 21 (9 a.m. - 5 p.m.) in South Lake Tahoe . Completion will qualify you to teach NAMI Family-to-Family and help us with other volunteer activities.
FREE: seats open to those in Alpine or South Lake Tahoe

Mental Health Training Assembly Bill 680 Passes With Unanimous Support!!

NAMI California-sponsored Assembly Bill 680, which will require mental health crisis training for all 911 dispatchers, has passed with a unanimous vote on March 26. According to Assemblymember Kansen Chu (D-San Jose), the bill will provide dispatchers with valuable training to learn how to appropriately approach mental health situations on ground.

"At least 20 percent of adults in jails and prisons have a recent history of mental illness and 70 percent of youth who are incarcerated have at least one mental health condition," Chu stated. "We need to do better to connect people with the appropriate services. This bill will both better inform those on the ground and provide important health intervention procedure for the person in crisis."


ANTHEM BLUE CROSS:
Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Therapist, Doctor visits through live video from a smartphone, tablet, or computer.

LiveHealth Online is here 1-888-LIVEHEALTH
livehealthonline.com

Download the free LiveHealth Online mobile app

Choose Signup to create your account

Enter profile info and then access doctors 24/7 at no cost to you.



BBRFoundation.org

BBRF Webinar  Crossing the Goal Line; bringing Ketamine treatments to the Clinic
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

BBRF Webinar -  The Search for Novel Treatment Targets for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

BBRF Webinar -  Searching for BioMarkers of Stress Related Mental Illness and Suicidality
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM


PsychU.org

Giving Mental Illness a Voice: Patient Perspectives on Self-Disclosure and Stigma
May 23, 2019
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. 






The National Institute of Mental Health is the lead federal agency for research on mental disorders.

Neuromelanin- Sensitive MRI marker Identified as a Potential BioMarker for Psychosis. Found to be a dopamine function in people with schizophrenia.


Transforming the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses.
NEWS: Washington Post: Dissecting brains to find the biological answers to the Mysteries of Mental Disorders. Read full story here.


Learn more about such hopeful research at https://www.bbrfoundation.org who funds cutting edge research to find cures for mental illness

  • Brain Network changes may explain Resilience to Childhood Trauma. Brain researchers discover that the right portion of the amygdala, a brain structure deeply involved in emotional processing is hyperactive in some people who have been subjected to abuse. Interesting that many subjected to the same abuse are resilient...this brain research is an example of scientists seeking to replicate resiliency into those who are born with emotional vulnerability... Thank you the the brain researchers and to BBRFoundation.org.
  • Some Pathologies in Autism are Traced to Stem Cells in the Developing Brain
  • The First Drug Treatment to Specifically Relieve Post-Partum Depression is Approved.
One of the greatest opportunities for education is attending an annual national NAMI Convention - this year on the west coast in Seattle!

NAMI California's annual state-wide conference May 31-June 1 in Newport Beach - celebrating 40 years of NAMI CA.
NAMI California's Advocacy


Want to know latest bills proposed and their status? Click here
Accepting candidates to attend our next Family-to-Family programs:
Exact dates and venues are TBD.

Fall, 2019: El Dorado Hills, CA

Spring, 2020: South Lake Tahoe, CA

Email: F2Fnami@gmail.com if you wish to be added to the invite list once we have our venue/dates. Provide your name, email, and confirmation that you have a family member or friend that you are caring for that lives with mental illness.
NAMI instructor/outreach volunteers needed!
Contact f2fnami@gmail.com .

Family-to-Family Educator training : July 19, 20, 21 (in South Lake Tahoe and are seeking candidates from Alpine County or South Lake Tahoe area as a priority.)

NAMI El Dorado County
Board Meetings:
We meet every other month on the 1st Tuesday of the month.


2019 remaining Dates: 4-June-2019; 6-Aug,
1-Oct; 3-Dec.
Time: 5:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m. Conference Room C at the County Offices on Fair Lane, Placerville
Want to volunteer with us? Click here to see our many volunteer opportunities.
Join or Renew Membership
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-- NAMI El Dorado County Board Member
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