NAMI Blog

Collaboration is so important these days, especially when trying to meet the changing mental health needs of our Community.  As always, NAMI Arapahoe/Douglas Counties is committed to offering quality programming to families, loved ones and individuals living with mental illness.  Through our education, support and outreach we are able to steadily build awareness and reduce stigma, but one area requiring an immediate need still remains, youth programming.  At this time,  NAMI national is working toward meeting this need.  Until then, NAMI Arapahoe/Douglas Counties has joined with local partners whose programming already meets many of the area family and youth needs.Read More

It is a great time at NAMI Arapahoe/Douglas Counties.   Three of our dedicated board members, Gina Moore, Jean Miller and Donna Parisi are involved in a noteworthy Community Outreach program that I would like to share with you here. Wednesday, February 10th, we again collaborated with Healing Our Youth: Get Educated to present an inspiring stigma busting and awareness program.  The power of  this 90 minute program seems to be catching on at a swift pace, over 150 people attended to learn more about: Learn important facts and statistics about mental disorders and the basic biology of mental disordersRead More

As many of you know, the NAMI National Convention is going to be held in Denver this year, July 6-9.  This is an amazing opportunity for NAMI Colorado and the State affiliates.  I was fortunate to attend the National convention last year in San Francisco, which was an incredible learning and networking opportunity.  NAMI National is finally on the forefront of what is happening within the mental health field.  The exposure that they are receiving seems to be having a positive impact and shaping the future of mental health. It is my sincere hope that we can show the restRead More

Happy New Year each of you!  I sincerely hope that the holiday season was a success.  After a needed break, NAMI Arapahoe/Douglas Counties is back for 2016 and hitting the ground running.  There are several new initiatives this year that I will be sharing with you in the coming months.  First, the 2016 start of our NAMI Signature programs.  In the next couple of weeks, we will begin a new Family to Family class, as well as a NAMI Basics.  Both require pre-registration, but there is still space available.  Don’t delay, register today by clicking one of the links above.Read More

Dear Friends, I hope this finds everyone well and in the Holiday spirit.  This is the time of year where we all seem to be rushing around finalizing last minute plans focused on the never-ending list of things to-do.  Taking a minute to celebrate the simpler things, I would like to share some good news with all of you. As I mentioned in our previous blog post A Thanksgiving to Remember, NAMI Arapahoe Douglas Counties sponsored a Thanksgiving dinner that fed over 170 clients, community partners and staff  at the Center Point, an Arapahoe Douglas Mental Health Network program.  AsRead More

Last week, the NAMI Arapahoe/Douglas Counties Board of Directors got together for a holiday dinner and gift exchange. It was a great event that allowed us to spend some time catching up with one another. 2015 has been an incredible year for us at NAMI ADCO with new, improved and expanded programming. Those initiatives left little time for socialization among us. It also was the perfect opportunity to fully welcome our newest board members Julie Corbett and Jean Miller to the group. We all spent some time enjoying each other’s company before the evenings festivities began.  What a good time.Read More

This time of year can prove to be challenging for those living with a mental illness, as well as their loved ones. In an effort to alleviate some of the pitfalls that come along with the holidays, we wanted to send a quick excerpt from the book When Someone You Love has a Mental Illness by Rebecca Woods on how to better prepare and hopefully avoid holiday heartache. Holidays tend to be especially stressful for families experiencing a mental illness. There are often implied, if not specific, expectations of certain types of behaviors (e.g., exchanging gifts, socializing), feelings (happiness), etc.Read More

Each year NAMI Arapahoe/Douglas Counties participates in a significant amount of community outreach.  We enjoy sharing our time, talent and resources with other community partners to help further build awareness and reduce the stigma of mental illness.  For several years, we have helped sponsor Thanksgiving dinner for the clients, staff and community partners of The Center Point Program, an Arapahoe Douglas Mental Health Network program.   Some quick background on the important work they do: “The Center Point Program promotes ongoing recovery through the provision of advocacy, empowerment and social skill building.  The program provides an outlet for ongoing support andRead More