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 disorders
- Learn about youth substance use
- Discover how to identify unhealthy adolescent behavior
- Learn what treatments are available for mental disorders and steps to take to access treatment
- Connect with experts and resources in the field of suicide prevention, mental health and behavioral health
- Enjoy conversation with other parents, teachers and youth workers
Each event includes a panelist presentation and resource fair. The exhibitors at the resource fair range from local mental health hospitals/clinics/networks, suicide awareness programs, nutritionists, private practice counseling groups, local support groups, to the National Alliance on Mental Illness Arapahoe/Douglas Counties and Crisis Intervention Team officers from local sheriff and police departments.
The goal is to educate parents, teachers and youth workers who are most involved in the lives of our youth so these adults have the knowledge and tools to identify mental health concerns in youth early, which will then hopefully lead to earlier treatment of mental disorders to improve outcomes for our youth with mental health issues.
NAMI Arapahoe/Douglas Counties is committed to offering programs and resources that are youth centric and focused on greater understanding and awareness. Through collaborative efforts like this, we can highlight our family related Signature programming, NAMI Basics, Family to Family and varied Support Groups.
The next Healing Our Youth: Get Educated is scheduled for Tuesday, March 1, 2016, 6pm to 9pm at Arapahoe Community College, Littleton, CO – registration is now open. This event is free and registration is required.
Jean Miller, MA, LPC, NCC, ACS
Jason C Hopcus CLC, MSLC