EDUCATIONAL FORUMS: Our speaker on juvenile justice and mental illness for the forum on June 16th at Evergreen Hospital cancelled and we are presently seeking a replacement. Please call the NAMI-Eastside Office to confirm this forum. Forums are held on the third Tuesday of each month at Evergreen Hospital, Suite Tan 100, 12303 NE 130th Lane, Kirkland, 7:00-9:00 pm. All presentations are FREE and open to the public. Call (425) 885-6264 for more information. Future topics include:

June: Juvenile Justice and Mental Illness – Needs to be confirmed
July: Alcoholism and Bipolar
August: Warmlines
September: Pregnancy and Mental Illness
October: PTSD.

We are starting a new series of education forums along the I-90 corridor at Bellevue College. While a long term schedule has yet to be set up, our first forum will be on Tuesday May 26, 2009, 3:00-5:00PM. The first presentation is “In Our Own Voice: Living with Mental Illness.” Learn how people with serious mental illnesses cope with the realities of their disorders while recovering and reclaiming productive lies that have meaning and dignity. This forum at Bellevue College will be held in the Library Media Center in Bldg D, Room 126 (enter through the Library), 3000 Landerholm Circle SE, Bellevue, WA 98007-6484. A map of the campus and parking lots is available on the Bellevue College website at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/. After 3:00PM park anywhere on campus, except in the student parking garage.

WANTED:

Volunteers to Become Support Group Facilitators Are you a family member that has been helped by a Family Support Group or the Family to Family class? Would you be willing to help others facing similar challenges? No previous experience required, just a desire to help other families in need. Groups meet once per month

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Join our Speakers’ Bureau!  

Our outreach efforts in 2009 include reaching out to Eastside churches and other local organizations (Rotary Clubs, Chambers of Commerce, etc.). We're looking for a few volunteers willing to meet with local community leaders to explain what NAMI Eastside is all about. Volunteers would be partnered; you wouldn't have to do it by yourself! Please contact the NES office for more information about both of these volunteer opportunities. Thank you!

A NEW SUPPORT GROUP SPECIFICALLY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE:   Aages 18-35 will be held on the 2nd Thursday of each month from 6:30 – 8:00PM at the Washington Cathedral, 12300 Woodinville-Redmond Rd NE, Redmond, WA 98052. Please contact the NES office, (425) 885-6264 or info@nami-eastside.org for more information.

A NEW FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP IN ISSAQUAH:

Is beginning July 15. This new group will meet the 3rd Wednesday of each month, 7:00 – 8:30PM at the Issaquah City Hall, 2nd Floor – Coho Room, 130 E. Sunset Way, Issaquah, WA 98027. The group welcomes family members, friends, and employers of people living with mental illness. Confidential group discussions focus on the effects of brain disease on your loved one, on you and your family. Newcomers and veterans of those living with a mentally ill loved one share support and learn through other’s experience. Discussion and participation is entirely voluntary and, as with all NAMI programs, there is no charge. An experienced NAMI facilitator will lead the group discussion.

KING COUNTY WARM LINE opened for operation beginning March 13th:

IThe Warm Line is for individuals with psychiatric symptoms. Peers promote wellness by listening, encouraging, providing alternative solutions and fostering a sense of hope.

Operates 5 PM to 10 PM on Friday and Saturdays Phone: (206) 933-7001 Toll Free 1-877-500-9276 * Please ONLY use the toll free number if the 206 # is long distance. Web Site: http://www.kingcountywarmline.org

For those that are not familiar with Warm Lines, a Warm Line is a non-crisis support phone service run by and for individuals with psychiatric challenges (consumers/peers etc). Warm Lines offer individuals with mental illnesses a safe way to make contact with their peers and develop meaningful relationships. Research tells us that contact with individuals further along in their recovery journey gives hope to individuals calling in, that they too can achieve wellness and reconnect to some of the hopes and dreams that were perhaps crushed as a result of receiving a diagnosis of mental illness. We also know that Warm Lines reduce the burden on case managers, professional crisis lines, and other community resources. In fact, one study done in New Hampshire showed that Warm Lines reduced the use of crisis teams by 60%.

Warm Lines are not just beneficial for those calling in for support, comfort, and companionship. The peer mentors answering the calls also report numerous benefits including reduced hospitalization, reduced service use, increased knowledge, information, and coping skills; and stronger social networks and support. Working on the Warm Line greatly enhances individuals’ self-esteem as they are actively making a contribution to the community and to the lives of others.

Please feel free to contact Helen Nilon, President, King County Warm Line Board at WarmLine@Navos.org or at (206) 972-7647 if you would like to volunteer or want more information. It is VERY important that you leave your phone number as without it we cannot return your call.

NAMI CONNECTIONS CONSUMER SUPPORT GROUPS meet at two Eastside locations.

One now meets every Tuesday evening, 6:30-8:00 PM in Building B, the Baker/Adams Conference Room, at the Family Resource Center Campus, 16315 NE 87th St., Redmond. Enter via the patio. The second group meets every Friday morning between 10:00-11:00 AM in the Conference Room 214E (East Building – located in the Student Government Offices on the 2nd Foor above the cafeteria) at the Lake Washington Technical College, 11605 132nd Ave NE, Kirkland, WA 98034. Please contact the NES office, (425) 885-6264 or info@nami-eastside.org for more information.

For those unfamiliar with the Connections Model, it is a closed support group run by and for consumers (those who have experienced a mental "illness"). It is vitally important for people to have a compassionate, confidential place in which to simply be, to share of our own experiences, and to support each other in our struggle to understand our lives and to be whole. .

The NAMI CARE CONSUMER GROUP will continue to meet at Crossroads Mall in Bellevue, 15600 NE 8th Street, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday evenings, 7:00-8:30 pm. Go to the Community Room next to and across from the information desk. Please contact the NES office, (425) 885-6264 or info@nami-eastside.org for more information.

ART: Workshops are held on the second Saturday of each month, noon – 3:00 pm in the Baker/Adams Conference Room, Building B, at the Family Resource Center Campus, 16315 NE 87th St, Redmond. You must reserve your place in advance by calling Helen at (206) 617-7820 or the NES Office at (425) 885-6264 no later than 2:00PM on the Friday before the class..

DONATE TO NAMI EASTSIDE JUST BY SEARCHING AND SHOPPING ON THE INTERNET:

FFor several months now I have been telling you about a pain-free fund raiser, a new search engine called “GoodSearch.com”. More than 40 NAMI affiliates across the country are registered and are earning much needed funds. In 2008, NAMI Eastside received $40 from GoodSearch. No, it's not much, but if 100 NAMI Eastside members each made 2 searches per day, that figure would jump to $750 in the course of one year. We make even more if people shop through the GoodSearch website. Now you can shop at your favorite stores and they will donate a percentage of your purchase to NAMI Eastside. You can shop at Macy’s, Target, Barnes & Noble, Nordstrom, Nike, Office Depot and Sears just to name a few. Check out the GoodSearch website to see the entire list. You don't pay any more for your purchases but NES benefits.

WE HAVE MOVED: We moved into Suite B-4 at the Family Resources Center in Redmond on March 30, 2009. We now have a little more space and a desk for one more volunteer.

DID YOU KNOW that for the second half of 2008, we have averaged over 1000 volunteer hours a month? This is probably a conservative figure as there are some outstanding volunteers who are supporting individuals, families, groups and programs that have not been able to submit their hours on a regular basis. Please remember to help Marney Johnson out by providing her those hours so that the true impact of your support in the community is recognized. Thank you for your continuing support!