By Meredith Burow
Four decades ago, two mothers gathered together in Wisconsin, thirsting for mutual understanding and in desperate need of empathy and support. Each woman had a child suffering from schizophrenia, and from small beginnings around a kitchen table, the National Alliance on Mental Illness — or NAMI — was created. The purpose of the organization is to support families of those with mental illnesses by providing education, advocacy and support, striving to see families and their loved ones sail smoothly through stormy seas. Now, a NAMI family support group has arrived in Wellington. Since its conception in 1979, NAMI has grown to an organization consisting of 1,000 affiliates nationwide, with the Wellington group falling under the umbrella of NAMI Palm Beach County. While the national nonprofit is currently based in Virginia, it is constantly establishing and equipping affiliate branches around the country. These individual branches then continue to organize family support groups within their respective areas, the newest in Palm Beach County being the Wellington group. The members began their monthly meetings in March of this year, meeting at Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Station 30 at 9610 Stribling Way. They continue to meet at the same location, beginning at 3 p.m. on the third Sunday of every month. Each meeting is
experienced and empathetic help when dealing with the issues of loving somebody with a mental illness. “When you have somebody with a mental illness, you need a resource,” Bem said. “You need people with the same situation.” Murphy noted that peodifferent, but they all center ple without an accepting around the encouragement and understanding commuand support of family memnity may have a lower chance bers of individuals with menof caring for their loved one tal illnesses. as effectively as individuals This isn’t the first NAMI who do have this type of supgroup that has attempted to port system. “If families are set sail in Wellington. Accordisolated, alone, they don’t ing to Katherine Murphy, have resources, they don’t the director of programs for Katherine Murphy have support,” Murphy said. NAMI Palm Beach County, there was a Wellington group that tried “They might not have that endurance to to start up a few years ago, but it never continue to support their loved ones.” According to Murphy, the hope is earned its sea legs. That’s when Tracy that these NAMI family support groups Bem stepped forward. While Bem had frequented the pre- can reinforce the family members and vious Wellington group, she started get- provide them with helpful tools and reting more involved with NAMI. “I start- sources to press on. Bem added that people who don’t ed hooking up with the NAMI group and taking all the classes again, and I have a loved one with a mental illness realized the need for a support group don’t understand the frequent difficulout in the western communities,” Bem ties of the situation. Bem compared the said. “That’s when I talked to them, and seriousness of mental health conditions I took the training so that I could do it, to that of a disease like cancer. Unless people see mental illness as an actual because it definitely meets needs.” There is a significant stigma sur- — often deadly — disease, she said, rounding people struggling with men- they tend to think the family member tal health issues. Both Bem and Mur- is merely going about things the wrong phy emphasized the importance of way.
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