NAMI Pine Belt Update

Greetings in 2020 to all NAMI members and friends! Our affiliate continues to set goals and foster programs to defeat stigma and to help people who struggle with mental health issues. We will meet on the last Tuesday of each month, sharing ideas and learning much from some outstanding guest speakers. We continue to foster progressive mental health programs such as Crisis Intervention Team Training, Behavioral Health Court, Mental Health First Aid, and other programs that have a positive impact on our Pine Belt community. We plan to have elected a new slate of officers by March 2020. We’re extremely grateful for the excellent service given by the previous executive committee: Debbie Dale, President; David Connell, Vice President; Caterina Ventura, Secretary; and Joe Kinnan, Treasurer. We are also very appreciative of the superb contributions by our NAMI Mississippi Board Representative, Kim Brownlee.

We are grateful that the City of Hattiesburg has chosen to continue as a NAMI Mississippi sponsor. The city officials contribute many in-kind donations to our affiliate to help with NAMIWalks Pine Belt and other mental health programs. Unfortunately, the Walk scheduled for October 26, 2019 had to be canceled due to very bad weather. Our Walk teams and sponsors were quite understanding and donated funds that helped us closely approach our goal of $13,000. We received a major donation from the University of Mississippi Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity that once counted, may push us over the top! Special kudos to the NAMIWalks Pine Belt team, headed by Lauren Parker Toler. Well done!

We are very pleased with the opportunities we have had to assist with the formation of the Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) and the de-escalation training of numerous law enforcement officers throughout the Pine Belt. We present the NAMI perspective to each class. We have hosted a luncheon for the CIT officers on Feb. 5 and will host another on Feb. 27 to extend our appreciation for their great services. We are represented on the Planning and Advisory Board for the Pine Belt CIT programs. We are blessed by having outstanding partners such as the Pine Belt Mental Healthcare Resources (PBMHR) Mental Health Center (Region 12).

One of the most exciting programs in our state (in fact, in the world) is the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) course. Our affiliate has sponsored MHFA classes in 2018 and 2019. We are committed to hosting more classes in 2020. We very much need volunteers to help arrange for speakers, select locations, sign up students, and procure refreshments.

This year, as in the past, we had the honor of supporting the Christmas holiday parties for the participants in the Region 12 Mental Health Center AOT and PACT treatment programs. Both parties were great events. The Region 12 staff is outstanding in all respects.

We are truly looking forward to the NAMI Mississippi State Conference on April 23-24. The agenda is always quite impressive, and we are encouraging our members to attend the events in Jackson. We intend to help with the registration fees for each of our affiliate members.

As mentioned above, our affiliate has a general meeting on the last Tuesday of each month at the Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg. We meet at 6:00 p.m. in one of the rooms off of the cafeteria. (You can call Joe at 601-550-8219 for directions.) Our first speakers this year will describe the ways that the Region 12 Mental Health Center assists people who have a mental health crisis. Our NAMI affiliate helps some of the people with their initial purchase of medications.

Our membership continues to grow in quantity and quality!

Our membership continues to grow in quantity and quality! We do need volunteers for all of the above opportunities to serve. We especially encourage people to volunteer to be trained as facilitators of the NAMI Signature Programs. One of our most crucial needs is to develop facilitators for Family Support Groups. We often receive calls for help and seem to scramble to find assistance for people. A strong, wellestablished family support group is a must to foster healing and bright futures.

Finally, it’s not too soon to look ahead to another successful NAMIWalks Pine Belt. This year’s walk is slated for Saturday, October 17 at Hattiesburg’s Kamper Park. We had an exceptional team of 12 people last year who spearheaded the event. We ask each member and/or friend of NAMI to consider assisting with this year’s Walk. Just let us know of your interest, and we will take it from there. :-)

We’re privileged to be a part of the NAMI advocacy team in our state and nation. Indeed, we are companions on this exciting and meaningful journey! Let’s make this a banner year for combatting stigma and strengthening mental health in Mississippi.

- Respectfully submitted by Joe Kinnan, Ph.D.