It seems the year is all ready flying by. I can't believe this is almost March. Those of us that suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) are very happy to see that spring is almost here

First off I would like to thank the Troy Knights of Columbus Council #9266 for their donation from their 2007 tootsie roll fundraiser. Their continued support is greatly appreciated. When you donate to any council of the Knights of Columbus' fund raiser you are helping not only the mental health community but also other people with learning disabilities, mental retardation, the elderly, etc.

Our Office Coordinator Mary Rottmann has moved on to another job. We will miss her dearly. Mary was and is very dedicated in working with NAMI. She still is a NAMI Illinois State and NAMI Madison County board member and her voice will still be heard. She is also a Member at Large with NAMI Illinois Consumer Council. Mary has always done a lot of volunteer work for NAMI such as display booths and In Our Own Voice presentations, and ran several consumer support groups.

Now, please help me welcome our new Office Coordinator and In Our Own Voice Coordinator, AJ French. AJ has served on the NAMI Madison County Board for several years. She also worked in the office as a volunteer in the past. At one time she was our CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) coordinator. AJ is very dedicated in serving NAMI Madison County and is always there when needed.

We have a very busy year ahead of us. Please mark your calendars for the following:

• Piecing it all Together: March 7th and 8th of 2008. This is a conference geared for parents of children with mental illness and is held at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. The conference covers how children's mental health and mental illness affect family, school and community.

• Peer to Peer Classes will be taught in March or April. These classes are for consumers of a mental illness such as depression, bipolar, schizophrenia. Call the office now to register at (618) 798-9788.

• Our biggest fund raiser of the year is the 5th Annual Walk for Mental Health on Saturday, September 27th, 2008.

• Our next NAMI/Psi Chi speaking event will be Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008. This year's speaker will feature Pete Earley, a former reporter for The Washington Post and the author of several books such as: Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness. "Crazy" refers to the craziness in the mental health system. Mr. Earley has a son in his late 20s that has schizophrenia. The focus of his talk will be the "criminalization of people with mental illness."  Pete, by the way, was a guest on NPR radio just a few weeks ago. He has spoken at many NAMI events and NAMI members are interviewed in his book.

Not a NAMI member yet? Please call the NAMI office to get yourself registered today. Do you have extra time on your hands? Once you're a member, you too can be a volunteer of NAMI Madison County by calling our office at (618) 798-9788 and speak to one of our office staff.. Our office is open Monday through Thursday from noon to 4:30pm. If you have any time available during those hours, we would appreciate you being a member of our NAMI Madison County volunteer office staff.
 

     Be a NAMI Volunteer

Diane Pisko