On May 12, the NAMI Madison County annual board meeting took place at Gateway Regional Medical Center. We had quite a few members participate. Thank you to all of those who attended. Elections and resignations are This is a call to arms, we are at war and you must do your duty. Budgets are being cut. Essential mental health services are being eliminated. We are in for very hard times. They will be harder yet if we all don’t pull together.

Fighting mental illness and winning is not a job for sissies. It’s a day-in/day-out job that posts victories and defeats. NAMI Madison County has helped many people over the years to win battles they thought were hopeless; to find new friends after old friends stopped returning calls. NAMI Madison County has become a community of like-minded souls that realize that the best way to help yourself is to help others.

So what can you do to help others? Two essential ingredients include:

1. Turning off your TV and attend our monthly NAMI Madison County business meeting. That’s where you can meet your fellow NAMI members and learn about the dozens of jobs that desperately need to be done.

2. Finding a NAMI project that you can be passionate about; fire in your belly is the magic bullet that can overcome stigma, ignorance and apathy.

If you are a NAMI member who has never attended a NAMI business meeting, I call on you to find that magic bullet. Come to our next business meeting on Tuesday, July 14th at 7:00 at Gateway Regional Hospital, 2100 Madison Avenue in Granite City. We meet in the conference room next to the cafeteria on the first floor.

We have 166 NAMI Madison County members. I would hope all 166 NAMI Madison County members attend the July 14th meeting. While the conference room has a 25 person capacity, the cafeteria could accommodate 166 people. If you need transportation, give me a call at (618) 465-8876.

Let’s fill up that cafeteria on July 14th.

     Be a NAMI Volunteer

Rob Roennigke