May is Mental Health Month

May has been the designated month to highlight Mental Health Awareness in order to educate the public about opportunities and resources for treatment and support, but it also emphasizes the need to eliminate stigma towards those in need of services. Far too often, the news media draws attention to those with mental illness when crises have not been averted for some individuals, and dire consequences are the result. But most individuals with mental health issues are not violent and their suffering is private and longstanding because they do not seek help. 

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the largest grassroots organization on a national level with state organizations and local affiliates, such as NAMI-Mid-Hudson, (NAMI-MH), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit group, which serves Dutchess and Ulster Counties. NAMI-MH is aligned with the purpose of NAMI to educate, support and advocate for those with mental illness, as well as their families. Signature programs are free and accessible for community members, such as Family-to-Family, Ending the Silence, Peer-to-Peer, and In Our Own Voice. (For full descriptions and how to enroll, go to the NAMI-MH website.) You do not have to be a member to enroll, but it is helpful to support the efforts of this evidence-based practice organization with a membership and/or donation. You will be supporting those individuals in the community who have benefitted from the educational and support services that NAMI-MH primarily provides with volunteers---family members and individuals who have first-hand experience of what it is like to have mental health problems. You will know that the motto--Find Help. Find Hope.--is more than lip service. It is true for those who take the first step and reach out. You are not alone.

This month, volunteers with NAMI-MH hung ribbons in our communities and received attention with a publication in Hudson Valley One. An interview with Jo Ann Brown, Program Director for NAMI-MH, conveys the hope and help that is available for everyone, free of charge. 

Ribbons were hung in Beacon with the local Girl Scout Troops, who also made the ribbons. It is never to young to learn about how to get help and support when there is a mental health issue. Girl Scouts can work on a badge related to Mental Health, and recently, NAMI national has announced there will be a collaboration with the Girl Scouts of the USA  (GSUSA). Looks like the girls in Beacon were a step ahead this year!

Food for thought: When you see a ribbon on your street this year, remind yourself that you are part of the solution to de-stigmatize mental health issues in this nation. Tell someone about NAMI-MH. Go to the website and learn more about the programs that have been available on Zoom throughout the pandemic. Become a member. You do not have to have a family member or friend to help with the campaign of making everyone aware that it is ok to have a mental health issue that requires help and support. You are part of the solution in your community. Please consider making a donation. Get HELP. Receive some HOPE.

NOTE: On the NAMI-MH website, you will see an option to donate a minimum of $10 to the 501(3)(c) and you will receive a thank you acknowledgement to be mailed to you -- a pack of 5 cards (see above image), for "HOPE."

Walk in Nature to Support Mental Health

It is May and it has been so beautiful in the Hudson Valley! No doubt everyone is getting out to their favorite trails to take in the sounds and sights of this wonderful spring weather and the optimism for better times that seems to be in the air.

Research published in Nature in 2019 suggests an individual's health and well-being is promoted by spending 120 minutes per week in nature. This can be accomplished by engaging in recreational walking for the total time throughout a given week. 

May is also Mental Health Awareness Month. Each year the event is celebrated with ribbons, special events, and campaigns by various organizations to increase awareness about resources to find help and to decrease stigma.

What better time than to commit to walking in nature for 120 minutes each week to benefit your mental health? 

NAMI-Mid-Hudson, the local nonprofit and affiliate group of National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, serves Dutchess and Ulster Counties. Signature programs, such as Family2Family and Ending the Silence, are meant to deliver help and hope to family members  and young people, respectively, who are in need of support and understanding with education about mental illness and recovery models. (Check out the website for specific information about programming, which has been delivered nonstop and online without interruption of services during the last year of the pandemic!)

Listen to this recent podcast from "This is Beacon" 

as they interview HeatherAnn Pitcher of NAMI Mid-Hudson

This year NAMI-Mid-Hudson (NAMI-MH) is encouraging everyone to get out and walk in nature for 120 minutes during the week of Saturday, May 15th to Saturday, May 22nd. This is the virtual alternative for the traditional NAMI-Walks activity that usually takes place annually as a group event. With some pandemic restrictions still in place for large group gatherings when social distancing is not possible, this alternative was chosen by NAMI-MH to strike a balance between getting the word out about the availability of mental health services, to encourage individual initiative for improving one's own mental health, to raise awareness about NAMI-MH programs, and to encourage donations to the organization.

Food for thought: NAMI-Walks usually rely on pledges to sponsor a walker for its fundraising. By participating in NAMI-MH Walks, you can support mental health in 2 ways --- for yourself by walking during the week for a total of 120 minutes, which can be divided into 4 days of 15 minutes and 3 days of 20 minutes -- and by exploring the website for NAMI-Mid-Hudson to increase your awareness about programs and by raising some funds or donating some funds.  (Be creative -- ask a dozen friends to sponsor $1 per minute of walking for 10 minutes each or $10 per person.) Since most people know someone personally or have family members who have experienced mental illness, you will be lending support to a grass-roots, volunteer-run, self-help, local non-profit that has made a significant impact on research, advocacy and education over the last three decades. So pick your favorite spots to walk, get out in nature--rain or shine--and do it for yourself and for NAMI-Mid-Hudson.