President’s Message for February 2024
Our NAMI Walks manager, Tom Scurfield, had a great time delivering BIG checks to area Clubhouses! The Point After Club, Haverhill Clubhouse, Elm Brook Place, and Potter Place formed teams for the annual NAMI Walks last May, raised funds, and joined us for the big day. We have a number of partner organizations for the Walk, and we donate back a large portion of the funds raised to the participating organizations: it’s a win/win.
Planning for the May 18th Walk is already in the works. It is a major fundraiser and anti-stigma event. We have a new location this year, the Boston Common, with a fresh approach to the event. How exciting! As the photos demonstrate, Tom has plenty of energy, but we could use some helping hands to make our Walk efforts run smoothly. Get in on the ground floor of planning a revamped NAMI Walks experience! To learn more about the roles surrounding our Walks campaign, email us at nami.cmsx@gmail.com.
We had a wonderful gathering with Becky Barnett from the Behavioral Health Help Line during our affiliate annual meeting last month. Becky’s presentation slides are available near the top of the Resources page on our website, namicentralmiddlesex.org/resources. Thanks to all who attended the program.
Our popularity is going to our head as our Community Outreach Team is scheduled to host two evening events on the same day: Tuesday, March 26th. As part of North Reading’s Spring Self-Care week, we will offer a “Sharing Our Stories” presentation that highlights the perspective of family members supporting a loved one with a mental health condition. The other program is a speaking and book promotion event at Brandeis University in Waltham with Dr. Ken Duckworth, NAMI’s medical director and author of You Are Not Alone: The NAMI Guide to Navigating Mental Health. We will have our community information tables on-site at both locations and need some friendly NAMI volunteers to greet the public. We don’t have enough board members to be in two places at once! Please let us know if you can help by reaching out to nami.cmsx@gmail.com.
NAMI’s Basics course, designed for parents and caregivers of children and adolescents showing signs of behavioral and emotional challenges, is increasingly important as mental health challenges for our youth increase. A training class for new Basics teachers is in the works for the weekend of March 23 & 24. Details will be available shortly.
With so many Central Middlesex events coming up this spring, including our Family to Family course in Winchester, I look forward to seeing many of you in a Zoom square or in person!