President’s Message for June 2024
Summer Activities
Wow, were we busy in May, Mental Health Awareness month! It was great that communities across our affiliate were looking for our participation in multiple events. Those sort of events fall off a bit in the summer but our board members will continue to attend meetings with groups associated with Emerson Hospital, MelroseWakefield Hospital and the Behavioral Health Helpline.
Our involvement with Emerson Health includes being on the team developing goals in response to the recent Community Needs Health assessment which the state requires hospitals to complete every three years. Not surprisingly, mental health came up during the surveys and focus groups as one of the top concerns. Several hours of meetings for that effort are on our calendar for June.
News from the eastern end of our affiliate includes the continuation of transition at the old Malden hospital site into a new behavioral health facility that will operate under the Tufts Medicine umbrella which includes MelroseWakefield Hospital. The new facility will have 144 inpatient beds for adults, youth, and older adults plus an intensive outpatient program. Demolition of the old building is well under way with a planned open time frame of fall 2025.
The Behavioral Health Helpline advisory committee continues to explore ways to inform the general population about the service and improve their reach into populations with barriers to access or special needs. It could be a step forward if therapist/psychiatrist’s voicemail message not only said, “If this is a life threatening emergency, dial 911 or go to your local hospital emergency room,” but also included, “For a clinical crisis evaluation and connection to crisis services, including mobile crisis care, call or text the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Helpline at 833-773-2445.” Free outreach and education!
Our summer activities include our steady commitment to offering support groups and keeping up with our social media efforts. During the last several months, we’ve had success advertising/boosting posts on our Meta accounts which has dramatically increased the number of views on our website. Thereby, growing our community. We could use some extra graphic designer type hands to create eye catching posts. We would also welcome a half hour consultant type conversation with someone with a greater depth of knowledge about social media marketing beyond the six months we’ve tried to learn about it.
Another summer volunteer opportunity would be quick visits to area libraries to drop off copies our affiliate brochures. The libraries welcome the material, and you can complete the task on your own schedule. Just pick a few towns in your area that you are willing to cover.
Fall Activities
As we look to fall we have two sessions of our Family to Family class starting in September. The official registration forms will be available soon, but interested parties are free to contact the teachers to ask questions or get on the wail list for the class. We will have an online course led by our Littleton based team, Sara at doddsara25@gmail.com or Phyllis at phyllis.terrey100@gmail.com, that will meet on Tuesdays, September 24 to November 11, 6:30-9:00 pm. An in person session of the course will meet in Winchester, on Saturdays, September 14 to November 2, 9:00-11: 30 am. To connect with Winchester teachers contact Maureen at maureen1maureen@aol.com, 781-864-2336 or Elizabeth at fongef@gmail.com.
This fall will also feature the 9th annual Stand Up to Stigma scarecrow contest! Yes, it continues to be a welcome event in our communities.
Our newsletter takes a break in July and August, so we wish you a relaxing and interesting summer season. It is likely there will be training programs for NAMI course leaders and group facilitators this fall, so feel free to mull over that opportunity during in coming months.