There is help

MELANIE TUCKER

melt@thedailytimes.com

With an upcoming community walk and a new executive director under a newly formed nonprofit, NAMI Maryville-Blount County is set to make its presence and services known.

This National Association on Mental Illness affiliate just received its 501©3 status with Pam Hughes as its new executive director, a leader who served at the Epilepsy Foundation for more than 20 years.

The next public event where this community can get to know them and who they serve, will be the NAMIWalks event on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Jack Greene Park in Maryville (behind Blount County Courthouse).

Lisa Widener, a member of the NAMI Maryville-Blount County board of directors, said this NAMIWalks event is the first under this nonprofit. The walk gets started at 11 a.m.on Nov. 1 and all are invited to attend. Widener pointed out October is Mental Health Awareness Month, so the timing is perfect for the walk.

According to statistics provided by NAMI, one in five Americans is affected by mental illness, which is nearly 60 million people. But, only 41% of adults in the United States with a mental health condition received mental health services in the past year.

NAMI Maryville-Blount County has several programs for those suffering from mental health issues and their families, Hughes said.

One, the Connections in Recovery support group is specifically for individuals living with mental health conditions. It meets on the first Monday of each month from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Maryville Housing Authority. The Family Support Group for loved ones of people with mental illness meets at the same place, on the third Wednesday of each month.

“NAMI National has been around a long time,” Hughes said, and it shares its programming and information to affiliates like this one.

Classes include Family to Family, an eight-week class for loved ones and the person with mental illness, and Peer to Peer, an 8-week class for those who are suffering with mental illness. There is even a program for youth, called Ending the Silence.

Everything NAMI offers is free, Widener stressed.

Hughes said these programs will hopefully help this organization continue to dispel the negative stigmas associated with mental health.

“A huge percentage of the population has mental illness somewhere in their family,” she said.

“Almost all of us. Almost every single one of us.”

Widener sought out help for her son and was embraced by NAMI.

She said she was guided to the places and people who could help. “Now I want to help others,” she explained. “That’s what I enjoy about being a part of the support group.”

Widener added that NAMI is also available to make presentations in the workplace for businesses wanting to better understand mental health.

These leaders also know how much more can be accomplished when agencies band together. On Nov. 1 at the NAMIWalks event, there will be others like McNabb Center and A Place to Stay, who will set up information booths and engage with the community.

“We really have the same goals,” Hughes said. “It might just be a different sector of it. We just want people in our community to live the best quality life they possibly can.” Both Hughes and Widener also pointed out that NAMI sees the value in bringing along volunteers. There are multiple training sessions available for those wanting to plug in. Individuals who’ve experienced mental health illnesses and received help to lead normal lives — they are some of the best advocates, these two said.

There are other statistic that speak to the urgency of the mental health crisis. Close to 26% of homeless adults staying in shelters live with a serious mental illness.

About 50% of students age 14 and older with a mental illness drop out of high school. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in this country.

For so long, the topic of mental illness was hidden away. Some people go their entire lives without a proper diagnosis because of shame, fear or lack of information, Hughes said. It has mostly been a “let’s not talk about it” approach.

“Let’s talk about it,” Hughes said. “We want to talk about it. Mental illness i just like any other illness and it needs treatment. And you can be okay.”