Lewis County NAMI chapter looks to expand reach in community

For about a quarter century, the Lewis County National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) chapter has supported community members affected by mental illness.

The chapter, one of over 650 NAMI organizations and affiliates across the country, strives to improve the quality of life for people with mental illness and their families through support, education and advocacy. NAMI is the largest grassroots nonprofit organization in the United States.

NAMI does this through classes, presentations and support groups, as well as open office hours for community members to get more intimate support. Classes offer information, resources and a community of support, aiming to increase understanding of mental health, improve coping skills and empower participants to advocate for themselves or their loved one.

Presentations offer audiences the opportunity to hear stories of direct experiences of mental health conditions. They aim to create awareness, reduce stigma and increase empathy.

As for support groups, NAMI offers participants an opportunity to share their experiences and gain support from other attendees.

The leadership council is made up of volunteers from around Lewis County. Board members held a weekly admin meeting at their Kresky Avenue office in Centralia Tuesday afternoon with Program Manager Ross Amell, President Chelsah Lichty, Vice President Ryan Gaylor and Secretary Roberta Kresse discussing future events and tabling opportunities, including potentially at the Southwest Washington Fair next summer. NAMI Lewis County has grown in other ways, including recently expanding its services to Winlock and hosting its first movie night with a showing of the 2016 film “See Memory.” The group hopes to return with another movie night, potentially with the “Inside Out” series, along with bowling nights.

Each of the council members thanked NAMI Lewis County for helping them through their own mental health battles and giving them the opportunity to give back to their community. Most of them thanked Sherry Palmer, who helped create the chapter about 25 years ago.

“I’ve been in and out of mental health hospitals for most of my adult life. I started out as the secretary, and it was just me and Sherry Palmer, pretty much,” Amell said. “Last year, I was the president for about two quarters of the year until we transitioned to where I could get employed. I’m the first employed person for NAMI Lewis County. For me, it’s brought a lot of hope in knowing that recovery is possible and knowing I may never get better, but I can maintain a life that’s well-suited for me to be as advantageous as possible.”

Gaylor said Lichty helped him become part of the leadership council, and being part of NAMI has improved his mental health. He suffers from a degenerative spinal condition and has endured other spinal injuries.

“My right arm is still numb and it hurts like crazy. I’m a mechanical kind of guy, and I have no fine motor skills,” Gaylor said. “I remember a long time ago being told that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. This last winter, I was thinking, ‘I don’t know that my problem is temporary. I don’t know if this is going to get better.’ I questioned if I was going to make it through the year, and I can be happy to say I’m here and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Lichty said Palmer invited her to a NAMI business meeting last year, and from there, she was “hooked.”

“Immediately, I started to volunteer here. I just love the impact that we’re able to have on the community, the work that we’re able to do for folks to make them less hopeless because that can be a really dark place to be if you have no hope,” she said. “I’m very blessed and very privileged to be here.”

NAMI classes include:
• NAMI Basics — for parents, guardians and other family members who provide care for youth with mental health symptoms.
• NAMI Family-to-Family — for families, partners and friends of people who have mental health conditions.
• NAMI Homefront — for families, partners and friends who provide care for service members and veterans experiencing mental health symptoms.
• NAMI Peer-to-Peer — for anyone who is experiencing or has experienced the challenges of a mental health condition.
NAMI presentations include:
• NAMI Ending the Silence — a presentation about mental health conditions in youth. It is available for three audiences: students, families and school staff. All versions educate about warning signs, what to do and the importance of early intervention.
• NAMI Family & Friends — a four-hour seminar for families, partners and friends of people with mental health conditions. It introduces participants to NAMI resources and programs and to key topics: symptoms, diagnoses, treatment options and communication strategies.
• NAMI In Our Own Voice — for the general public. It uses personal stories to promote awareness of mental health conditions and of the possibility of recovery.
• NAMI Provider Seminar — a four-hour presentation for staff at facilities providing mental health treatment services.

It introduces audiences to NAMI and to the unique perspectives of people affected by mental illness and to the importance of a collaborative approach to treatment.

The two free peer-led support groups are the Connection Recovery Support Group and the Family Support Group, where trained facilitators refer to the “Predictable Stages of Emotional Reactions,” “Principles of Support,” group guidelines and the agenda. Then, attendees provide one to two minutes of stories before a group discussion.
To learn more about NAMI Lewis County, visit https://namilewiscountywa.org/.