Needs Statement
Outreach - Develop a marketing strategy to increase NAMI Lexington’s visibility to the general public. Develop strategies targeting families, consumers, providers, civic groups, schools, clergy, law enforcement, under-served communities and social service agencies.
Volunteer recruitment, training, and retention - Maintain a team of certified and willing members to teach NAMI signature programs and provide outreach and support to the community. Adopt a mechanism for utilizing volunteers in increasingly responsible leadership positions.
Programs - Expand current programs and increase the number of programs offered. Increase training opportunities for NAMI consumers and family member leadership.
Operations - Expand capacity and refine internal NAMI operations to support increased levels of visibility and enhance relationships with partner agencies. Diversify funding sources by developing and training teams focused on grant writing, local fundraising, and planned giving.
Technology - Leverage technology to build capacity and reach people “where they are”. Integrate “high tech” and “low tech / high touch” methods to support NAMI dialogue.
NAMI Lexington has budgeted $15,000 for marketing, recruitment, $15,000 for capacity building, $15,000 for leadership training in 2014.
CEO/Executive Director Statement
My wife, Kelly and I have been involved with NAMI Lexington for the past ten years. In fact, we've been SO involved that it has become our # 1 topic of conversation. Small wonder that many have a slightly glazed look in their eye by the time we come to the end of our mantra!
However, it has not been at all unusual for someone to say, in confidence and relief "You know, I have a brother… (mother, cousin, friend)”… After all, 1 in 4 persons will be affected by serious mental illness and the annual economic, indirect cost of mental illness is estimated to be $79 billion.
Our journey with NAMI began when we took NAMI’s flagship Family to Family class, a 12 session curriculum taught by trained family members to help people understand and learn about serious mental illness and how to survive as a caregiver. We served NAMI Lexington and NAMI Kentucky as board members, and are now both in staff roles with NAMI Lexington.
We have learned a great deal about human suffering through this experience. We've become more humble, and more grateful for our GOOD fortune, of which there is much! And, we've shared a lot of lived experience with many people, friends and strangers alike.
We have the good fortune to be involved in the weaving of a tapestry - a unique and valuable community resource, NAMI Lexington. A weaver usually works a tapestry vertically, building the fabric from bottom to top. NAMI Lexington is a grass roots organization that recognizes the value of “bottom up” design and philosophy. Many stellar volunteers and partners have created a foundation that supports the ability to pursue opportunities to help others.
NAMI Lexington continues to expand existing programs and develop new ones to provide Advocacy, Education, Outreach and Support – the cornerstones of our mission. More importantly – we continue to increase the number of people we serve and our ability to evaluate and improve the outcomes of our programs and services. Volunteers, staff, and our partner organizations all bring unique talents and ideas to the table resulting in the ever-changing tapestry that is our organization. We continue to reach new milestones and expand our vision of what we can be and remain singularly focused on our mission :
To assist Families, Caregivers and Individuals whose life experience includes living with a persistent mental illness. To help them acquire and use available supports and skills necessary to manage their symptoms and return to the community and find success, hope and meaning in the role and environment of their choice.
Board Chair Statement
As board chair of National Alliance on Mental Illness Lexington Chapter, I am pleased to register with Good Giving.net. I have volunteered with this organization for over 15 years, serving for the last four as president. I became interested in NAMI while serving as executive director of the Kentucky Psychiatric Medical Association. As I networked with NAMI as part of my job, I saw the marvelous work they were doing on an extremely limited budget. At the same time, my adult daughter was coping with chronic depression and an eating disorder. Stories I heard of family members coping with more serious mental health disorders underscored the vast need for the programs that NAMI offers not only to family members but also to their sick loved ones.
Since I started with NAMI Lexington, it has had phenomenal growth. When NAMI began, they offered at most one or two Family-to-Family classes a year. Since then, they have added support groups for those suffering from mental illness (“consumers”), with special groups for those with dual diagnosis (substance abuse and mental illness), anxiety, bipolar and their family members. Recently, we added an outreach program called Family Fridays, for families newly impacted by mental illness.
Last year, we opened a peer to peer run program known as Participation Station. This program has become a model for the state. Consumers attending have achieved heart-warming success. For example, one woman who started attending initially cried for days. With help from a fellow consumer, she began to participate in some of the programs. She has progressed to the point where she is teaching crocheting to fellow participants and volunteering in the office. This is a woman who had not left her home in years. Participation Stations offers classes in life skills, special interests, and perhaps most importantly offers socialization opportunities for the consumer.
NAMI Lexington has partnered with Bluegrass Comprehensive Care to establish a Recovery Mall at Eastern State Hospital. This is another model program for hospitals around the state. NAMI Lexington has been conducting training across the state in the recovery model to state hospitals and comprehensive care organizations. NAMI Lexington has been a vocal advocate not only for families and consumers, but for the new Eastern State Hospital, the 2nd oldest (187) years still in use facility in the nation.
NAMI Lexington has outreach programs for African American and Hispanic communities. We have information tables available at community events such as Woodland Arts Fair, the Roots and Heritage Festival, and the Latino Festival. With In Our Own Voice, two trained consumers tell their stories to church, civic, and school groups, mental hospitals and anyone else who is interested. We take every opportunity available to education the public about mental illness and strive to erase stigma.
Of course, all this activity requires money. We seek grants and donations. We hold a walk every October during mental illness awareness week which raises money for our organization. We are frugal with our resources, but without more money, we cannot continue to grow or worse, cannot continue what we have in place. It is very important for us to be a part of Good Giving.net.