The past few weeks have flown by and as the summer draws to a close we at the NAMI office are busy preparing for the new Fall programs. If you have not had the opportunity as a consumer to enroll in WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) you might give it some serious thought in the coming months. We will be offering this class in September and again in the Winter. For family members we offer our Family to Family twelve-week program, in which families, partners and friends of consumers are taught about many aspects of mental illnesses and their treatment, including common emotional restrictions and constructive responses to the trauma of mental illness. We hear time and time again from family members who take this class that they wished they had known about it years ago. A very common reaction is that they arrive at the class feeling “Hopeless” and leave feeling “Hopeful”. The emotional turmoil that families deal with can lead to a very destructive family environment; this is a program that can really help you reconnect. F2F was first launched twenty years ago and has literally helped hundreds of thousands of families better understand what it means to have a mental illness. Just this past year F2F has become an evidenced based program. Classes begin in September in Naperville and Downers Grove.

For those parents and caregivers who are coping with a child or adolescent who has been diagnosed with a mental illness, emotional disturbance or who are experiencing symptoms but have not yet been diagnosed NAMI Basics is a perfect program for you. The program takes just 6 weeks, a couple of hours a week in the evenings, and you will come away with a binder full of useful information, a support system and resources.

As always all of our classes and support groups are free, it makes no difference if you have insurance or not we treat everyone the same. For more information on these and other NAMI DuPage programs, times and dates please visit our website at www.namidupage.org.

On Saturday September 24th 2011 we have our 23rd annual Run Walk, at Danada Preserve in Wheaton. If you haven’t already signed up please consider supporting this. The money that we raise from the Run/Walk helps to defray the costs of many of our programs. This is a 5K Run or a 5K Walk; the walk is very family friendly, we encourage you to bring your strollers and dogs and join in the fun. You can enjoy a clown, a DJ and even indulge in a neck and back massage before or after the events. Each participant will leave with a T-Shirt, custom Drawstring Sports Bag filled with goodies. There will be a hospitality tent where you can enjoy bagels, fruit and coffee.

Entry fee of $25 is waived with $150 of pledges. The pledges are key, Please consider not only participating in the event but email 20 friends and family to ask them to support you, you will make a HUGE difference. Register on our website.

Please join us in helping to erase stigma while raising much needed funds.

I hope to see many of you there.

Thank you,

Angela Adkins

Executive Director