Using Mental Illness Awareness Week to Build Nontraditional Partnerships

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Using Mental Illness Awareness Week to Build
Non-traditional Partnerships

• Stacey Harrison
• Deneice Valentine
• NAMI-Metropolitan Baltimore

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Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW)

• A national educational campaign, observed the
  first week of October. Its two major sponsors
  are NAMI and the American Psychiatric Association

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Goals/Objectives of MIAW

• 1. Help NAMI gain visibility and recognition as
  local voice on mental illness
• 2. Increase community knowledge of mental
  illness and NAMI
• 3. Build strong community partnerships and
  leverage partners networks
• 4. Disseminate information on mental illness and
  NAMI

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MIAWcreates partnerships and promotes our
programs and publications

• Activities of NAMI
• 1. Materials distribution
• 2. Outreach through speakers/fairs
• 3. Events
• 4. Community brainstorming
• 5. Media relations
• 6. Faith based focused activities
• 7. Children focused activities
• 8. College University focused activities
  including Collegetown network
• Proclamations (Mayor and County Executive
• 10. Employers Activity

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Functions of the MIAW ADHOC Advisory Committee

• 1. To carry the message of NAMI to
  organizations, industries, and associates that
  recovery from mental illness is possible
• 2. To provide information and recommendations to
  NAMI staff and Board for planning and promoting
  the observance of MIAW
• 3. To make available resources, venues, and
  contacts to support the observance of MIAW

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Composition of MIAW ADHOC Advisory Committee

• Members should be inclusive of persons with
  interest, knowledge, experience, and/or impact on
  health, children, adolescents, and adults with
  severe, biologically based brain disorders that
  comprise mental illness

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Who Attended Our Previous MIAW

• 1. The head of 2 local mental health core
  agencies
• 2. Baltimore County Police Department
• 3. DSS Community Relations
• 4. Representatives from local colleges,
  including those of their psychology departments.
• 5. Public Defenders Office
• 6. A representative from one of the local health
  and fitness chains
• 7. A representative from the local SSA office
• 8. Many Others

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How We Leverage Networks

• I. Speakers and Fairs
• II. Materials Distribution and Development
• A. Distribution
• 1. Used to assist communication through word
  of mouth
• 2. Distributed during MIAW
• 3. Graduates of our programs disseminate
  fliers

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II. Material Distribution and Development
Continued

• B. Development
• 1. Generated Locally
• a. Bookmarks, posters, fact sheets about MIAW
  and NAMI-Metropolitan Baltimore, as well as
  resource packets
• b. Resource packets and brochures disseminated
  through our helpline and the members only section
  of our NAMI-Metropolitan's Website

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II. Material Distribution and Development
Continued

• 2. Generated nationally
• a. Fact sheets and brochures from NAMI
  national
• b. Bulletin inserts from faith communities

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III. Events

• A. Sponsored In Our Own Voice, Family
  Ambassadors, and Child and Adolescent workshop
  presentations during work week
• B. Sponsored Baltimore County Town Meeting on
  mental health during MIAW
• C. Sponsored Michael Mack at One Man Theatre
• D. Sponsored Many Faces of Mental Illness Mask
  Competition

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IV. What to Do to Launch Events

• A. Have a brainstorming meeting to determine how
  to excite people
• B. Determine key players and what the project
  should look like based on those key players
• C. Decide who has the drive and energy to carry
  the project through (leveraging the energy of
  volunteers)

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V. Community Brainstorming Meetings

• A. Purposes
• 1. To raise awareness about mental illness and
  NAMI, with interviews with non-traditional
  affiliations (i.e. health clubs)
• 2. Brainstorm ways to use networks and
  affiliations
• 3. To carry the message to respective
  organizations, industries, and associates that
  recovery is possible from mental illness
• 4. Provide information and recommendations to
  NAMI staff and Board for planning the observance
  of MIAW

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VI. Results of Community Meetings

• A. Conceived ideas for a new project each year
• B. Disseminated literature at every city and
  county library branch
• C. Envelope sized MIAW and NAMI fact cards were
  placed at all Baltimore County police departments
  and the fraternal Order of Police put a notice in
  their newsletter

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VI. Results of Community Meeting Continued

• D. A member set up a table at a law firm and
  procured a donation between 250 and 500 as well
  as had an e-mail about NAMI circulated throughout
  the firm
• E. SSA posted our info on EAP website. We
  scheduled an IOOV presentation, which will lead
  to a national telecast of an IOOV presentation
  being filmed in the future

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VI. Results of a Community Meeting Continued

• F. Recruited volunteers to distribute our
  program and event fliers, provide sites for our
  workshops and courses, and serve as volunteers in
  our fundraising events
• At the very least, get all contacts on your
  e-mail distribution and get them to commit to
  distributing your materials on ongoing basis

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VII. If You Cant Have a Community Meeting

• A. Compile a list of contacts.
• B. Link with calendar of events to be posted on
  NAMI Nat'l website and/or distributed through
  your outreach.
• C. Establish NAMI as a central voice by sending
  a challenge e-mail to inquire what everyone is
  doing, so that you can list it on your MIAW
  calendar, website, etc.

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VII. If You Cant Have a Community Meeting
continued

• D. Let people know what materials you have
  available and where they are available, with a
  list posted on the Nat'l NAMI website. Do this
  even if you do not intend to distribute them
• E. PSAs to educate the community about mental
  illness
• F. Expand outreach efforts by leveraging the
  networks of other individuals and organizations

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VII. What We Do At Community Meetings

• A. Intro to NAMI and MIAW for newbies
• B. Show fact sheets and materials
• C. F2F paired intros-short forms requesting
  name, employers, contact info, and affiliations

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Using Mental Illness Awareness Week to Build
Non-traditional Partnerships

• Any Questions?