Mental Health Resources

NAMI PINELLAS COUNTY, FLORIDA, INC. (National Alliance on Mental Illness)

Clearwater * Dunedin * Largo * Oldsmar * Palm Harbor * St. Petersburg * Tarpon Springs

NAMI Information Line: 727-791-3434, NAMI-Pinellas, or email.

Contact: Judy or Donald Turnbaugh (727) 942-8140

WHAT: CSI: NAMI, a Consumer Support Initiative (CSI), providing support for persons suffering from mental illness in a discussion group

WHO: Sponsored by NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), Pinellas County

WHEN: Monday evenings at 6:30 p.m.

WHERE: NAMI Meeting Room at Directions for Mental Health, Inc., 1437 S. Belcher Road, Clearwater

WHY: This Support Group is run BY consumers (persons with mental illness) FOR consumers. Often, they are more comfortable sharing their personal situation or seeking advice and guidance from other persons who have “walked in their shoes.” The CSI: NAMI team is led by award-winning facilitator, Terry Taggart.

GOAL: The CSI touches on three missions of NAMI: Support, Advocacy, and Education with the goal of equal treatment for all Americans, including those with brain disorders (mental illnesses).

COST: There is no cost to attend these meetings.

NAMI
Legislation to Address Chronic Homelessness & Mental Illness Introduced April 20, 2005

As NAMI advocates know first-hand, people with severe mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse disorders are disproportionately represented in the chronic homeless population. Numerous studies have demonstrated that permanent supportive housing is the most effective intervention to break the costly and destructive cycle inherent in chronic homelessness between the streets, shelters, emergency rooms and jails. Click here for more information on this research. This past week, a bipartisan coalition of Senators and House members introduced legislation to further the cause of ending chronic homelessness over the next decade. This legislation -- (S 709/HR 1471) known as the Services for Ending Long-Term Homelessness Act (SELHA) -- authorizes funding for a federal initiative to finance services in permanent supportive housing targeted to individuals exiting chronic homelessness. The legislation is designed to compliment permanent supportive housing developed in states and localities across the country with support from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These programs include permanent housing under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (Shelter Plus Care and SHP) and President Bush's "Samaritan Initiative." Local communities often struggle to access these resources because of strenuous matching requirements for services directly linked to housing. The SELHA legislation would authorize funding for the critical services link in permanent supportive housing. Action Requested Advocates are strongly encouraged to contact their members of Congress and urge them to cosponsor S 709/HR 1471. Attached is a sample letter. When contacting members of Congress, remind them that:

People with severe mental illness and co-occurring disorders are disproportionately represented in the chronic homeless population (those who stay homeless for a year or more),

Permanent supportive housing works to end chronic homelessness by providing accessible, coordinated, and flexible services that lead to recovery and reintegration into community life.

Funding for services in permanent housing is a critical link in supportive housing and is often the most difficult element for non-profit developers to pull together, and

SELHA is critically important to achieving the goal of ending chronic homelessness -- a goal supported by the President, as well as governors and mayors across the country. Click on the following link to access a sample letter on this issue and a list of your representatives to contact now. Click here

NAMI E-news alerts are electronic newsletters provided free of charge as a public service. With more than 200,000 members and 1,200 state and local affiliates, NAMI is the nation's largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe mental illnesses. Contributions to support our work can be made online at hwww.nami.org/donate. If you do not wish to receive further E-News Alerts, please Click here, sign in and uncheck the box next to Enews. Please do not reply to this email (it will go to an unattended mailbox.) If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please send an email to: elise@nami.org

NAMI ~ 2107 Wilson Blvd. ~ Suite 300 ~ Arlington, VA 22201

Thanks for your support to the mentally ill and their families. We have a small self supported group of volunteers Latino families at www.lackofinsightmi.org to disseminate information about the no fault, biological and treatable nature of severe mental illnesses, mainly for those families with relatives with no insight into their illnesses and recurrent psychotic crisis.
If you give us your email we will be happy to email some of the letters we send to the families supporting their efforts to maintain the sick relatives out of jail or homelessness.
Rachel H. Diaz
Spokesperson - Volunteer Families of Untreated Mentally Ill Persons
www.lackofinsightmi.org
(Why some mentally ill persons refuse care and cannot speak on their own behalf)

ParentsMedGuide.org. Helping parents help their kids.

These links will take you to other sources of helpful information relating to Mental Health/Substance Abuse issues.

Justice Radio-Mental Health/Substance Abuse

The Center on Juvenile Justice and Criminal Justice. A private non-profit organization whose mission is to reduce society's reliance on the use of incarceration as a solution to social problems.

Violent Death Bereavement Society serves as a centralized forum of information and training for service providers of loved ones and family members after violent death.

The Depressive & Bipolar Support Alliance Tampa Bay is a nonprofit organization for individuals who have been diagnosed with affective disorders and their families and friends.

The Life Center of The Suncoast, Inc. provides emotional support, grief counseling, intervention, education and training in a compassionate, healing environment, in order to help children, adults and families reduce the negative effects of trauma and grief and to lead healthy and productive lives.

Schizophrenia.com is a non-profit web community providing in-depth information, support and education related to schizophrenia, a disease of the brain.