Millerton starts to plan for Mental Health Awareness Month

Millerton — The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) made its presence known at the Village Board meeting held on Monday, Jan. 25. 

During the public comment portion of that meeting, NAMI Mid-Hudson Program Director Jo Ann Brown asked the board if she could have permission to place ribbons around the village during May, which is national Mental Health Awareness Month.

Brown, a Wingdale resident, told a story about how her son struggled with mental illness for much of his life.

“He was very disillusioned,” she said. “And after almost losing his life three times in 2010, he ended up in the hospital for six months. Then he found NAMI.”

Brown said the alliance will once again team up with the North East Community Center this May to spread awareness of mental illness; it did so last year as well.

“People can find help,” she said. “They can find hope.”

Brown said such was the case for her son.

“My son is completely stable today,” she said. “We can’t be afraid to reach out and get that person help.”

To do so, NAMI offers support sessions at Dover High School, in the Pine Plains Central School District and at other locales throughout Dutchess  and Ulster counties. 

Through NAMI, one can register for the free, 12-week Family-to-Family class offered in Dover Plains, Poughkeepsie and over the river in Kingston.

There’s also the free, six-week class, NAMI Basics, which offers a peer-directed educational program specifically for parents or caregivers of children with behavioral, emotional or undiagnosed issues. Classes are offered in Dutchess and Ulster counties.

Then there’s the Peer-to-Peer class. It’s also free and is described as a “unique experience-based program for people with any serious mental illness who wish to establish and maintain their wellness and recovery.” That class is taught by trained mentors who live full lives with mental illness. Again, classes are offered in Dutchess and Ulster counties.

NAMI also offers Parents and Teachers as Allies (PTAA) — a one-hour in-service program for school staff to help them identify early warning signs in children with mental illness.

There’s also Ending the Silence (ETS), a 50-minute program for high school audiences “engaging them in a discussion about mental health,” according to the NAMI fact sheet. “Students learn how to help themselves, friends or family members who may be in need of support.”

NAMI also offers monthly support groups that provide much-needed assistance to those grappling with mental illness, or those who live with the mentally ill.

In Dover Plains, NAMI meets on the first Wednesday of every month, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., in the library conference room at Dover High School, 2368 Route 22, Dover Plains.

Brown, meanwhile, said that Dutchess County currently has an initiative to get all police trained to recognize the signs of mental illness when dealing with the public.

“So when they come across somebody going through psychosis, for example, [they know how to handle it],” she said. 

She encouraged the Millerton Police Department to get similarly trained.

In the meantime, Brown was given unanimous approval by the Village Board to hang ribbons in support of Mental Health Awareness Month throughout Millerton in May.

“We’re trying to reach out to northeastern Dutchess County,” she said, thanking the board for its support.

For more information on NAMI, go to www.namimidhudson.org or call 845-206-9892.