The largest annual mental health advocacy event in Southern California, with over 3,000 attendees in 2023, NAMIWalks Greater Los Angeles County raises funds for free programs and services that bring NAMI’s message of hope and community to everyone impacted by mental illness. NAMIWalks Greater L.A. County is a free community event all about gathering in community to break down stigma, raising awareness about mental health issues, and making it easier for folks to seek help and support.

Walk With Us to Support Us

Every dollar NAMI Glendale raises for NAMIWalks 2024 will help fund our no-cost support groups, education classes, public presentations & trainings, and advocacy efforts.

The best way to support NAMI Glendale and raise awareness of the Walk is by starting your own Walk Team. Reach out to your friends, families, and co-workers to raise funds–you can even recruit others to join you as a Team Captain as well.

We had over 20 Walk Teams who raised funds for NAMI Glendale in 2023, and collectively they raised close to $40,000! We want to reach that same target again in 2024, but that means we need your help.

Register or restart your Walk Team here—be sure to select NAMI Glendale as the chapter/affiliate you are supporting.

While it is still early, there are already six fantastic teams supporting NAMI Glendale for NAMIWalks 2024! Use the links below to learn more about each, join one, or make a donation:

• Burbank Student Mental Health Board | Team Captain: Jessica Ward
• GCC Psychology Club | Team Captain: Michelle Calderwood
• Liberalis | Team Captain: Chris Blatchford
• Remembering Dustin B. | Team Captain: Letty Baldaro
• Shady Lady Walkers | Team Captain: Jonée Shady
• Torres Ohana | Team Captain: Shiral Torres

Need some help getting started? Check out this guide for creating & customizing your Walk Team page, and this guide for customizing your Participant page.

Every registered participant has the chance to earn a NAMIWalks 2024 t-shirt by raising $100! By making a self-donation to your Team, asking friends, family, and co-workers, and sharing your Walk Page on Facebook and other social media pages, you'll reach that $100 threshold in no time.

Become a Community Sponsor

A new season of NAMIWalks brings another chance to support Mental Health for All with a corporate sponsorship. You’ll be helping our community keep pace with the rising need for mental health programs and services. There are numerous ways corporations and organizations can partner with NAMIWalks to help build better lives for families and individuals in Greater Los Angeles County affected by mental illness.

To learn more, download the NAMIWalks Sponsorship Guide. You can also contact Walk Manager Gigi de Pourtales at (213) 386-3615 x103 or via email.

NAMIWalks LA County Kickoff Event

Ready to get going with your team? Want to learn more about this year's edition? Then we'd like to invite you to the NAMIWalks LA County Kickoff Event!

Hosted by NAMI Greater LA County, this free event is a wonderful opportunity to begin your 2024 fundraising, meet other Walk participants, have some tasty small bites, and maybe win a prize too!

The Kickoff event happens Thursday, February 22nd from 5:30-8:00 PM at Accenture in Downtown Los Angeles. Learn more and register here!

With your help, we know we can make NAMIWalks 2024 another successful one!

I am looking forward to being a member of the 2024-25 NAMI Glendale Board of Managers as a Member at Large focused on Crisis Intervention. Fifteen years ago, NAMI Glendale Support Groups was where I first found real help to learn how to navigate having a son with a serious mental illness. I honestly don’t know where I would be today if I had not found NAMI when I needed it.

I took the Family-to-Family Class which increased my understanding and knowledge of how to advocate for my son’s mental health needs. I then took the training to become a Support Group Facilitator and Family to Family teacher. I have taught the Family-to-Family Class over 10 ten times and am now a State trainer for the Family Support groups. 

For the past six years, I have worked in non-profit community mental health and crisis intervention for 988. I am also the conservator of my son. I hope to support the NAMI Glendale Chapter by increasing awareness regarding resources for crisis intervention and appropriate care after a crisis. I would like to assist in building our speaker nights and bring in experts from various aspects of mental health to inform our members.

I am also interested in building awareness of how the new Care Court will be utilized in Los Angeles now that it has launched, as well as advocating for Proposition One which will provide funding for 10,000 new mental health beds in the state of California. We, as NAMI members, can use our voices to ask our friends, family, and co-workers to vote Yes for Proposition One and increase funding for mental health treatment and beds.

I am a mental health advocate. I hope to support NAMI Glendale’s ongoing efforts to raise awareness about mental health and increase the resources our families need.

--Suzanne

2024 is going to be a year of change for us at NAMI Glendale, as Operations Manager Jason Romero is transitioning to a new role with NAMI Greater Los Angeles County (GLAC) starting next Monday. Jason wanted to share the following message with you:

Effective next week, I will be stepping down as NAMI Glendale's Operations Manager to become the Programs Director at NAMI Greater LA County.

I found NAMI Glendale in the summer of 2016, when I was struggling to both understand my partner's diagnosis and to process my own feelings about it. I attended a support group, where I signed up for an upcoming Family to Family class. It turned out to be an experience which not only completely changed my perspective about mental illness, but which also saved my relationship. I was working as a college writing instructor at the time, so when I was asked to become a Family to Family teacher at the start of 2017, I jumped at the chance. What a perfect opportunity to put my teaching skills to use and help others the way the class helped me. Near the end of the year, I was asked by NAMI Glendale's then-President Kim Zolna to become the chapter's Volunteer Coordinator. This was another new experience for me, but one I found deeply meaningful and invigorating. It also was the perfect way for me to learn about how NAMI worked at the chapter and county levels.

At the end of 2018, I was at something of a professional crossroads. I still enjoyed teaching, but my recent volunteer experiences with NAMI made me wonder if work in the nonprofit sector was something I should pursue. Unbeknownst to me, Kim was preparing to offer me a part-time position as Glendale's Outreach & Engagement Coordinator. To me, this was no simple coincidence; it was the universe creating a path for me to pursue a new dream. I accepted the Coordinator position in February 2019, and, in June 2021, I then became the chapter's Operations Manager.

Looking back over the past five years, I am filled with immense pride about the work I've been blessed to do. We strengthened existing community relationships while building important new ones; we navigated the COVID pandemic with minimal interruption to our programming and maintained our connection to those whom we serve; we secured new grant funding and program opportunities which were previously out of reach; and we have become a well-run organization that allows us to meet the needs of our community.

I say "we" because I did not do--and could not have done--these things alone. The unwavering support and dedication of all the incredible people here at NAMI Glendale is what has allowed me to succeed. It is also what will ensure that our chapter continues to grow and flourish. While I don't have space to name everyone who has been part of my journey, I have been humbled by the trust placed in me by Kim and our current President John O'Malley, and I could not have settled in as easily as I did all those years ago without Sylvia Gil's willingness to freely share her knowledge and experience with me.

In my new role as Programs Director, I will be working with the Operations Managers and Education Coordinators from the six NAMI GLAC chapters--Glendale, Long Beach/Whittier, Pomona Valley, San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley, and South Bay--on best practice sharing, professional development, collaboration, and consistent operating procedures. My goal is to help us build on the good work each chapter does, and to guide us all in harnessing our immense potential as Los Angeles' leading voice on mental health. Please feel free to reach out to me at JRomero@NAMIGLAC.org

All the best,

Jason

While we will miss Jason, the NAMI Glendale Board of Managers is happy to announce that Reg Clarkinia (they/them), currently our Community Programs Coordinator, will become our new Operations Manager! Reg begins their new role next Monday, and will introduce themselves in March's Newsletter.

Join us for our first Peer-to-Peer class of 2024, beginning Friday, March 1st! This eight-week class will meet virtually from 5:00-7:30 PM PT.

Taught by trained leaders with lived experience, this no-cost course for adults 18 and older living with mental health challenges includes activities, discussions, and informative videos.

NAMI Peer‐to‐Peer provides a safe, confidential educational setting focused on recovery that offers respect, understanding, encouragement, and hope. The class will help you:

• Set a vision and goals for the future
• Partner with health care providers
• Develop confidence for making decisions
• Practice relaxation and stress reduction tools
• Share your story
• Strengthen relationships
• Enhance communication skills
• Learn about mental health treatment options

Attendance is free, but pre-registration is required. Click here to complete your application, and email our Peer Programs Coordinator Eliana Lopez with questions.

After a successful first presentation, NAMI Glendale is happy to offer Family & Friends again this month! Save the date for our February Family & Friends presentation, taking place Wednesday, February 21st from 7:00 to 8:30 PM PT via Zoom.

This no-cost webinar will be co-led by Reg and Gabe, who know from lived experience what it's like to support a loved one with a mental health condition. Get actionable tips, meet other people in similar situations, gain community support, and learn that you are not alone.

NAMI Family & Friends is a shorthand version of the 8-week Family to Family education class, where participants can gain research-based, practical skills on how to support their loved one who is living with a mental health condition. The 90-minute Family & Friends presentation covers a host of important topics for anyone supporting someone with a mental health condition, including:

• Understanding diagnoses, treatment, and recovery
• Effective, practical communication strategies
• The importance of self-care
• Crisis preparation strategies
• NAMI and community resources

Registration will open soon, so keep your eyes open on our Instagram and Facebook pages, the Events pages of our website, and for an email blast with the link to sign up. Have a question? Email Community Programs Coordinator Reg Clarkinia (they/them).

NAMI Ask the Expert with Dr. Xavier Amador, Author of I'm Not Sick, I Don't Need Help

You won't want to miss NAMI's February Ask the Expert Webinar, "'I Am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help!' How To Help Someone With Mental Illness Accept Treatment" with Dr. Xavier Amador! This no-cost event takes place Thursday, February 15th, starting at 1:00 PM PT.

If you have been around NAMI long, you know how much we respect Dr. Amador and his LEAP method. About half of all people with schizophrenia, bipolar, and related disorders suffer from a symptom called anosognosia that leaves them unable to understand they have a mental health condition. This is a symptom of these brain disorders, not denial!

As such, how we approach and communicate with people who have anosognosia makes all the difference. In this presentation Dr. Amador describes how common anosognosia is, how it impacts the person with mental illness and the family, and most importantly, how we can help the person accept treatment.

Register today at NAMI.org/AskTheExpert

NAMI’s Youth and Young Adult team has released new resources for those involved in the child welfare system. These resources were created to:

• Support youth in creating and maintaining healthy relationships.
• Guide families on traumatic experiences in the child welfare system and how to support children in their care.
• Assist child welfare support staff in recognizing the behaviors that may come with traumatic experiences as well as suggestions for how to build a trauma-informed environment.

These resources are free to download and are available in English and Spanish. Find there here!

In light of its launch in December 2023, NAMI California has created a survey available to families to speak about their experience with the CARE Act and CARE Courts.

Your response will provide valuable firsthand insights, feedback, and experiences from families who are involved in the process. The anonymous survey is available on the NAMI CA CARE website, or by using this link.

Painted Brain: Painted Brain creates lasting community-based solutions to mental health challenges and the impact of social injustice through arts, advocacy, and enterprise.

Project Return Peer Support Network: Ever wish you had someone to talk to? Someone who is supportive, caring and non-judgmental? Someone who is understanding and empathetic to your feelings? The Warm Line is a non-crisis toll free line and is specifically, but not limited to, people who are coping with a mental health concern. Call 1-800-448-9777

SHARE--Self Help and Recovery Exchange: Support groups in Culver City and Downtown Los Angeles. Check their website for full support group schedule.

LAC DMH Peer Resource Center: The Peer Resource Center provides support, linkage to services and a place of understanding staffed solely by peers. The center is located on the first floor of the DMH Headquarters at 560 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles 90020. The entrance is clearly visible on the corner of 6th St. & Vermont Ave.  

Have a question about NAMI Glendale's Peer programming? Email Peers@NAMIGlendale.org

Whether joining us as a new member or renewing a past membership, your annual membership with NAMI Glendale can not only make a big difference for our affiliate, but comes with a lot of perks too!

Your annual membership:

• Allows us to offer our no-cost family & peer support groups and education classes, as well as a variety of community presentations & speaker nights.
• Helps us create our monthly newsletter, other outreach emails, and our webpage
• Allows you to vote for the NAMI Glendale Board of Managers
• Provides NAMI Glendale with more voting power at the state and national levels
• Includes a subscription to NAMI's flagship magazine, the NAMI Advocate
• Offers you discounts at the NAMI Store and on registration at NAMI National’s annual National Convention
• Unlocks full access to all the information and features on NAMI.org

Annual memberships, which are fully tax deductible, are offered at three different levels: $40 (Regular), $60 (Household), or $5 (Open-Door). The easiest way to join or renew your membership is online--just be sure to select NAMI Glendale as your local affiliate.

Not sure what your membership status is? Want to join or renew your membership through the mail? Email Membership@NAMIGlendale.org with your question!

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Warmline: Call/Text (213) 797-0494 or email Warmline@NAMIGlendale.org

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