up and breaking down after NAMIGO

meetings. Maybe you would like to write an

article for our weekly Newsletter, or be

involved with an upcoming fundraiser. If

NAMI has touched your life, perhaps you'd

consider telling your story to a church group,

at a health fair, or at a school or university

class, or even at an upcoming NAMI

meeting? Whatever your skill, our list is long

and can be customized to your individual

talent. The first step is yours to take. Please

call the office and introduce yourself to

Tracy, our Volunteer Coordinator, at 407-

253-1900.

On the education front, we've got lots in store

for you this summer. I encourage you to

follow along in the weekly Beacon e-

Newsletter so you won't miss a thing! Some

of the education sessions we're working on

include learning about Medicare and

Medicaid benefits; estate planning and trusts;

and relapse awareness and management

strategies.

Our NAMIWalks celebration program is

scheduled for Monday, June 11th at 6:30

PM at Beardall Senior Center. Come join us

and get in on the fun!

The Beacon The Official Newsletter of NAMI Greater Orlando May/June 2012

2012 NAMIGO Board of Directors:

Rosemary Steinbach, President

Muriel Jones Moore,

Vice President

Jan Ellison-Seay, Secretary

Deborah Parrott, Treasurer

Carla Bresnahan

Lt. Sue Brown

Linda Perez Del Rocco

Donna Helsel

Eddie Imbriani

Paula Kegelman

Wanda Keller

Michael Mangan

Ron Wilensky

Linda Winters

Inside this issue:

President's Message

1

Education Update

NAMIWalks

NAMIGO &

Community News

Announcements

2

3-5

6-9

10-12

Support Groups &

Activities

13

NAMIGO Office Executive Director:

Joe Mendoza

Staff: Barb Aikens

Mary Hott

Tracy Lutz

Contact Us:

Mon-Fri 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Phone: (407) 253-1900

Fax: (407) 253-1912

E-mail: namigo@namigo.org,

communications@namigo.org

Website: www.namigo.org

Paths of Strange Beauty

It's hard to believe that after months of

planning, anticipation and hard work by our

Walk Chairmen, our Team Captains as well

as our individual fundraisers and countless

volunteers, our annual 2012 NAMIWalks is

now a sweet memory of a perfect spring day

under warm Florida skies at beautiful Lake

Lily Park in Maitland. There are no words to

adequately thank the more than 600

participants who were part of our annual

celebration and successes. You helped us

exceed our $100,000 fundraising goal and

bringing the stigma of mental illness into the

light -- changing minds, one step at a time!

And while it's true that we exceeded our

fundraising goal, we have little time to

celebrate that milestone, since those precious

funds are already earmarked to bring

additional education and assistance to our

community. Central Florida remains so

desperately in need of information, education

and help in our constant battle to overcome

the stigma presented by mental illness in our

daily quest for normalcy and dignity. Our

NAMIGO teachers and support group leaders

are anxiously waiting to use those funds to

hold more classes and bring additional

opportunities for education and support to our

membership.

More than ever before, our need for

volunteers is critical to helping ensure that all

of the money raised from NAMIWalks goes

straight into NAMI programs. Volunteers

help us stretch every single dollar, and are

critical to our ongoing mission. Perhaps you

have thought about volunteering but have not

taken that first step. We'd love to have you

on board, and our needs are diverse!

Whether you have an hour a day, a week or a

month, we can use your help. We need help

preparing for classes and mailings, or setting

Greetings NAMIGO Family,

Rosemary Steinbach

President

Board of Directors

I couldn't be here personally for NAMIWalks because I was celebrating a family friend's wedding in exotic Morocco, but I decided to celebrate from 4,000 miles away as a Virtual as a Virtual Walker. To commemorate the occasion, I actually rode a camel in Marrakech on the day of the Walk!

If you feel called to

practice faith-based

outreach with us,

please contact

Karen Archbold at

(407) 814-4486 or

Grace Ingwalson at

(407) 333-2114.

2

In a 2008 study by Baylor

University, it was found that faith

leaders often deny or dismiss the

existence of mental illness. More

than 32 percent of church

members seeking assistance were

told that their problem was solely

spiritual in nature and that they or

their loved ones did not have a

mental illness.

This “solely spiritual” problem

was the result of lack of faith,

personal sin, or demonic

involvement. Oftentimes,

ministers would advise their

parishioners to stop taking

medications.

This astonishing statistic is why

FaithNet exists. FaithNet is a

partnership composed of

members and friends of NAMI.

It was established to educate

and develop supportive faith

communities, demonstrate the

value of spirituality in the

recovery process and the need

for spiritual strength for those

who are caretakers and

encourage advocacy.

On April 19th, board members

Carla Bresnahan and Donna

Helsel did a FaithNet presentation

at First Baptist Church of

Orlando's Counseling Center. At

the request of Terry Langford,

Director of the Counseling Center,

the presentation was made to

Licensed Mental Health

Counselors and Pastoral Minis-

ters.

On May 2, Director of Education

and board member Donna

Helsel joined Pastor Barton

Buchanan of Windermere Union

Carla Bresnahan (L) and Donna

Helsel (R) with Terry Langford

(center) of First Baptist Church of

Orlando.

Carla Bresnahan and Donna

Church to present FaithNet to

the Florida Conference of the

United Church of Christ.

We are still looking for more

volunteers to help with the NAMI

FaithNet project of using the

PowerPoint presentation entitled

Bridges of Hope to reach out to

faith communities in the Orlando

area.

Bridges of Hope is a great

tool to be used to educate

religious organizations about

mental illness. Reaching out to

faith communities is a good place

to begin the sometimes daunting

task of decreasing the stigma

surrounding mental illness.

We need your help to make

this program successful. Would

you be interested in the following

volunteer opportunity?

Show this PowerPoint

presentation to members of a

church, synagogue, or temple?

Share your personal story

regarding mental illness with

these groups?

FaithNet: Faith in Action

Pastor Barton Buchanan

Cruising To Recovery… Our Journey Together

I am proud to announce that our

8th Annual NAMIWalks,

Changing Minds One Step At A

Time, has exceeded our goal,

bringing in over $105,000. This

will help NAMIGO to make a

difference in the lives of our

loved ones and our families!

THANK YOU to all of our very

generous Sponsors, our Team

captains, Walkers, Volunteers and

our NAMIGO Board Members

who came out on April 28th and

supported this year's NAMIGO

Walk. We give special thanks to

maxIT, our first ever Gold Level

Sponsor, and to our Honorary

Walk Chair, Dick Batchelor!

Wanda and I are so proud of what

we have accomplished with the

help of each and every one of

you. We have had a record

breaking year and we are not

done yet! We had the pleasure of

having the Orange County

Corrections Honor Guard do the

presentation of colors and the

Orlando Gay Chorus sing our

National Anthem.

It was a moving start to a fantas-

tic day! Our Consumer Arts &

Crafts show was a huge success

and the Silent Auction Booth

broke records as well. The kids

loved the face painter and balloon

artist, and the caricaturist was a

huge hit!

Our theme this year: Cruising To

Recovery…Our Journey Togeth-

er, was based on an incentive

program announced by NAMI

National in connection with

Sunrise Premiums. Per the

agreement with Sunrise

Premiums, they provided travel

packages for a CRUISE to each

NAMIWalks site. NAMIGO was

fortunate to receive several

vouchers this year. We have one

being given away as part of an

incentive, one was given away as

a prize at our Kick Off Luncheon

and we sold one at our Silent

Auction Booth.

No one missed the boat!!!

We had 56 Teams this year and

there were over 625 Walkers on

Walk Day. We all reached across

our offices, our neighborhoods,

faith communities, and all the

other social networks telling

people that mental illness is an

issue that is important to us and

our families. That message alone

is a powerful one and you brought

awareness about mental illness,

about NAMI and our programs to

people otherwise untouched.

Thank you again for helping

NAMIGO CRUISE to success

during our 8th Annual

NAMIWalks!

3

I walk

for my

son

David…

Who do

you

walk

for?

Paula Kegelman

Board of Directors, Walk Co-Chair

Left to right: Walk Co-Chair Wanda Keller, CIT Officer Lt. Deanne

Adams, and Walk Co-Chair Paula Kegelman.

Walkabout

Top Row: Orange County Corrections Honor Guard, Orlando Gay Chorus

Center Row: NAMIGO Walkers under the arch, Walk Co-Chairs Wanda Keller and Paula Kegelman

Bottom Row: Silent Auction Artist Megan Coduto, Silent Auction tables

4

5

Walkabout

Top Row: Jeannine Lumpkin, NAMIGO Executive Director Joe Mendoza

Middle Row: NAMIGO Walkers, Christopher Vic Polk, Sr. of Pathways Drop-In Center

Bottom Row: Artist Scott Michaud, Jim Bivins

6

5

4

By Donna Helsel, Director of Education

6 5

3

For some of us affected by

mental illness, there comes a

time when law enforcement

becomes involved. In Central

Florida, we are fortunate to have

Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) for our law enforcement

officers.

For more than ten years,

hundreds of Central Florida

law enforcement officers have

been trained in how to

effectively handle situations in

which a person with a mental

illness is involved. They are

taught how to recognize

psychiatric symptoms in a

person quickly, de-escalate the

situation, and safely transfer

that individual to mental health

treatment.

CIT training reduces consumer

and officer injuries, including

consumer deaths. By linking

people with the appropriate

treatment, the criminalization of

people with mental illness is

abated.

Lt. Deanne Adams of Orange

County Corrections Department

has been instrumental in

bringing CIT to the corrections

realm. Lt. Adam's vision of

Crisis Intervention Training in

corrections has led to a drop in

use of force.

As a member of the board of

stated, "[She] dreamed of

better services and oppor-

tunities for those living with

mental illness and was

determined to do something

about it."

Wanda Keller, past president

of NAMI Greater Orlando,

wrote, "Deanne is one of the

strongest, kindest, caring peo-

ple I know. From the first time

I met her, she was taking

action to help those less

fortunate… Deanne gives

1000%."

"Deanne has a heart of gold

and I am honored to call her

my friend," shared Michelle

Saunders, who was a key

figure in bringing CIT to

Central Florida. She and Lt.

Adams have presented at

national CIT conferences.

Lt. Adams has garnered many

Compassion and Grace

accolades, most notably the

prestigious Sam Cochran

Criminal Justice Award at the

NAMI National Convention

and CIT Officer of the Decade

at this year's CIT Breakfast.

Lt. Adams is retiring on June

1st after more than 25 years

with the Orange County

Corrections Department.

It is rare that one person can

truly bring light to other

people's lives in their darkest

hours. It is even rarer for

someone to leave a legacy of

hope and compassion. An

individual like Lt. Deanne

Adams comes along once in a

lifetime. We honor you,

Deanne.

NAMI and the

board of Path-

ways Drop-In

Center, Lt.

Adams has

not only been

a dreamer but

a doer.

As Donna

Helsel, NAMI

Greater Orlan-

do's Educa-

tion Director,

states,

"Nothing is

impossible to

Deanne. She

dreamed of

bet-

If you are in a situation that

requires law enforcement and

involves psychiatric distress,

contact your local agency and

request a CIT officer.

In the last issue, we reviewed the

ten key elements of recovery as

defined in The National

Consensus Statement on Mental

Health and Recovery. To recap,

these elements are the following:

1. Self-direction

2. Individualized and person-

centered

3. Empowerment

4. Holistic

5. Nonlinear

6. Strengths-based

7. Peer support

8. Respect

9. Responsibility

10. Hope

These are all valid concepts that

are part of a well-integrated path

of recovery. But nowhere on this

list is what I consider the single

most important element in mental

health recovery: insight.

Lack of insight into one's illness

is one of the top reasons why

individuals with mental illness

stop taking their medications.

The clinical term for this is

anosognosia.

The ability to be self-aware is the

foundation, the thread through,

and the keystone of recovery.

I live with bipolar disorder type 1,

which means that I have

experienced at least one manic

episode with periods of

depression. During my first

episode, I had no insight into

what was happening.

The people around me kept

telling me to slow down, stop

talking. I thought they just didn't

"get it" - that they weren't sharing

my special perspective.

It wasn't until I had what has been

called a "pocket of insight" that I

sought help. It wasn't the

psychology degree that made me

realize I needed help. It took a

latent survival instinct, easy

access to care, and some

relentless loving-kindness from

my parents.

Unfortunately, lack of insight is a

battle for many of us until the

right med cocktail is found or the

crisis is otherwise abated.

Slowly, the light comes back on.

Then, as Dr. Kay Redfield

Jamison says, we begin to wonder

"when will it happen again."

For me, correct medication is the

bottom line. My mind returns to

stasis, and I can actually do

something about my recovery.

My friend once told me that I lead

the most examined life she's ever

seen. I thanked her. It is

absolutely essential that I monitor

myself to ensure my medication

is working properly, my sleep is

sound, my schedule is realistic -

and I'm happy.

I know more about my illness

since my second episode was so

different than the first. In the first

episode, I didn't know what was

happening. During my second

episode, the mood symptomology

was different but the delusions or

ideas of reference were the same

(discerning patterns and

connections between normally

What is this Recovery Thing Anyway?

unrelated things, overt religiosity,

saving the world, etc.)

I didn't recognize the mood

changes because most literature

emphasizes the euphoric side of

mania.

The point is that I was able to

note the psychotic features and I

could advise my doctor of them

before they could lay down roots.

For my recovery, I was:

1. Able to realize I was

having symptoms

2. Willing to stop them no

matter what, and

3. Capable of making and

acting upon a decision to

be as honest with my

doctor as possible.

Today, I practice catching my

prodromal symptoms or "early

warning signs" before they

become problematic. I elicit

feedback from family and friends.

I tell them about med changes and

possible side effects.

Mental illness makes itself known

differently in different people.

Sometimes it creeps in quietly

and insidiously. Sometimes it

announces itself with a

cacophonous roar. I'll take the

middle path of stability, thanks.

I liken my path in recovery to

driving. My job is to be aware of

my surroundings, check my

mirrors constantly, and be

cognizant of driving conditions.

With mindfulness, I can stay

safely in the middle of my lane

without drifting.

by Tracy Lutz

7

MY FELLOW PEERS:

I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

What do you do to maintain your recovery?

Journaling? Exercising? Meditating?

Take a moment to share what you do to take

care of your recovery.

Please contact me @ (407) 253-1900 or

communications@namigo.org

8

GENERAL

MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA (MHA)

www.nmha.org/go/youreontheteam

1. An excellent resource on "shared

decision-making" with your doctor

regarding the course of your treatment.

2. Includes a "How Am I Doing?"

checklist and a "Getting Your Doctor

to Listen" section.

CHOICES IN RECOVERY

www.choicesinrecovery.com

This site has a "Preparing for Your Doctor's

Visit and Treatment Collaboration" section and

many other recovery tools.

DEPRESSION AND BIPOLAR SUPPORT

ALLIANCE (DBSA)

https://tracker.facingus.org

This site has a Wellness Tracker with

customizable tools to monitor your moods,

symptoms, meds, and physical wellbeing. Use

the reporting mechanism to track trends in your

health and share the reports with your doctors.

Recovery Resources

MOOD SCALE

100: Elated, raging, incoherent, belligerent. Can't stop

talking! Hallucinations, paranoid.

90: Elated, delusional, distortions of time. Unable to control

emotions and thoughts.

80: Feel everything is working perfectly. Elated. Sleeping

very little. Hostile, racing thoughts. Inappropriate

spending.

70: Overactive, talkative. Many ideas for projects.

Scattered creativity. Social inappropriate and slightly

obtrusive.

60: Feel positive, confident, creative, high energy. May

want to spend money, travel. Awareness of

hyperactivity.

50: Feel good, productive. Good concentration. One day at

a time. Deal with problems. Can plan ahead, carry

through.

40: Mild depression. Lack of energy, anxious. Going

through the motions.

30: Moderate depression. Loss of energy, disinterest in

others. Weight, sleep, appetite disturbances. Function

with effort, Anxiety, isolated.

20: Depressed, feel abandoned. Sleep disturbance.

Withdrawn. Suicidal thoughts not acted on. Obsessing.

10: Very depressed, feel abandoned. Serious sleep

disturbance. Very withdrawn, suicidal thoughts not

acted on. Obsessing.

0: Unable to eat, take medication. Delusional, stuporous,

stares into space. Very little response when questioned.

The four "pillars" of NAMI are the foundation upon which our movement was built. They are the

following: support, education, advocacy, and research. NAMI provides an excellent framework from

which to derive a good recovery plan and support system for peers/consumers, particularly in our Peer-

to-Peer classes. The websites and mood scale below are useful resources for building your recovery

team with a particular focus on practicing and achieving insight into your mental illness. (NAMI Greater Orlando is not responsible for any of the content found within these websites.)

This mood scale is often used during check-in at

DBSA support groups. Many people find it a

useful tool when talking to their doctor as well.

9

Recovery Place is a clubhouse run by Lakeside Behavioral Healthcare which provides members the opportunity to return to paid employment integrated work settings.

For individuals needing to develop job skills, there are four daily work activity units: Environmental Unit, Clothes Closet, Communications Unit, and the Culinary Unit.

Recovery Place has opportunities available. You may contact Drake Matthews @ (407) 875-3700

x2434 or drakem@lakesidecares.org.

To find out more about Recovery Place call (407) 875-3700, ext 2659 for George or ext. 2593 for Kate.

For more details on NAMIGO's events and meetings, visit our website

@ www.namigo.org or call (407) 253-1900!

6

By Donna Helsel, Director of Education

10

2012 Post-Walk Ice Cream Social & Summer Quarterly Education

Meeting

2012 NAMIWalks Co-Chairs, Paula Kegelman and Wanda Keller, will provide an update of this year's

Walk and announce the lucky winner of the Starwood Vacation Raffle!

*** Walk Awards to be Announced! *** Top Team Fundraiser

Top Individual Fundraiser Best Team T-Shirt

Date: Monday, June 11, 2012 Time: 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Location: Beardall Senior Center 800 Delaney Avenue Orlando, FL 32801

We will enjoy a Choices in Recovery dinner and presentation on

"Relapse Awareness & Management Strategies."

Orange Leaf Yogurt and NAMI Greater Orlando are having yet another event to benefit NAMIWalks.

Orange Leaf Yogurt will be donating 10% of all sales back to NAMI Greater Orlando and a lucky someone will walk away with a token of our appreciation!

Date: Tuesday, May 22nd Time: 4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Location: Orange Leaf Yogurt 4255 W. Lake Mary Blvd.

Lake Mary, FL 32746

(map) Phone Number: (321) 363-4942

We have been blessed to have hundreds of photos from our record-breaking NAMIWalks event on April

28th at beautiful Lake Lily.

To view our NAMIWalks pictures, please visit the following websites:

http://rkegelman.smugmug.com/NAMI/NAMI-

WALK-2012

http://www.bruceglarson.com/

Many thanks to Ray Kegelman and Bruce Larson!

11

**Important Change to Social Security*** Everyone who receives Social Security/ Supplemental Security Income or other federal benefit payments by paper check is required by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to switch to an electronic payment option by March 1, 2013. There is less than one year left to ensure people switch to one of the two Treasury-recommended electronic payment options: direct deposit to a checking or savings account or the Direct Express® Debit MasterCard® card. It's fast, easy and free for people to make the switch online at www.GoDirect.org or by calling the U.S. Treasury Electronic Solution Center at (800) 333-1795. For direct deposit, people can also sign up at their bank or credit union.

In celebration of May as Mental Health Month, the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) invites you to be part of the DBSA "Positive Six Campaign" (DBSA +6) - six months of positive actions to connect to your health and community.

DBSA +6 challenges you to make small, positive changes. Each month - May through October 2012 will feature a new +6 challenge aimed at building new connections with your health, relationships, and community.

DBSA +6 monthly challenges: May - Feeding Kindness June - Positive Change

July - Give It a Try August - New Connections

September - Bodies in Motion October - Spreading Smiles

NAMI has launched a website, "Mental Health Care Gets My Vote," to mobilize individuals and families affected by mental illness to participate in the 2012 elections. Goals include grassroots voter registration, get-out-the-vote efforts for the general election, dialogues with candidates, and encouraging people to volunteer on election campaigns, regardless of party. See www.nami.org/elections. "Mental Illness does not discriminate," said NAMI Executive Director Michael J. Fitzpatrick. "It cuts across all party lines." The "Mental Health Care Gets My Vote" website is stocked with information and tools, including detailed breakdowns of state election laws and the rights of people living with disabilities in a "Right to Vote" section.

.

NAMI's

Ask the Doctor

teleconference is a

monthly series hosted

by NAMI's Medical

Director,

Dr. Ken Duckworth.

For more details on NAMIGO's events and meetings, visit our website

@ www.namigo.org or call (407) 253-1900!

On May 25th, Dr. Matcheri Keshavan and Dr. Duckworth will be discussing cognitive enhancement therapy for schizophrenia. On June 22nd, there will be a speaker regarding LGBT issues and mental health. To access these calls, dial 1 (888) 858-6021 and enter pass code 309918#. These calls are always held at 11 a.m. E.T. on scheduled dates unless otherwise noted. The Ask the Doctor schedule and previously recorded podcasts can be found at www.nami.org/askthedoctor

By Donna Helsel, Director of Education

The 14th Annual Family Café

The 14th Annual Family Café is being held in Orlando! The Annual Family Café provides a venue where individuals with all types of disabilities and their families from all regions of Florida can gather information about available services and how to best access them.

Register at http://www.familycafe.net/ When: June 15th through June 17th

Location: Hilton Orlando 6001 Destination Parkway, Orlando, FL 32819

Toll Free: (888) 309-CAFE

MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID

Mental Health First Aid is a groundbreaking public education program that helps the public identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders.

Mental Health First Aid is offered in the form of an interactive 12-hour course that presents an overview of mental illness and substance use disorders in the U.S. and introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems, builds understanding of their impact, and overviews common treatments. Deadline for registration is June 11th.

12

The 2012 NAMI National Convention will be

held at the

Seattle Sheraton Hotel, June 27-30. Our 2012 convention theme, Think, Learn and Live: Wellness, Resiliency and Recovery, highlights this year's focus on developing effective programs and

resources to increase resiliency and advance recovery.

Click here for additional program information.

Please make sure to visit each tab for important

information on hotel, travel, FAQs, program, exhibits, workshop proposal and more! More information will be posted as it becomes available! For questions,

please email convention@nami.org

Free Federal Park Passes for Disabled Citizens

Consider buying an Annual Pass if you enjoy visiting America's beautiful national parks and

recreation areas.

The $80 pass entitles the pass owner and accompanying passengers (or up to four adults at

sites where per-person fees are charged) admittance to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas. Learn more about where you can use the pass and what it

covers.

Other kinds of passes include:

Senior Pass -- $10 lifetime pass for U.S. citizens who are 62 years and older

***Access Pass -- Free lifetime pass for permanently disabled U.S. citizens***

Volunteer Pass -- Annual Pass awarded to volunteers who contribute 500 or more hours

When: June 26th – 27

th

Where: IKEA - Orlando @

The Mall at Millenia

Contact: Marie Dudek @

(352) 978-6081 or mdudek@creatingtoday.net

Website: www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org

For more details on NAMIGO's events and meetings, visit our website

@ www.namigo.org or call (407) 253-1900!

12

You are also welcome to attend "Mental Health Literacy” training on Thursday, June 14th at 9:30 a.m. in Orlando. This training will familiarize participants with symptoms, causes and treatments for behavioral health issues, and provide tools that can be employed in a mental health crisis.

There is no fee to attend this training.

Activities

Bowling is held every Thursday at Aloma

Lanes in Winter Park @ 2:00 p.m. Call

Rick Scott at (407) 929-1527 for further

details.

Craft Group enjoys making arts and craft

projects together, such as quilting,

scrapbooking and designing jewelry. It

meets the 3rd

Wednesday of each month @

11:00 a.m. Call Christina Mollick at

(407) 937-8049 for further details.

Consumer Council is a consumer

advisory board that meets the 4th Monday

of each month @ 6:00 p.m. For more

details, please contact Linda Perez Del

Rocco @ ldrcarteret26@yahoo.com.

Consumer Lunch & Movies takes place

the 1st Tuesday of each month. The group

meets @ 11:00 a.m. in front of Subway at

the Altamonte Mall food court for lunch

before enjoying the movies. E-mail

Jonathan Lee @ jplfame@yahoo.com for

information on the next outing.

13

Consumer Support Groups

& Family Support Groups

When: Tuesdays @ 6:30 p.m.

Where: Asbury United Methodist

Church, 220 West Horatio Avenue, Maitland

Room 14 (Consumer)

Room 15 (Family)

When: 2nd Thursday of each month

@ 6:30 p.m. (Consumers)

When: 2nd Thursday of each month @ 6:30 p.m. (Family)

Where: La Amistad Behavioral

Health Services, 1600 Dodd Road, Winter Park

When: 2nd Tuesday of each month

@ 6:30 p.m.

Where: St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 4851 S. Apopka-Vineland

Rd., Bldg. B, Orlando

Rm. 201 (Consumer) Room 202 (Family)

When: Wednesdays @ 5:30 p.m. Where: Sedona House,

3950 N. Hwy. 17-92, Suite 1026, Lake Mary (Consumer) (407) 321-7015

NAMI Conexión

(in Spanish / en Español)

When: Tuesdays @ 6:30 p.m. Where: Engelwood Community Ctr.,

6123 La Costa Drive, Orlando

NAMIGO Support

Groups Lunch Bunch is a social group for

consumers and family members that meets

the 2nd

Tuesday of the month at Smokey

Bones in Casselberry @ 11:30 a.m. Call

the NAMIGO Office at (407) 253-1900 for

further details.

Second Harvest is a community service

group that meets the 1st Friday of each

month. Consumer participants enjoy a

lunch and are paid for their time. Call Pat

Purcell at (407) 875-3758 if you are

interested in helping others.

Other Support Groups

Orlando Bipolar Support http://www.meetup.com/Orlando-

Bipolar-Support/

People, Inc. ~ The Mental Health Association’s

support group for anyone living with a mental illness.

When: Mondays @ 2:00 p.m.

(English); Wednesdays @ 2:00 p.m. (en

Español) – call to confirm day of.

Where: 1525 Robinson St., Orlando Contact: MHA Office at (407) 898-

0110

Suicide Anonymous Online ~ A 12-step program provided in an

online environment designed to help

people with suicidal preoccupation and behavior

Subscribe at: sagroupsupport-

subscribe@yahoogroups.com

The Mighty Consumers!

NAMI Greater Orlando

1800 Mercy Drive

Suite 300, Mailbox 4

Orlando, FL 32808

(407) 253-1900 www.namigo.org

Central Florida’s Voice on

Mental Illness

NAMIGO Membership Form All donations, contributions, and membership monies are used to continue the support of our programs and

services for those living with mental illness and their families in Central Florida. NAMI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

organization.

Individual Membership in NAMI $35.00

Professional Supporter w/NAMI Membership $100.00

Check here to be recognized in the Beacon Newsletter

FINANCIAL HARDSHIP LEVELS

Open Door One – Full Membership $3.00

Open Door Two – Unable to pay dues FREE

at this time (placed on mailing list)

New Membership Renewal

Donation to NAMI $ ______________

Name _______________________________________ Phone ________________________________

Address _____________________________________ E-mail ________________________________

___________________________________________________

14

See you at our Ice Cream Social Walk Celebration

Monday, June 11th at Beardall Senior Center!!