MHA

NAMI Geauga
National Alliance on Mental Illness
www.nami.org/sites/namigeauga

Unmasking Mental Illness - Support NAMI's Gala From Afar

NAMI Geauga - National Alliance on Mental Illness

NAMI - Geauga County is for individuals, family members and friends of individuals diagnosed with major Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorders, Panic Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Co-occurring Brain and Addictive Disorders.

NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness is a grassroots, non-profit education, support, and advocacy organization of families, friends, consumers, and professionals dedicated to improving the quality of life for all whose lives are affected by mental illness.

Our Chardon Peer-to-Peer Support Group meets at 7:00 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month at the Geauga County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services, 13244 Ravenna Road (Rte 44) across from Geauga Hospital in Chardon. This group is for persons with mental illness.

Our Chardon Family-to-Family Support Group meets at 7:00 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month at the Geauga County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services, 13244 Ravenna Road (Rte. 44) across from Geauga Hospital in Chardon. This group is for family members and friends of persons with mental illness.

Our Middlefield Support Group meets at 7:00 p.m. on the 4th Tuesday of the month at the Middlefield Public Library.

Our educational speaker meeting meets at 7:00 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month. Speakers meetings are held at various locations throughout Geauga County. Call 440-285-3945 or email mdoehring@mhageauga.org for more information.

Family-to-Family
This class offers education and support to family members and friends who have a loved one diagnosed with a mental condition. The course and all materials are free. Registration is required.The class meets on Saturdays for 12 weeks from 1:00 to 3:00pm,at 13244 Ravenna Rd. Chardon, OH 44024 (the Geauga Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services - across from UHHS Geauga Hospital). Family to Family classes are open to all who have a family member or loved one suffering with a mental illness. Call 440-285-3945 or email lreed@mhageauga.org if you would like to be added to our next class. Classes fill fast.

Hand-to-Hand
Hand-to-Hand classes are for parents of children diagnosed with a mental disorder, including (but not restricted to) ADD and ADHD. Classes are held for 9 weeks at the Geauga Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services, 13244 Ravenna Rd. Chardon, OH 44024. Hand-to-Hand classes are open to all who have a child struggling with a mental/emotional illness.Call 440-285-3945 or email lreed@mhageauga.org if you would like to be added to our next class. Classes fill fast.

Managing Mental Illness a story featuring Sally Matthews in the News-Herald.

Meeting Dates

NAMI Family-to-Family

NAMI Hand-To-Hand

NAMI Support Groups

NAMI Geauga Officers

The Mission of Nami-Geauga County is to offer mutual support and empowerment to persons and their families affected by serious mental illness through education, advocacy, and emotional support.

The purpose of the organization is:

To encourage and assist people with psychiatric disabilities to successfully live, socialize, learn and work in the community.
To advocate for non-disciplinary treatment of the mentally ill and to prevent exploitation of the mentally ill by any group, agency or individual, and to help alleviate the stigma associated with mental illness.
To advocate that the state and county provide for and protect the physical and mental well-being of the mentally ill.
To promote and support organizations whose purpose is to benefit persons with mental illness and their families.

A volunteer teacher says the education program can have a profound impact on those whose lives are affected by a loved one's mental illness. "Rather than trying to find your way in the dark, we can light a candle, and shed the light of facts and understanding on the confusion, fears, and 'aloneness' that come with these illnesses."

NEW Member Encourages Others to Join

Leona has recently found NAM Geauga to be helpful to her and her family. She wrote the following letter in hopes that it would encourage others to seek the help she found.

As a participant in the second Family-to-Family class I would like to thank our Geauga NAMI founders. Without them, I would still feel very alone and helpless. I now have an extended family of friends that can offer their support,. compassion and general understanding. Only through self-endurance and the support of others can we continue on.

I would like to challenge everyone to become an active member of our Geauga NAMI Association. Mental illness is not just a disease that affects one person. It is a family illness. It has a trickle down effect that affects everyone differently. Through sharing our experiences and knowledge we are helping our loved ones as much as we are helping ourselves.

It's heartbreaking to watch your loved one slowly slipping away. To look to the future and have your dreams crushed. It's important to remember that there is hope. Geauga's support group is unique in that it encourages interaction between those affected by mental illness and those of us who care for them. To see someone who is leading a productive life gives us hope for our loved ones. Their personal experiences help us to understand what it's like and how the medicines make them feel. It is important to remember that we are not alone.