Event: Kickoff luncheon for NAMIWalk
volunteers
Date: Sunday, 6 April, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Place: The Shop/H&H Community Development
Center, 2036 East Haines St., Philadelphia.
Note: See NAMIWalk announcement that follows
for more information.
Local Events
Event: NAMI’s Peer to Peer
Education Course
Date: Once a week for 9 weeks beginning 2 March (afternoons)
Place: NAMI Lower Bucks Consumer Center, Levittown
2) Date: Once a week for 9 weeks beginning 7 March (afternoons)
Place: Doylestown Hospital
Note: Peer to Peer is a unique experiential learning
program for people with any serious mental illness who are interested
in establishing and maintaining their wellness and recovery. The
course consists of nine two-hour classes and is taught by a team
of three trained “mentors” who are personally experienced
at living well with mental illness. Participants come away from
the program with a binder of hand-out materials and other resources:
an advanced directive; a “relapse prevention plan”
mindfulness exercises, and survival skills for working with providers
and the general public. Transportation issues can be addressed.
Registration is required; call 866.399.NAMI.
Main Line Health’s Tobacco
Control Programs: SmokeFREE – Free Smoking Cessation Program
Paoli Hospital – NOT ON TOBACCO – Teen program
Mar. 3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 14, 17, 18 3– 4 p.m.
Paoli Hospital, Malvern Rm.
Mar. 7, 14, 21, 28,
Apr 4, 11, 18, 28
Apr. 4, 11 10 a.m–noon
To register call 1-866-CALL-MLH www.quitnet.com
Event: Working with people who
have mental illness and intellectual disabilities
Dates: 3 sessions in March, each from 9:30 a.m.
– 12 noon
Place: Chester County Government Services Center,
601 Westtown Rd., Rm. 171, West Chester
Note: Session I – 6 March – More
Alike Than Different. This is a panel discussion with 5 clinicians
who work with people who have intellectual disabilities and mental
illness.
Session II – 12 March – Syndromes. Amy Nemirow, PhD
will discuss Down Syndrome and other genetic syndromes.
Session III – 18 March – Overlapping Physical vs Behavioral
Health with Amy Nemirow, PhD.
Register by 28 February at www.pchc.org
or call 215.546.3367.
Event: Chester County Youth Suicide
Prevention Task Force Meeting
Date: 12 March, 3:30 p.m.
Place: COAD, 930 East Lancaster Ave., Exton
Note: For more information call 610.594.9740
Event: Teleconference
training to address discrimination and stigma associated with
people who have mental illness and who are lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender.
Date: 12 March 2-3:30 p.m.
Note: The call is sponsored by SAMHSA. To register
go to: http://stopstigma.samhsa.gov/teleconferences/registration/default.aspx
Registration is required by 10 March. You will be given the conference
call number when you register.
Event: TEC’s
group for family and friends of people who have mental illness
with guest speaker Christian Kohler, M.D.
1) Date: 13 March, 10 a.m. – noon
Place: MHASP, 1211 Chestnut St., 11th fl, Philadelphia
2) Date: 24 March, 7 – 9 p.m.
Place: Belmont Center, 4200 Monument Ave., Rm.
138, Phila.
Note: Dr. Kohler will summarize the University
of Pennsylvania’s Neuropsychiatry program’s services
and research, after which there will be a problem solving discussion
of issues. For more information call MHASP’s Training and
Education Center at 215.751.1800, x232 or x233 or emannion@mhasp.org.
Event: Training: Developing Empathy
for the Lived Experience of Psychiatric Disability: a Simulation
of Hearing Distressing Voices
Date: 18 March, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Place: Coatesville VA Medical Center, Building
38, 2nd fl, Rm. 224, 1400 Black Horse Hill Rd., Coatesville
Note: To register or for more information call
Nina Yentzer at 610.384.7711, x6104. This training is intended
only for those who do not hear voices.
Event: NAMI PA Chester County General
Meeting
Date: 20 March, 7 p.m.
Place: Christ Memorial Lutheran Church on Paoli
Pike in Malvern
Note: Call 610-293-1422 for more information.
Event: NAMI Children’s Conference
Call: “NAMI Basics program for parents and caregivers of
children and adolescents living with mental illness” with
Teri Brister, PhD.
Date: 21 March, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Note: To participate in this free teleconference,
dial 888.858.6021, access number 309918#.
Event: Essay Contest for People
who have Mental Illness
Date: Entries due 21 March
Place: Send short essay or poem (one page max)
to COAD Mental Health Services, 930 East Lancaster Avenue, Exton,
PA 19341; fax to 610-594-0278 or email mhs@coadgroup.com.
Note: Mental health recovery is all about reaching
your potential, but everyone can get bogged down by day-to-day
challenges. The Dream Contest is sponsored by the Mental Health
Resource Exchange. Just use your imagination to write about where
you’d like to be or what you’d like to be doing one
year from now. A dream can be as practical as getting a job or
as fantastic as flying to the moon. It is up to you!! The contest
winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to the Exton Mall.
Honorable mention will receive a $10 Exton Mall gift certificate.
For more information, contact MHRE at 610-594-9740.
Event: Sibshops: a program for
brothers and sisters of children with emotional/behavioral problems
Date: 22 March, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Place: Devereux Day School, 600 W. Boot Rd.,
Downingtown.
Note: To register, call Karen Brenneman at 610-783-1788,
ext. 223.
Event: NAMI PA, Montgomery County
Open House to celebrate the opening of their third office
Date: 25 March, 11 a.m. -2:00 p.m. (ceremony
at 12 noon)
Place: NAMI Norristown Office, Catholic Social
Services, 353 E. Johnson Highway, Norristown
Note: Lunch will be provided. RSVP by 21 March—215.886.0350.
Event: 6th Annual BrainStorm Poetry
Contest for people who have mental illness
Date: Entries due 28 March
Note: The top three poems, judged by a panel
of mental health consumers and family members with literary interests,
will be awarded prizes (1st=$250, 2nd=$150, 3rd=$75) and be published
in Open Minds Quarterly, a literary journal dedicated to publishing
the writing of individuals with mental illness. Rules and entry
form are available at www.nisa.on.ca.
Event: Stomp out Stigma Run
Date: 30 March, beginning at 10 a.m.
Place: Immaculata University Campus
Note: Contact missy3girl@comcast.net
or hopely@mail.immaculata.edu
for more information.
Event: DBSA Peer Specialist CE
Webinar. Peer-Led Health Self-Management: An Emerging Field of
Practice
Date: 8 April
Note: Cost: $75. Registration required. Go to
www.DBSAlliance.org/events_PeerSpecialistCEcourses.
Event: Advocacy Workshop to help
disability advocacy groups improve their skills
Date: 15 April, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Place: Vision for Equality, The Cast Iron Building,
Philadelphia
Note: Learn how to organize for success—how
to get and keep your group organized. Receive training on special
education laws and advocacy techniques. Learn collective advocacy
strategies and explore ways parents can join efforts among themselves
and with other groups to affect educational policy change. There
is no charge for workshop or materials. To enroll or for more
information contact DASH at 866.915.3274 or Ido@drnpa.org.
Workshop is a project of the Disability Rights Network of PA and
funded by the PA Developmental Disabilities Council.
Event: New Directions’ speaker
meeting with Norman Cotterall, Phd from the Beck Institute
Date: 17 April, 7:30 p.m.
Place: St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 654
N. Easton Rd., Glenside
Note: Group discussion with follow Dr. Cotterall’s
talk. For more information call 215.659.2366 or go to www.newdirectionssupport.org.
Event: Support group for adults
who have/had a sibling or parent with mental illness
Date: 17 April, 7-9 p.m.
Place: Belmont Center, Rm. 139, 4200 Monument
Ave., Phila.
Note: Information and support group that focuses
on the needs of the participants. Free handouts and resources
offered. Call TEC to register at 215.751.1800 x232 or x233 or
emannion@mhasp.org
Event: NAMI Children’s Conference
Call: Dr. Maryann Davis on Transition-Age Issues
Date: 18 April, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Note: Dr. Davis is an Assistant Professor at
the Univ. of MA Medical School and a national expert on transition-age
issues. To participate in this free teleconference, dial 888.858.6021,
access number 309918#.
Event: Developing a Wellness Recovery
Action Plan (WRAP) Facilitating Skills (10 hours)
1) Date: 24 April Place: Holiday
Inn, West Chester
2) Date: 30 April and 4 June Place:
Friends Hospital, Philadelphia
Note: Sponsored by Drexel University School of
Medicine. Call the Registrar at 877.243.3033 or go to www.drexelmed.edu
Event: NAMI PA, Delaware County’s
Workshop with David Wohlsifer, PhD.
Date: 27 April, afternoon
Place: First Presbyterian Church of Lansdowne,
140 N. Lansdowne Ave., Lansdowne
Note: Details to follow. Call 610.623.0071 if
you have questions.
Event: SPAN/Survivors of Suicide
Walk/Run
Date: 3 May
Place: Ridley Creek State Park
Note: For more information contact info@delcosuicideprevention.org
Event: Co-occurring Disorders:
Crisis Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention
Date: 6 May
Place: Friends Hospital, Philadelphia
Note: Sponsored by Drexel University School of
Medicine. Call the Registrar at 877.243.3033 or go to www.drexelmed.edu
Event: The Jake Kelleher Live Concert
Date: Friday, 9 May, 7-9:30 p.m.
Place: The Garage in Kennett Square.
Note: For more information, contact the COAD
Task Force at 610-594-9740. Tickets are $5.
Event: NAMI Children’s Conference
Call: Mike Cohen and Ken Norton on the Suicide Prevention Frameworks
Project
Date: 16 May, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Note: Mike Cohen is NAMI NH Exec Dir. and Ken
Norton is the Frameworks Project Director. The program has received
national and international attention.. To participate in this
free teleconference, dial 888.858.6021, access number 309918#.
Event: Orientation to Psychiatric
Rehabilitation Principles and Practices (12 hours)
Date: 19-20 May
Place: Friends Hospital, Philadelphia
Note: Sponsored by Drexel University School of
Medicine. Call the Registrar at 877.243.3033 or go to www.drexelmed.edu
Conferences
Event: Bucks County Resiliency
Conference and Family Resource Expo: Expanding Possibilities
Dates: 26 March 5:30 – 9 p.m. and 27 March
8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Place: Spring Hill Manor, 171 Jacksonville Rd.,
Ivyland
Note: Keynote speaker on the 27th is Josh Shipp,
TV host, author and inspirational speaker. Registration is required.
Youth and family members are exempt from registration fees; professionals
will be charged $25/day. For more information call 215.773.9313
ext. 1. Sponsored by Bucks County Behavioral Health System.
Event: Third annual Penn Autism
Network Conference
Date: 28 March 2008, 8 a.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Place: University of Pennsylvania, Houston Hall,
3417 Spruce St. Phila.
Note: This year’s conference will concentrate
on the needs of adults with ASD, as well as issues related to
transition to adulthood. Details to follow, but if you have questions
now contact Deirdre Wright at dewright@mail.med.upenn.edu
or 215.746.1967.
Event: 2008 NAMI Convention: Tomorrowland
Today: Making Recovery Real
Date: 13-16 June
Place: Rosen Centre Hotel, Orlando FL
Note: Register before 16 May and pay $225 for
NAMI members, $275 for non-members, and $125 for people with mental
illness.. Hotel rates are $134 plus tax, per night, for a single
or double room. You must book the hotel by 8 May to be eligible
for this rate. Call 800.204.7234 to make the hotel reservation
and be sure to say you are attending the NAMI conference.
