NAMI
PA Montgomery Activities 2009
To: Our Mental Health Community: Persons with Lived Experience, Family Members and
Provider Staff
From: Nancy Wieman, Deputy Administrator of Mental Health Services
Re: Creation of a Speaker’s Bureau to Promote Awareness of Mental Health/Homelessness
Issues
Many of you are aware of the book and soon to be released movie entitled The Soloist. The author Steve Lopez, a former Inquirer columnist, chronicles his developing relationship with a man who is both homeless
and mentally ill. In the story Steve comes to know the man behind
the symptoms and promotes his reconnection with people who share
his love of music. It is a story of supporting someone in a recovery
journey and as such presents us with a wonderful springboard to
engage the communities in which we live in conversation about
mental health challenges.
I am writing you on behalf of a committee of people who have expressed interest
in using the book and the movie release to develop opportunities
to create dialogue regarding issues of mental health and homelessness.
We hope to have teams of people with personal and/or professional
experience who are willing to join community groups for discussion.
We have begun to brainstorm places where such discussions may
occur:
- Library and other book clubs
- Churches and other community organizations
- Colleges
- High School classrooms
With NAMI’s leadership we hope to have a presence at local theaters at the movie’s
opening weekend. We will be distributing information and providing
contact information for those who are interested in accessing
speakers or engaging in volunteerism.
We hope that you will extend this invitation to become a community speaker to
service participants, family members and staff. Interested people
will read the book and/or see the movie. We will offer a public
speaking workshop to those who may not have had this experience.
Overtime we expect this volunteer opportunity will impact perceptions
about mental illness and provide more pathways to community participation.
Anyone interested in joining the planning group or in being a community speaker
can contact me at: nwieman@montcopa.org.
