Thank you to the candidates for Asheville City Council who met with us on Saturday, October 29 at the YWCA Asheville for questions and answers. Attending were Lael Gray, Mark Cates, Jan Davis, Chris Pelly, Saul Chase and Marc Hunt. We appreciate their time in a busy election season.

Thank you, too, to Nina Accardo who suggested that NAMI pursue this meeting. She worked very hard to find a location for the event and a date that would work for the six candidates.

This is a direct form of advocacy that is very important to those in the mental health arena. We were fortunate to be able to speak openly about ourselves and our loved ones with mental illness and the difficulties face-to-face with those involved with Asheville city government. Topics covered were use of the detention center for those with mental illness, and the issues of housing, homelessness and hunger.

This was a great way to advocate in person rather than by phone, email or letters.

On October 25, 2011 a very special event will take place here in Asheville. We invite you to join us.

Tracey Turner, NAMI Western Carolina board member, will present THE EMOTION PROJECT. Here is Tracey’s own description of the Project:

“It is a powerful, dimensional presentation, often causing tears and, almost always, causing the audience to reflect on their own emotions and circumstances in their lives.

I give a talk about my history with alcoholism and mental illness, how the two intertwine and how they have impacted success and dire failure in my life. I then move on to individual stuffed and embellished bears which represent a specific emotion, expressed entirely as mine but leaving and encouraging room for the audience’s interpretation of their reflected emotions. The bears are not teddy bears but rage, joy, grief, self love and other emotions. There are 32 bears in the Project. In the end, it is a story of more success than failure. Maintained mental health versus untreated mental illness. It is a story of recovery.”

Tracey has presented at NAMI North Carolina, the National Crisis Intervention Training Conference (CIT), local colleges and at various NAMI affiliates.

Comments:

“Not only do I identify with my son’s emotions and have a more intense understanding, I discovered some of my emotions. Your presentation is dynamic!”  – NAMI member and parent of a child with mental illness

“I consider The Emotion Project to be one of the most powerful presentations on any subject I’ve ever attended. In fact, I was so impressed that, in my capacity as director of communications at A-B Tech, I arranged for her to present it at our college. Like Tracey’s, my connection to mental illness is a long-standing and personal one. In 1986, my brother, then 22, committed suicide after suffering from schizophrenia for six years. Those six years were among the most traumatic of my life, and although it makes me ashamed to admit, among the times when I have shown the least understanding to another human being. How I could have benefited from the insight I gained through Tracey’s presentation!”  Mona Cornwell

Please join us on Tuesday, October 25 , 6 – 7 pm at the Mountain Area Health Education Center’s (MAHEC) new facility at 121 Hendersonville Road behind the Doubletree Hotel and TGIF’s. Requested donation: $10. A light buffet will follow. For more details, call 828-505-7353, email namiwnc@yahoo.com or go to The Emotion Project website at www.theemotionproject.org.

Sixteen new CONNECTION support group facilitators from all over North Carolina came to Asheville for an intensive three-day training September 30 – October 2. CONNECTION is our support group for those with a mental health diagnosis. All of our new facilitators are peers who have experienced their own life difficulties with mental health issues. This is what makes CONNECTION such a powerful tool for those needing to get out of the house and get extra support in a safe, non-judgmental setting. All CONNECTION groups are 90 minutes and are free of charge. Please go to our Support Group page for the full schedule.

Congratulations to Gail, Monica, Kevin, Jane, Sam, Justin, Jesse, Sheila, Karen, Lucy, Andy, Jeff, Diana, Jonathan, Greg and Ren!