Thursday, December 20 at 5 PM

The Mountain Area Interfaith Forum and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville invite you to join in an Interfaith Service of Remembrance & Healing in the sanctuary at 1 Edwin Place at Charlotte Street on Thursday, December 20 at 5pm.

As we enter the longest night of the year, we remember the lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary last Friday. This will be a short service of music and reflection, appropriate for children.

We will honor our determination to send light into the shadows and to be the light in our communities.

All Are Welcome.

For information call, (828) 254-­6001

ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 14, 2012 — The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has issued the following statement which includes recommended links to trauma resources for families:

“Like other Americans, NAMI is horrified and saddened by today’s tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. As of Friday at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern), news reports indicated that close to 30 people were shot and killed, most of them children. We extend our sympathy to their families and to all who knew and loved them.

It is extremely important that the Newtown, Conn. community be prepared to provide trauma services and resources to all those affected by the tragedy. Our national community must do so as well. The tragedy will inevitably leave an impression on many children. Parents and caregivers throughout the country will need to reassure them.

American Psychiatric Association recommendations include:

Create an open and supportive environment where children know they can ask questions.
Give honest answers and information. Use words and concepts they can understand.
Help children to find ways to express themselves and to know that people are there to help. Remember also that children learn by watching parents and teachers react and listening to their conversations.
Don’t let children watch too much television with frightening repetitious images.
Monitor for physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach aches or other pains.

Additional resources are also available from the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS), the University of Maryland Center for School Mental Health (CSMH) and the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

NAMI will follow news reports closely as more details become known. At this time, there is no indication that mental illness was a factor in the tragedy. It is important to not make assumptions or speculate in such cases. The overall contribution of mental disorders to the total level of violence in society is exceptionally small.

When tragedies occur, no matter what their nature or cause, national, state and local communities must come together to find out what went wrong and to take steps to ensure it does not happen again. We expect such scrutiny to occur in days and weeks ahead. Today, however, is a time to mourn and pray for the victims of a senseless act and for their survivors. As a nation, we must reassure each other.”

As Americans, we must embrace a sustained effort to ensure solutions to our mental health crisis.

• This is a horrific tragedy. Along with other Americans, our hearts go out to all the families who have lost loved ones.
• It’s hard now to think of any good that might come from this situation. However, if there is a silver lining, it could be that it forces us as Americans to face this crisis we have in our country, to confront the stereotypes we embrace, to take steps to learn more about mental illness and what we can do to ensure that people have the care and treatment they need.
• Violent tragedies should not have to occur before the country realizes that mental health care must be a priority.

We must prioritize the promotion and availability of early intervention, treatment services and supports for individuals and families.

We must intervene earlier and ensure that essential mental health services and treatment are available at the earliest stages. We must demand:
o Ease of access to mental health professionals;
o Earlier and more assessable treatment; and
o Access to effective treatments and strategies.

Family education and support must be available to those in need.

• Families affected by mental illness need our help.
o Millions of Americans face the day-to-day reality of caring for a family member living with mental illness. It can be overwhelming.
o The reality is that when families get support—from many directions and programs—outcomes in all areas are improved.
o Families don’t always know where to go to get help or how to cope.
o Education and support programs for families affected by mental illness have the power to change lives for the better.

There are not confirmed details at this time to make a judgment about whether a serious mental illness was involved. Other than speculation, there’s no real information about a diagnosis, whether Adam Lanza was known to the mental health system, whether he or his family tried to get help or any other possibilities.

We do know that mental illness exists in every state, every city and every neighborhood of the U.S. One in four adults—nearly 60 million Americans—experiences a mental health disorder in a given year. One in 17 lives with serious mental illness, and one in 10 children lives with a serious mental or emotional disorder.

Yet fewer than one-third of adults and one-half of children with a diagnosed mental disorder receive mental health services in a given year.
We know is that it is generally very difficult for people to access early intervention and early treatment services for many reasons:

• There is a general lack of knowledge in the community about mental illness and how to get mental health care.
• The pervasive stigma, or rather social stereotypes, that prevail towards mental illness serve as a deterrent for people to seek help when they need it.
• Families sometimes don’t know to get help for loved ones manifesting symptoms of possible mental illness, or where to go.
• When individuals or families seek help and services, these services are frequently not available. This situation has grown worse in recent years with budget cuts, narrowing of eligibility criteria for services, limits on what services are available, etc.

We do know the U.S. Surgeon General determined over a decade ago that “the overall contribution of mental disorders to the total level of violence in society is exceptionally small.” When violence does occur, it is usually because something has gone terribly wrong in the mental health care system. Either something has fallen short or something hasn’t happened at all.

During the recent presidential debates, mental health care was barely mentioned—not for children, not for families and only briefly for veterans. The most prominent mention was only in the context of assault weapons. That’s unacceptable.

The President in his remarks Sunday night pledged that he’ll use “ whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens, from law enforcement to mental health professionals to parents and educators, in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this, because what choice do we have? We can’t accept events like this as routine.”

NAMI represents millions of Americans affected by mental illness. We represent parents. We represent families. We get it. We’ve been there. We help other families and individuals. We work with law enforcement, teachers and mental health professionals.

We’re ready to work with the President and whoever else is ready. The need has existed for a long time—the test is whether the country is ready to really take it seriously.

NAMI Western Carolina is the local affiliate of NAMI , the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

NAMI offers free information, support and education programs for families, individuals and our community; NAMI and our grassroots volunteers advocate for research, treatment and services and work every day to raise awareness and build communities of hope for all of those in need.

Please contact us at 828-505-7353 or namiwnc@yahoo.com. Your comments and opinions are welcome.

Thank you to the almost 100 people who attended our Holiday Potluck held last night, December 18, at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Asheville!

Sgt. Adam McIntosh of the Buncombe County Detention Facility was given NAMI WC’s annual CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) Officer of the Year Award. He was introduced by Rich Munger of Buncombe County who was instrumental, along with Mona Cornwell and Tracey Turner, in bringing CIT training to our area.

Decarlos Trey Mourey was named Office Volunteer of the Year. Trey put in 124 hours since January 2012 working on projects in our office. We appreciate all of his help and his willingness to just dive in and do what needed to be done.

Newly-elected board members were announced. They are:

Beverly Dale – Family Member/Advocate
Nancy Carey - Mental Health Advocate and member of NAMI for 25 years; member of the State Consumer and Family Advisory Council (SFAC) and Western Highlands Network (WHN) Quality Improvement Committee
Michael Todd, L.C.S.W. and Inpatient Coordinator with Mission Hospital’s Behavioral Health Department (also know as Copestone)
Linda Comer, PhD, RN, LPC, Interim Dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Western Carolina University
Rev. Jim Lowder, M.S.W. – Director of Advancement, Homeward Bound of Asheville

Re-elected board members are:

Bill Kinschner – President of NAMI WC, NAMI NC Public Policy work group, family member/advocate
Jim Pitts – Board member, past president of NAMI North Carolina and NAMI Western Carolina, family member/advocate
Tracey Turner – Vice President of NAMI WC, Membership Chair of Western Highlands Consumer and Family Advisory Council, Curriculum Coordinator for Crisis Intervention Team Training for law enforcement

Continuing board members (not up for re-election this year) are:
Mark Merrick - Board Secretary, Administrative Director, F.I.R.S.T. at Blue Ridge
Bob Pitts – Mental Health Advocate, Attorney at Pitts, Hay & Hugenschmidt

Thank you to The Zoodles, Doran Heck and Richard Sackett for providing the amazing music! And thank you to all of our guests for bringing lots of great food! AND a big thank you to our potluck organizers, Paulette Heck, Judy DeHavilland, and Florence Rowe and to the decorating elves who helped to make the room so beautiful! See you next year!

SAVE THE DATE – Valentine’s Potluck, Friday, February 15, 6 – 8 pm at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, 789 Merrimon Ave., Asheville. More details as we get closer …….

Ron Fournier talks to his fifteen-year-old son about the possibility that Adam Lanza may have had the syndrome:

“If you meet somebody with Asperger’s,” he said, “you’ve only met one person with Asperger’s.”

Tyler’s point is worth us all noting: Don’t overgeneralize. Don’t stigmatize in a rush to explain inexplicable evil. Autism didn’t cause this tragedy: Asperger’s is a blip on the far-reaching autism spectrum and no two cases are the same. Just as no “typical” person deserves to be tar-brushed with the evil acts of another, Aspies don’t deserve the bad press they’re getting.

Tyler’s form of autism makes it difficult for him to relate to people – to read social cues and easily express empathy. He is not prone to violence nor is he “missing something in the brain,” as so-called autism experts are claiming in the wake of the Connecticut tragedy. He is a gentle, loving 15-year-old who, like millions of others on the spectrum, is destined for a happy, successful life: college, marriage, a career and kids – whatever he wants.

Adam Martin adds:

“There really is no clear association between Asperger’s and violent behavior,” psychologist Elizabeth Laugeson, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, told the Associated Press. Another psychologist, Eric Butter of Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, explained that aggressive behavior such as pushing, shoving, or shouting occurs with higher frequency among people with autism. “But we are not talking about the kind of planned and intentional type of violence we have seen at Newtown.”

Emily Willingham, also a parent of a child with Asperger’s, points out that missing social cues is nowhere near the same thing as being a sociopath, and that “autistic people are far more likely to have violence done against them than to do violence to others.”

The Associated Press/The Daily Beast