News from NAMI of Snohomish County, WA                                                                   April 19, 2023

NAMI Walk Washington

EVENTS

Movie Night At Home

Do you like to cozy up on the sofa in the rain and watch a movie on Friday night? 

There is a free viewing of Dr. Gabor Mate’s film The Wisdom of Trauma this Friday, April 21, at 6:30 pm,

thanks to our friends at NAMI Eastside. 

Click here to register.



Early Psychosis Treatment

Interested in learning more about identification of psychosis and early intervention?

Two free online workshops about New Journeys, the early psychosis treatment are being offered on April 25 and May 2. Family members, individuals with lived experience, educators, healthcare professionals, first responders, and any other community members are welcome. The University of Washington SPIRIT Lab and Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) are some of the sponsors.

Chick here for more information. Click here for the registration flyer.

Children's Mental Health Events in April

To learn more about children’s mental health, attend the free events described below:

• April 27 – Lifting the Fog Online Webinar
• April 28 – Speak Your Mind In-Person Youth Mental Health Conference in Redmond

Lifting the Fog Webinar

A webinar on children’s mental health, called Lifting the Fog, will take place on April 27, at 10-11:00 am.

Studies show that 50% of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14.

Hear about practical steps we can take to raise resilient children and create conditions of flourishing in our schools, homes, and communities.

Click here for more information and to register!

Speak Your Mind Conference

NAMI Eastside 2023 Youth Mental Health Conference

This free conference will be held on April 28 at Overlake Christian Church.

Click here for more information and to register!

Mukilteo Mental Health Fair - Fun for the Family at MindFest

All ages are welcome at the MindFest at Rosehill Community Center in Mukilteo on Sunday May 7.

NAMI Snohomish County will have a table from noon to 6:00 pm.

NAMI Walk Washington

NAMI Snohomish County Team Kick-Off

In addition to the Puget Sound NAMI Walk Kick-off, NAMI Snohomish County is having a kick-off event at Gallagher’s in Edmonds at 180 W. Dayton on Saturday, May 13, from 3:00 to 5:00 PM.

Join us to learn how to brew beer, cider, or root beer, and enjoy homemade pretzels. 

NAMI Washington’s only annual state fund raiser, the NAMI Walk, will take place on Saturday, June 3, at Kirkland’s Marina Park from 8 to 11:00 am. Parking is free in the nearby library garage, and dogs on leash are welcome.

Create your own team, or walk with co-chair Kathy Chiles’ Merry Merfolk team, or donate online. 

After the walk, all NAMI Snohomish teams and walkers are welcome to celebrate with homemade cinnamon rolls at Kathy’s home in Woodinville at noon. Contact kathyc@nami-sno-isle.org

NEWS

Fewer Mental Health Resources In Snohomish County?

How do Snohomish County mental health resources compare to neighboring counties? While King County is considering a property tax to fund five new crisis centers for behavioral health, Snohomish County’s Compass Health will close their Triage Center and 30 crisis treatment beds as of April 21, 2023 for up to three years. Stanwood’s proposed mental health treatment center, which won a state environmental policy act appeal in December 2022, now faces a second appeal.

Read about it here:

• HeraldNet: Neighbors appeal permit for Stanwood residential treatment facility
• HeraldNet: Compass Health closing downtown Everett triage center for up to 3 years
• npr Network KUOW: King County has no walk-in mental health crisis centers. This levy aims to change that

EDUCATION & SUPPORT

NAMI’s free Family-to-Family in person classes on Whidbey are resuming.

The next eight-week class will meet Tuesday evenings from 5:00 to 7:30 May 9 through June 27 in Langley.

The Family-to-Family course is designed for families of adult loved ones living with mental illness.

For questions, email mikeowhidbey@gmail.com.

Register online here.

NAMI’s free Family Support Group is for families of loved ones living with mental illness.

The South Whidbey Island Family Support Group meets the on the third Wednesday of each month

from 7:00 to 8:30 pm at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland.

Drop-ins are welcome; registration is not required.

For more information, contact Jack at 509-429-8796 or email pbandjburchard@gmail.com.

Family and Friends Seminar

The Family and Friends Seminar provides an overview of the Family-to-Family class.

Join us online on Saturday, May 20, from 9:00 to 1:30. Registration is not required.

Chick here for the Zoom link.



A Resource for Co-Occurring Disorders

After retiring from her career as an elementary school counselor, Gretchen has volunteered for NAMI Snohomish County, serving as our message phone monitor as well as teaching NAMI Basics and Family-to-Family classes and GRASP groups for families who have lost someone to addiction. She was honored by NAMI Washington with its award for Leadership in December 2022, but now has expanded her volunteer teaching to reach other families experiencing co-occurring disorders by facilitating a SMART Family and Friends group online. SMART Recovery Family and Friends is based on cognitive behavior therapy tools. The meetings stress positive communication tools, self-care tools and boundary tools. There is a strong overlap of tools introduced in the NAMI communication taught in NAMI Family-to-Family and the SMART Family and Friends.

Click here for more information or contact Gretchen at gretchensaari6@gmail.com.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

What is NIZZBO?

Nizzbo is the nickname for the North Sound Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organization (NSBH-ASO), which is a little known but very significant organization for all concerned with mental health in our region of Snohomish, Island, Skagit, Whatcom, and San Juan counties. It oversees the delivery of behavioral health crisis services and other state-funded non-Medicaid behavioral health services in the five county North Sound Region.  NAMI Snohomish’s Michele Meaker currently serves on the Advisory Board which advocates for the behavioral health needs of individuals in the region. The North Sound Behavioral Health Advisory Board meets on the first Tuesday of each month from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. All meetings are open to the public. Snohomish County has vacancies. If you are interested in applying to serve as a representative, please contact Maria Arreola at maria_arreola@nsbhaso.org or (360) 416-7013.

COMING UP

May is Mental Health Month

24-Hour Crisis Hotline - Call or Text 988

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