NEWSLETTER October-December 2015

www.namiventura.org

UPCOMING

GENERAL MEETINGS

NAMI Ventura County holds monthly educational General Meetings dealing with a

wide range of issues relating to mental illness. Free and open to all.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Ask the Doctor

with Stephen Hughes, MD

Tuesday, November 10, 2015 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Crisis Intervention: Understanding

Law Enforcement’s Role in a Mental Health Crisis

with

Mark Stadler, CIT Program

Administrator and a Panel of

CIT Trained Law Enforcement Officers

Vineyard Community Church 1320 Flynn Road, Camarillo, CA 93012

Our New Executive Director David Deutsch

by Mark Neal

With the publication of the official announcement in the e-newsletter of September 6th David Deutsch took the helm as NAMI Ventura County’s new Executive Director. Tireless and dedicated to mental health advoca-cy, David is an excellent match for NAMI and we are truly fortunate to have him step in to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of another be-loved, dedicated, and capable servant of the cause, Ratan Bhavnani.

David is passionate about advocacy for all aspects of support for mental health clients and passionate about NAMI Ventura County. He has been a board member for many years and has watched NAMI Ventura County grow and flourish under Ratan’s leadership. He is grateful to have been chosen for this position and feels strongly that NAMI Ventura County has provided much needed in-depth services and education to families and our Provider Education classes offer an important layer of support and education to health care providers. No other organization has worked as hard to bring awareness to the public about mental health issues and needs or has advocated as strongly for services and housing for mental health clients.

The NAMI Ventura County staff welcomes David on his first day.

David’s passion for advocacy began with lived experience. He turned an unfortunate stay in prison into a springboard when he found his calling to mental health and addiction treatment and advocacy. David pursued higher education, eventually becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and certified addiction counselor. He is called to create a voice for the most disenfranchised – the homeless, those suffering with addiction issues, recent inmates, and the those with mental health challenges. He was Shelter and Housing Di-rector for Turning Point Foundation for four years. After his work with Turning Point he worked with Telecare starting up their AB 109 program that provided mental health services

to people coming out of state prison who were assigned to be supervised by probation. David is currently President of the Client Network, a Ventura County based organization advocating for mental health care.

Now David has taken up the challenge to lead NAMI Ventura County on its path of advocacy and service to people living with mental illness, their families, and loved ones. Consider-ing the passion and dedication that he has already shown, there is no telling how far we can go. Let’s all welcome Da-vid, our long time ally and new leader.

2 www.namiventura.org

MENTAL ILLNESS AWARENESS WEEK #IAmStigmaFree

In 1990, the U.S. Congress established the first full week of October as Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) in recognition of NAMI's efforts to raise mental illness awareness. Since then, mental health advocates across the country have joined with others in their communities to sponsor activities, large or small, for public education about mental illness.

Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental health condition. During the first full week of October, NAMI and participants across the country are bringing awareness to mental illness. Each year we fight stigma, provide support, educate the public and advocate for equal care. Each year, the movement grows stronger. We believe that these issues are important to address year round, but highlighting these issues during Mental Illness Awareness Week provides a time for people to come to-gether and display the passion and strength of those working to improve the lives of the tens of millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

Living Independently July 2015 General Meeting

by Renee Foote At the General Meeting on July 14, Carol Baizer and Danielle Anderson from the Independent Living Resource Center spoke about their organization and disability benefits. They an-swered many questions from the audience about the Social Security benefits available for people with mental disabilities. The Independent Living Resource Center, Inc. (ILRC) is a public-benefit, nonprofit organization that promotes the Independ-ent Living Philosophy and its tenants of full-access, equal op-portunity, maximum independence , and self-sufficiency for all people with mental and physical disabilities. The ILRC was established in Ventura County in 1982 and also serves Santa Barbara County and San Luis Obispo County. The purpose of the ILRC is to assist and support individuals to: (1) accomplish full participation in the community; (2) elimi-nate architectural, communication, and attitudinal barriers; and (3) achieve their optimal level of self-sufficiency. Full Participation – The ILRC prepares and supports people who are disabled to cope with their altered lives and identify strategies necessary to the community. In addition, ILRC helps those experiencing a newly acquired disability to

set goals and resume life on their own terms and actively par-ticipate in the community at every level. Eliminate Barriers – The Independent Living Philosophy holds that “individuals are defined in terms of their abilities rather than their disabilities.” The ILRC educates individuals, organi-zations, and businesses in the community to be more aware and sensitive to those with disabilities and access needs. The goal is the elimination of physical, communication, and attitu-dinal barriers. Self-Sufficiency – The ILRC enables people with disabilities to take responsibility and control of their own lives, to make informed decisions, and to reduce their dependence on the people around them. The ILRC provides opportunities to de-velop the skills necessary to live productive lives and achieve personal goals. Services that the ILRC provides include information and refer-ral, advocacy, peer support groups, independent living skills instruction, housing assistance, and employment assistance. The ILRC can also help with the SSI, SSDI, Medi-Cal, and Medi-care application process. For more information, visit the ILRC website, www.ilrc-trico.org.

Helpline: 805-500-NAMI

NAMI Family-to-Family is a free, 12-session educational program for family, significant others and friends of people living with mental illness. It is a designated evidenced-based program. Research shows that the program significantly improves the coping and problem-solving abilities of the people closest to an individual living with a mental health condition. NAMI Family-to-Family is taught by NAMI-trained family members who have been there, and includes presentations, discussion and interactive exercis-es. The class not only provides critical information and strategies for taking care of the person you love, but you'll also find out that you're not alone. Recovery is a journey, and there is hope.

NAMI Provider Education introduces mental health professionals to the unique perspec-tives of individuals living with mental illness and their families. You’ll develop enhanced empathy for their daily challenges and recognize the importance of including them in all aspects of the treatment process. NAMI Provider Education is a free, 15 hour program of in-service training taught by a team consisting of an adult with mental illness, a family member and a mental health professional.

Highly recommended for all health care professionals including psychiatrists, psycholo-gists, nurses, case managers, therapists, social workers, psychiatric technicians, drug and alcohol counselors, residential care givers, job counselors, receptionists, administrators, and all those who serve individuals with mental illness. 15 CEUs are available free.

El programa de NAMI De Familia a Familia es un curso de 12 semanas, gratuito, para los familiares y cuidadores de personas que sufren enfermedades mentales.

Esta serie de doce clases semanales ayuda a los familiares y cuidadores a comprender y ofrecer apoyo a sus seres queridos con trastornos mentales, cuidándose también a sí mismos. Los instructores, entrenados por NAMI, son voluntarios que saben por experi-encia propia lo que es tener un familiar o amigo que lucha con uno de estos transtornos del cerebro.

NAMI Peer-to-Peer is a free, 10-session educational program for adults with mental ill-ness who are looking to better understand their condition and journey toward recovery.

Taught by a trained team of people who've been there, the program includes presenta-tions, discussion and interactive exercises. Everything is confidential, and NAMI never recommends a specific medical therapy or treatment approach. You can experience

NAMI Ventura County Education classes are offered at no cost. They are

scheduled year round and in different parts of the county. You can check the

current class schedule and register for classes that suit your schedule and

location on our website.

www.namiventura.org.

NAMI EDUCATION CLASSES

Classes for 2016 Coming Soon!

Upcoming Events!

Mark your calendars. You do

not want to miss these great

NAMI Ventura County events!

NAMI Ventura County

Holiday Party

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Elks Lodge

801 S. “A” St., Oxnard

Want to volunteer for the

Holiday Party? Call Joan at

805.641.2426 or email

joan@namiventura.org

NAMIWalk 2016

Saturday, April 30, 2016

Ventura Beach Promenade

To Sponsor call

805.641.2426

4 www.namiventura.org

April is a student working on her Bachelor’s Degree at a 4 year college who enjoys writing poetry and going to open mic sessions. She is a daughter, sister, and friend who cares deeply about those she is close with and is with them often both by phone and in person. For most of her life, April has been in involved in nu-merous volunteering events for children with special needs, those with cancer, and the homeless. She loves to publicly speak and wishes to help others with her sto-ry. In 2010, April was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Obsessive Compul-sive Disorder. For most of her life up until that point, she knew that she had something, but never acknowl-edged it. She has now been in the process of recovery for over five years and follows a reg-imen that improves her emotionally, mentally, biochemically, and social-ly. Her journey to diagnosis was extremely scary because no one in April’s family had knowledge of Bi-polar Disorder up until she started going to a psychiatrist. Now being in recovery, she has a quite a story to tell. In her first year of college, April made many friends through a club she helped to form. In October, however, while interviewing a school psy-chologist for a project, she found herself being the one interviewed and felt empty after the session. Something was wrong with her life, with herself. She found herself lacking meaning in her life and had an obsession asking all of her friends and teachers and family members, what is the meaning of life. No one gave her a good answer and she continued to feel lost in life. One evening during her psychology class, April began to feel like her throat was closing, that her palms were sweaty, and that her mind was racing. Little did she know that she was getting a panic attack. April’s friends tried to help her with her obsession about the meaning of life. During one field trip that was a conference in San Diego in January, April stayed up until 2am partying with her friends and others at the conference. Watching people drinking made April dis-satisfied with life. She walked to the edge of the nearby ocean where she slowly made her way into the water. Thoughts of suicide plagued her mind and she thought

that drowning would end her depression. North of where she was, April heard a group of people from the conference yelling, “Don’t do it!” She stopped and fell out of her feeling. In February, April stayed over at a recreation center for a festival where she stayed up until 5am and had non-stop energy. She made many friends and felt like she made many connections. These same symptoms re-mained with her when she stayed up at another retreat. It was after this retreat and declaring her love to one of her friends that she woke up the next morning not want-ing to go to school and announcing to her mother that she would end her life. Thinking that April had depression, her new psychiatrist gave her an anti-depressant. At first everyone thought that April was getting better but within a week, April

dropped out of college and began writ-ing down ideas in a small journal that made no sense. She was getting 3-5 hours of sleep and stayed extremely so-cially active. She fell into the Jewish teaching of kabbalah where she thought she could eventually reach God. Soon she declared that she was the Messiah, the Jewish savior and that she would travel to Israel. In the middle of all of this, her psychiatrist stopped the anti-depressant and put her on a mood stabi-

lizer. She continued to have delusions and racing thoughts. One part of her illness is that she thought she had the mind of God because she could make connec-tions between anything. One night April made a connection between a book and a lesson about God and she reached rock bottom. She sunk to the living room floor in front of her family cry-ing and vowing to kill herself. With the help of her doc-tors, medication, therapy, family, and a few friends she slowly got back to “normal”. Unfortunately, most of her new friends isolated her. Now April is still in the recovery process. She has come a long way with a strong support system that re-minds her that she is getting better each and every day, but that she still needs to take care of herself. April continues to be an almost straight A student and a hard worker. She loves to go on adventures and meet new people. Although April’s illness is present in her life, she understands that it does not define her. April volunteers for NAMI Ventura County as a guest speaker and writer.

Volunteer Spotlight: A Story of Recovery By April

She walked to the

edge of the nearby

ocean where she slow-

ly made her way into

the water. Thoughts

of suicide plagued her

mind.

Helpline: 805-500-NAMI 5

Helping Someone Who Has A Mental Illness by Pete Earley

It’s difficult helping someone with a mental illness.

When someone becomes physically sick, a family gathers around them. But mental disorders are not like physical ones and families…well, if you want to know how complicated rela-tionships can be consider a recent comment sent to me by a

reader. She wrote that her family abandoned her because her parents were tired of having extra “drama” in their lives.

On the other end of the spectrum, I met a couple in Iowa who asked if I could help them find their son. He had been diag-

nosed with schizophrenia and was homeless. Occasionally, he would telephone. While his mother was happy to know that he was alive, he would always end their calls with hurtful rants.

My relationship with my son has not always been easy. Those

of you who have read my book know that I was forced to lie about him threatening me in order to get him taken into a hos-

pital rather than put in jail. During a later break, I called the police and my son was shot twice with a Taser. These events

can play havoc on father-son relationships.

So what have I learned? First, mental illnesses are serious business. You can’t take an aspirin and wake up in the morning healed. It took more than five years for my son to become stable. Parents and others

need to realize that there are no quick fixes. Hang in there and realize there will be many highs and lows on your journey.

Second, accept a new normal. Saying you want your child to

go back to the way that he was is counter productive. You need to understand that the person who you love has a mental illness. Most people can and do recover. But the journey that you go through with them to recovery changes both of you.

There is no going back to the past.

Third, learn to trust your own judgment. No one knows the person you love better than you and while there are amazing, devoted and really smart mental health professionals, they do

not have to live with the person who is sick. I’ve had people tell me that I needed to get tough with Kevin

when he was psychotic and not lift a finger to help him until he hit rock bottom. I remember wondering: What does that mean

exactly? After all, he was arrested and shot with a Taser? Short of allowing him to go homeless — what’s left? Suicide? Other times, I know my anxiety about pushing him too hard has led to me being an enabler. It helps that Patti is Kevin’s step-mom. While she certainly loves him, she sometimes can

take a step back and see how Kevin and I are engaging in destructive behaviors that are not good for either of us.

I’ve turned to professionals for help numerous times and fortu-nately have gotten good advice. But I’ve also known some

therapists who have no business advising anyone. One actual-ly put Kevin in harm’s way because of a rushed diagnosis. A counselor at the Miami Dade County Jail told me that his sis-

ter, who had schizophrenia, had seen more than a dozen doc-tors and literally hundreds of therapists during her thirty year struggle. Yet, the family was seen as part of the problem, ig-

nored and often treated rudely. “But who was there when all of those others moved on?” he asked me rhetorically. “In the

end, all my sister had was me.” You must be resilient. Trust your heart.

Fourth, educate yourself. Think of mental illness as a forma-ble enemy and realize you need to be knowledgeable to pre-vent it from destroying your loved one’s life. Join a national

mental health group, such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness or Mental Health America. Learn about Crisis Interven-tion Team training and if law enforcement in your community has CIT officers who you can call. Become knowledgeable

about medications and alternatives. Obtain the tools that you need to help someone you love.

Two sources that have helped me are Dr. Xavier Amador’s book, I’m Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help, and the Na-tional Alliance on Mental Illness’s Family-to-Family course. One advantage of joining a mental health group is that you

meet others on the same road. Learn from them.

Fifth, realize that mental illnesses impact your entire fami-ly. Siblings often are jealous of all the attention that is be-

ing shown someone with a disorder. They accuse their troubled brother or sister of acting out to get attention or of manipulating their parents.

Encouraging them to learn about mental illness and including them in helping

someone recover can ease those feelings.

Sixth, understand your own limitations. This is perhaps the most difficult lesson to

learn. Sometimes, no matter what you do and how hard you try, you will not be suc-

cessful. If your child had cancer and you couldn’t

save them, would you blame yourself? A parent can’t always fix things. This doesn’t mean

that you give up, although some do and for good reason.

I remember talking to Bebe Moore Campbell, the late novelist who specialized in writing about mental illnesses, and listening

to her explain how she never was critical of anyone who walked away from a family member — including parents.

Sometimes, she told me, it was the only way for that person to save themselves. “I’ve see how these illnesses can destroy relationships,” she said. “No one can judge anyone else until

they walk in their shoes.”

Seven, understand that while you love a person who is ill and because of that you hurt, that person is the one with the men-tal illness and what he/she is going through can be more hor-

rific than what most of us will ever imagine. Learn to listen, treat them with respect, try to build trust and when possible, become a partner — make sure they are part of the solution

and not seen as a problem that needs to be fixed.

So what’s the answer? There is no singular one. Every per-son is unique, every family is different, every mental break

brings with it challenges. What I have learned is that for me, ultimately, I must have hope.

I must believe that recovery is possible. I must believe because without hope,

I know recovery will never happen.

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MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES

Acute Care Psychiatric Hospitals

Hillmont Psychiatric Center All county residents

(805) 652-6729 200 N. Hillmont Ave., Ventura, CA 93003

Aurora Vista del Mar Medicare and private insurance only

(805) 653-6434 801 Seneca St., Ventura, CA 93001

Ventura County Behavioral Health

If you or a loved one are experiencing a mental health crisis, call the VCBH Crisis Team 24/7 at (866) 998-2243.

Ventura County Behavioral Health (VCBH) provides outpatient mental health services for children, transitional age youth (ages 18 to 25), adults and older adults.

For all appointments, call the STAR program at (866) 998-2243 (Screening, Triage, Assessment, Referral)

If You Live In: Your Outpatient Clinic:

Ojai or Ventura 4258 Telegraph Rd (excluding 93004) Ventura, CA 93003

Fillmore, Piru or 333 W. Harvard Blvd. Ventura 93004 Santa Paula, CA 93060

Oxnard, El Rio or 1911 Williams Dr., Ste 110 Port Hueneme Oxnard, CA 93036

Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura County 125 W. Thousand Oaks areas of Agoura, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 Westlake, Bell Canyon

Simi Valley or 1227 E. Los Angeles Ave Moorpark Simi Valley, CA 93065

NAMI FAMILY SUPPORT GROUPS

Please note – These NAMI groups are for family members. See below for consumer/client support groups.

Support group attendees and other family members are urged to come back so as to help others! Drop in – no need to call ahead!

To check the date of the next meeting, go to www.namiventura.org and select "Calendar" . Or call NAMI at (805) 500-NAMI.

Camarillo – Meets at 5:30 p.m., the second Tuesday at Vineyard Community Church, 1320 Flynn Rd, Camarillo.

Thousand Oaks – Meets at 7:00 p.m. the first and third Monday of each month at Kaiser Permanente, 145 Hodencamp Rd., Thousand Oaks.

Ventura – Meets at 6:30 pm, the first and third Tuesday at Bible Fellowship Church, 6950 Ralston St (use entrance from Johnson Drive), Building 300, Room 302, Ventura.

Simi Valley – Meets at 6:15 pm, the first and third Thursday at Clincas, 1424 Madera Rd., Simi Valley, CA 93065.

GRUPO DE APOYO For Spanish-speaking family members

Oxnard – Meets at 6:30 pm, the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at The Wellness Center, 2697 Saviers Rd. Oxnard, CA 93030. For information in Spanish, call: Lisa (805) 984−2839 or Pablo (805) 794−6316.

NAMI Ventura County Help Line

(805) 500-NAMI

Volunteers and staff can provide information on a variety of resources, including mental health services, housing, legal assistance, sup-port groups, classes for families and clients, etc. Open Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

If you have a mental health emergency, call the VCBH Crisis Team at (866) 998-2243. Or call police at 911 and ask for a CIT trained officer.

PEER SUPPORT GROUPS NAMI Connection

Please note – These NAMI groups are for clients/consumers only.

A recovery support group program, for adults living with mental ill-ness, which is expanding in communities all across the country. These groups provide a place that offers respect, understanding, encourage-ment, and hope. NAMI Connection groups offer a casual and relaxed approach to sharing the challenges and successes of coping with men-tal illness. Each group meets weekly for 90 minutes, is offered free of charge and follows a flexible structure without an educational format.

First and third Wednesday of each month, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm NAMI Ventura County Office, 5251 Verdugo Way, Suite K., Camarillo

PEER SUPPORT GROUPS Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

Ventura: DBSA Support Group meets every Tuesday, 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm, Bible Fellowship Church, 6950 Ralston Street (& Johnson Drive), Building 300, Room 301, Ventura. Park in the lot off Johnson Drive. No registration required. For more info, call (805) 253-3289.

Ventura: DBSA Support Group meets 1st and 3rd Saturdays, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at The Wellness Center, Turning Point Foundation, 1065 E. Main Street, Ventura. For more information, call (805) 671-5038

Oak Park: DBSA Conejo Valley Depression Support Group meets Mondays at 7:00 p.m. at Church of the Epiphany, Mitchel Hall, Room 6, 5450 Churchwood Dr. (Kanan & Churchwood) Oak Park. No registra-tion required. For more information, call Rachel at 818-601-7767.

Helpline: 805-500-NAMI 7

Publication’s title and number: NAMI VENTURA COUNTY NEWSLETTER

Issue date: SEPTEMBER, 2015

Statement of frequency QUARTERLY

Authorized organization's name and address: NAMI VENTURA COUNTY

5251 VERDUGO WAY, SUITE K, CAMARILLO, CA 93012

Issue number: ISSUE NO. 52

Subscription price: NONE

IDENTIFICATION STATEMENT

NAMI Ventura County Contact Information

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1613, Camarillo, CA 93011

Office: 5251 Verdugo Way, Suite K, Camarillo, CA 93012

Helpline: (805) 500-NAMI

Phone: (805) 641-2426 Fax: (805) 275-2188

e-mail: info@namiventura.org Website: www.namiventura.org

Staff Executive Director: David Deutsch

Program Coordinator: Chris Novak

Program Coordinator: Joan Wiggins

Program Coordinator: Diane Bustillos

2015 Board of Directors

Honorary Board Jim Matthews, Lou Matthews Ed Nani, Sharon Robinson

Advisory Board Kent Kellegrew, Legal

Fred Robinson, Nonprofits

John Nielsen President

Diana Skocypec Vice President Governance

Roberta Rodriguez Vice President Special Projects

Shirley Brandon Secretary

Michael Ford Legal

Joshua Newstat Director at Large

Diane Sall Director at Large

Norine Rishko Director at Large

Sonna Gray Director at Large

NAMI Ventura County Holiday Party!!!

Your support is needed to make this event a success!

Holiday gifts are needed. Business sponsorships are welcome.

Here's how you can help:

We need some great door prizes. Please consider donating a new gift valued from $25 to $50 (no alcohol or candles);

examples include apparel and electronics.

Please drop off gifts at the NAMI office in Camarillo by Tuesday, December 1st.

NAMI Ventura County 5251 Verdugo Way, Suite K, Camarillo, CA 93012

NAMI Ventura County P.O. Box 1613 Camarillo, CA 93011

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Non-Profit Org US Postage

PAID Oxnard, CA

Permit No. 00280

NAMI Ventura County Membership Application

Become a member, renew your membership or donate by filling out the form completely, and mail with card info or check payable to: NAMI Ventura County, P.O. Box 1613, Camarillo, CA 93011-1613, or at our website, www.namiventura.org

Check One: _________ New Member _________Renewal

Name(s): ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Address: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone: _______________________________ Email: ___________________________________________________________

Membership level, one year (check one):

______Sustaining ________ Gold ($100) ________Silver ($50)* ________ General ($35) ________Open Door ($3)*

Sustaining Member: __________________per month (Minimum $10/Month for sustaining membership)

Membership Dues: _____________________

Donation: _____________________

Total : ___________________ Please bill my credit card: _____Visa _____ MasterCard _____American Express ____Discover Card Number: _________________________________________________ Exp. Date _________________ CVV Code _________ Name on Card:_________________________________________________ * An open door membership is available to anyone who is unable to pay full membership. Dues and donations to NAMI Ventura County are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Go online now to www.namiventura.org To Become a Member or Donate!