NAMI will offer 2 new support groups
NAMI Butler County is starting the new year with two new support groups for those living with a loved one's mental illness.
Free support group meetings will begin in Butler and Saxonburg this month.
- The Butler support group will meet the third Thursday of every month beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday at Community Alliance Church, 800 Mercer Road.
- The Saxonburg support group meets at 6 p.m. the last Tuesday of every month beginning Jan. 28, at Abba's House, 320 Main St.
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Butler County currently offers a support group in Zelienople, which meets at 5:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month at the Passavant Community.
The support groups are free, and no pre-registration is required.
For more information on any of the three meetings, call 724-431-0069.
Joyce Saunders, a member of the NAMI Butler County board of directors, said, “NAMI is the largest grass-roots organization in the country dedicated to improving the lives of the people affected by mental illness.
“It supports research, advocates for better legislation supportive of mental health and offers support groups and education.”
Jennifer McConnell, the president of NAMI Butler County, said the additional support groups didn't signal an increase of mental illness in the county.
“The Zelienople group in the southwest corner of the county doesn't represent the whole county. There is a need elsewhere,” she said.The Butler support group is more centrally located, and the Saxonburg group can cover the southeast part of the county and even draw participants from Armstrong County, McConnell said.“We are trying to make it convenient for people to attend,” she said.McConnell added the NAMI hopes to start a support group in Slippery Rock to cover northern parts of the county.The meetings are a place for people to communicate their experiences in dealing with a relative or loved one's mental illness, to learn how to navigate the health system and get support during a crisis.The meetings are led by facilitators who are trained by the national NAMI organization.Saunders, who will be the facilitator for the Butler meetings, said facilitators learn to run a meeting according to NAMI protocols and address issues that might come up.“The meetings are confidential. People can tell their stories that they don't want the world to know. It's the same principle as Alcholics or Narcotics Anonymous,” she said.For more information, visit www.namibutler.org, email namibutler@hotmail.com or visit the national organization's website, www.nami.org.
