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In March 2001, Silver Ribbon Global
Ambassador and Oregon State Silver Ribbon Representative, Alice
Kero Wood, and her husband Albert, visited China as members of a
State of Oregon Mental Health Division delegation that was
sponsored by The People to People Ambassador Program. Alice and
her husband distributed over 150 Silver Ribbon pins to members
of their host groups and to their tour manager and guides in
each city visited. Their interest in the Silver Ribbon Campaign
for the Brain was motivated by Albert’s experience with a
stress-related breakdown in 1987 that evolved into chronic,
severe depression.
Since 2001, Alice has been giving pins to members of Family to
Family courses, to teachers and support group facilitators in
NAMI as part of their certificates of completion, to Vision for
Tomorrow teachers, and to Latino Outreach Program teachers at
Oregon State University, among many other people who are
directly affected by the tragedy of a brain disorder, and to
strangers she meets in everyday activities.
Furthermore, at conferences wherever she goes, Alice is there
promoting the Silver Ribbon and its meaning. In 2004, Alice went
to Washington D.C. and gave Silver Ribbons to numerous senators
including Joe Biden, John Kerry, Patty Murray and others. Her
commitment to the Silver Ribbon Campaign for the Brain continues
today as she tirelessly promotes the Silver Ribbon Coalition. Alice welcomes interested people to contact
her through the Silver Ribbon Coalition Contact Us
page.
Celebrate life and learn ways to help others
Monday, February 03, 2003
By Alice M. Kero Wood for the Daily Astorian
You may have attended the December
"Celebration of Life" for Meredith Fick, a young Astoria woman
who lost a courageous fight with mental illness.
I was there to support Meredith's mother, Geri, a Clatsop County
member of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. I was also
representing the NAMI-Oregon state organization. I am writing to
provide specific resource information for those of you who wish
you could do more.
Meredith lost her fight, but there are many things you can do
that will make a difference for other young people.
Meredith's parents mentioned the support they received from
NAMI, a grassroots organization dedicated to educating people
about the stigma surrounding mental illnesses and advocating for
acceptance of them as the brain illnesses that they are.
Granted, the symptoms may be more visible and misunderstood.
However, one in five families in Oregon is or will be affected
by mental illness. If there are 4,000 families in Astoria, then
about 800 of them will have experience with the confusing,
frustrating reality of mental illness on some level.
Many were hurting
I was touched by Meredith's many friends and fellow students who
were hurting that day. I may have touched you on the shoulder so
you would know you were not hurting alone. So, as NAMI-Oregon's
education coordinator, I would like to tell you about the many
ways that each of you may become an advocate for the mentally
ill in your family, neighborhood or school. The most basic thing
you can do is to treat every person with respect, compassion and
understanding. After mental illness came into my family's life,
I was able to have more patience if someone's actions weren't
what I expected. I can go the extra mile because I know that
they could be coping with more than just a bad day.
NAMI offers several education programs. In our "Family to Family
Education Program", the family and friends of someone with a
mental illness diagnosis learn about many aspects of living with
mental illness. This 12-week class covers symptoms, brain
biology, medications and how they work, and coping skills for
understanding someone with a mental illness. NAMI-Clatsop has
trained family members who teach these classes to other
families.
An excellent community education program is "In Our Own Voice."
Two or three people who have a mental illness talk openly about
how they came to terms with it. A recent presentation of the
program in Bay City is available on videotape. NAMI hopes to get
it aired on every cable access channel across Oregon.
To honor Meredith, I would ask each of you to help get a program
called "Breaking the Silence" to become part of the health
curriculum in each school in Clatsop County. An inexpensive kit
provides scripted lessons that any teacher can present to upper
elementary, middle and high school students. The lessons put a
human face on mental illness and confront the myths that
reinforce the stigma. Once the program starts, students will
receive age-appropriate lessons three times during their school
years.
Some specific things that any individual can do are:
-
Become a member of NAMI. An individual or
family membership brings you the local, state and national
newsletters. More importantly, you will be counted as
someone who "speaks with one voice" through NAMI as
NAMI-Oregon advocates for better living conditions,
employment and medical treatment for all people with mental
illness. For $30 a year, you can make a difference. In
December 2001, Worth magazine rated NAMI among the top 100
charities "most likely to save the world."
-
Call NAMI-Oregon to arrange for a
presentation of "In Our Own Voice," or "In A Different
Light," an award winning entertainment production by people
living with mental illness who share their talents in song,
poetry and performance.
-
"Wear and Write." NAMI endorses the
Silver Ribbon Campaign for the Brain. Meredith's mom wears a
silver ribbon, as do I, to show that we care about someone
with a brain illness. My dream is that the silver ribbon
will become an international symbol so that everyone would
know that the person wearing the pin understands or can help
them if they are in crisis.
Stamp of success
There is also a letter writing campaign to encourage the
Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to approve a U.S. first-class
postage stamp bearing the silver ribbon symbol of caring and
understanding about brain illnesses. Visit the silver ribbon Web
site at www.SilverRibbon.org to print a copy of the letter or
learn more about the Silver Ribbon.
I want each of you to know that you are not alone if you or
someone you love lives with mental illness. It is a common
reaction to feel bad or guilty when you realize that you may
have misunderstood and responded wrongly to someone's actions
that may be an illness symptom and beyond their control. In
NAMI, we say that "you can't know what no one has told you."
Please contact NAMI and we will share what you need to know to
become a valuable advocate for mental illness awareness.
Alice Kero Wood is NAMI-Oregon education coordinator.
Resources for help or information:
NAMI-Clatsop County: (503) 325-3733
NAMI-Oregon Helpline: 1-800-343-6264 or
www.namioregon.org
Content © 2003 The Daily Astorian |
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