ATHENS, Ohio – The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) will host two mental-health centered events this fall – a Family-to-Family class series and a walking fundraiser.
NAMI is a national organization with branches across the country. For southeastern Ohio residents, the Athens branch is the closest branch and resource center.
“It’s a grassroots foundation that was started by parents of individuals with mental illness that weren’t getting supported and didn’t know what to do,” Executive Director Jordan Pepper said in an interview. “It really started as a kind of around the kitchen table type of situation.”
According to the NAMI website, the group’s founding mission is “education, advocacy and support for individuals with a mental illness and their families.”
Pepper hopes to fulfill this mission through programs such as the Family-to-Family classes and the Walk the Walk for Mental Health Awareness fundraiser.
“[Mental health] is not something that’s taught in our public education system so we find that there’s a lot of people that just don’t even know they might be … thinking that it’s weird or they’re being strange or maybe something’s wrong but they’re not really.”
Family-to-Family classes
The Family-to-Family classes, which begin Sept. 10 and run through Oct. 29, are intended to build relationships and help individuals struggling with mental illness and their families discuss difficult mental health topics.
“Family to Family is a class for any loved one, family member, friend, acquaintance, or just anyone who’s interested in learning about mental illness,” Pepper said. “This class provides education about mental illness, various common mental illnesses that people might be experiencing, what those symptoms might look like and practical tips about how to handle that.”
Pepper herself will teach the class alongside two other board members. According to Pepper, the class will be largely discussion-based with informational presentations to supplement class members with more in-depth mental health knowledge.
A large part of the class is the support it provides for class members to be surrounded by people experiencing similar struggles, Pepper said.
“I think there’s a component to it about just support,” she said. “Just being there in a class for eight weeks with other people means you can kind of talk about things with them and problem solve together.”
NAMI currently offers at least one round of Family-to-Family classes every year, but Pepper hopes to regularly offer two annually in the future.
Walk the Walk for Mental Health Awareness fundraiser
Since 1999, NAMI has held an annual walking event to raise awareness of mental health issues and reduce the stigma surrounding mental illnesses. This year’s walk will begin at NAMI’s new office located at 17 Blue Line Drive at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 5.
Participants will walk from the courthouse to the Ohio University visitor’s center at the corner of Richland Avenue and Shafer Street. Entering the walk is free, but those who raise more than $100 will get a free t-shirt at the event. Registration can be done individually or in teams. Four teams and 14 individuals are currently registered for the walk.
In the past, the walk was not an official fundraiser but rather a way to get the word out about NAMI and mental health issues. Now, for the first time, the event will be a fundraiser to raise money for NAMI programming and future events as well.
“We’re hoping that we can offer lots more classes and programming in the future. We love doing the family class, but NAMI has so many more things to offer that we could give the community,” Pepper said.
However, Pepper said the walk is about far more than just raising money – it’s about working together to address stigma around mental health illnesses.
“We want to show that we’re out there, we’re talking about mental illness and we’re a united group walking together,” she said. “Mental illness isn’t something that’s really sexy to talk about, so just showing this big group of people who are all wearing t-shirts about mental illness and carrying signs can be really powerful.”
Family-to-Family classes will be held 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. beginning Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 17 Blue Line Drive in Athens. Register here. The NAMI Walk the Walk for Mental Health Awareness fundraiser will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at the NAMI offices at 17 Blue Line Drive in Athens. Register here.
Correction: A previous version of this article had the wrong date and starting location for the annual NAMI walk; it has been corrected. We apologize for the error and any confusion it may have caused.
