NAMI Eastside

Youth Activities:NAMI Ending the Silence (ETS) is an engaging presentation that helps secondary students and school staff learn about the warning signs of mental health conditions and what steps to take if you or a loved one are showing symptoms of a mental illness. NAMI Ending the Silence presentations include a lead presenter who shares an overview on mental health and a young adult with a mental health condition who shares their journey of recovery. In this 90-minute or 50-minute presentation, audience members can ask questions and gain understanding of an often-misunderstood topic. Through dialogue, we can help end stigma and provide secondary students with mental wellness tools to guide them beyond high school.Youth Ambassador program connects with secondary students in East King County to elevate the visibility and importance of mental wellness and support teen mental health clubs and programming.Meet Little Monster: Managing Big Emotions is a 30-40 minute engaging presentation/group activity geared toward kids ages 5-10. Inspired by a coloring book created by NAMI Washington, Meet Little Monster encourages group participation in conversation focusing on what emotions kids are feeling, what coping skills they might use when they are feeling those emotions, and identifying trusted adults and friends they can talk to when feeling big emotions. This presentation is ideal for both the classroom setting and a library setting where kids can participate alongside their parents. The Youth Mental Health Conference is an annual conference that brings together youth mental health advocates, organizations, and leaders from around East King County and beyond. The conference has a resource fair featuring our partner organizations serving youth around the community, presentations from some of NAMI Eastside's Youth Ambassador team, and workshops.

Family Programs: LEAP (Listen-Empathize-Agree-Partner) is a workshop provided by Bob Krulish and is based on Dr. Xavier Amador's book "I'm Not Sick, I Don't Need Help". Participants learn the number one reason people refuse help ("anosognosia") and how to create trusting relationships that lead to treatment and recovery. Family-to-Family is an 8-week course for family caregivers of individuals with severe mental illnesses including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, clinical depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and more. The course discusses the clinical treatment of these illnesses and teaches the knowledge and skills that family members need to cope more effectively.

All other programs including Education & Training, Rural Expansion, Consumer Support, Communication & Outreach, and the Legacy Giving Program.Communication & Outreach:NAMI staff and leaders provide mental health presentations on various topics to community groups, shelters, public agencies, and businesses. NAMI-Eastside sends out a weekly newsletter called "Your Mental Health Minute". Each newsletter has a theme. NAMI-Eastside does monthly announcements of all programs available called "The Program Rundown".Social Media posts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other platforms are utilized to announce NAMI-Eastside initiatives, new programs, events, and fundraising drives. Our monthly EvergreenForum provides information and resources on a variety of mental health topics. Presentations are recorded and shared on YouTube for the public to view after each forum. NAMI-Eastside has a phone line and conducts outreach with Unite US platform, faith communities, shelters serving the unhoused, and community organizations. NAMI-Eastside works with Entre Hermanos, Centro Cultural Mexicano, and other partners in the Latinx community to develop Spanish language programming for mental health support.NAMI-Eastside has established and built a partnership with Empower Youth Network, Pride Across the Bridge, and other community organizations to expand our program reach and services. NAMI-Eastside has developed support groups for people who have lived in transitional housing, as well as, outreach to organizations who serve unhoused people or those living in transitional housing. NAMI-Eastside has developed partnerships with municipal leaders and staff, law enforcement agencies, fire departments and EMT's, local businesses, and other social service organizations to address community mental health needs. NAMI-Eastside has developed a Multicultural Steering Committee to strengthen their partnerships with leaders of Indian American, Muslim, Latinx, LGTBQ+, and other BIPOC organizations to address cultural and linguistic barriers to individuals gaining access to mental health services and education. We are partnering with YWCA to sponsor interns who learn job skills and provide additional staff support to our affiliate. Education & Training:Mental Health First Aid is a course that teaches how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training provides skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis. Youth Mental Health First Aid focuses on skills to provide initial support to children and adolescents (ages 6-18) who may be developing a mental health or substance use condition. NAMI Smarts for Advocacy is a hands-on mental health advocacy training program that helps people living with mental illness and friends and family, transform their passion and lived experience into skillful grassroots advocacy on public policy and initiatives that will support community mental health needs. In Our Own Voice (IOOV) allows adults living with mental illness to gain self-confidence and self-esteem by sharing their mental health journey. Presenters and first responders or other service providers have an opportunity to participate in a meaningful dialogue that will dispel myths and increase real understanding of mental illness and recovery. Presenters are from our local community and are trained by NAMI. The 90-minute or 50-minute presentation format consists of a 12-minute video and two speakers who share their stories with time for questions and answers. Presentations can be made to law enforcement, medical professionals, educational settings (including high school and college), civic organizations like Rotary Club, or religious groups. NAMI-Eastside partners with Evergreen Health to provide a monthly educational program, called the Evergreen Forum, on the third Tuesday evening of each month. Topics in the last year have included Back-to-School Anxiety, Mental Health in Perinatal/Postpartum Care, Suicide Prevention, Mental Health in the Black Community, Trans-Cranial Magnetic Stimulation, Managing Stress and Burnout, Mental Health in the Asian American Community, and more. Cope2Thrive is an evidence-based 7-Session manual-based instructor-delivered program that provides support for children, teens, and young adults using brief, easy-to-follow Cognitive Behavioral Therapy skill building sessions, complete activities that convey that there is hop for change, and that both depression and anxiety can be improved by learning the skills taught in COPE. SafeTalk is a suicide intervention training that helps participants recognize a person with thoughts of suicide and connects them with resources to help them choose to live. Participants don't need any formal preparation to attend the training - anyone who wants to make a difference can learn the Safe TALK steps. There will be scheduled breaks and opportunities to practice the skills built in the workshop, including practice on how to talk about this subject with others. Rural Expansion: NAMI-Eastside partners with Indian American Community Services to provide support groups geared to the specific needs of the Indian American community.NAMI-Eastside partners with the Muslim Community Resource Center to provide mental health education geared to the specific needs of the Muslim community. Consumer Support:NAMI Peer-to-Peer is an 8-session educational program for adults with mental illness 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 presentations, discussion, and interactive exercises. NAMI Homefront is a 6-session program for family, friends, and significant others of military Service Members and Veterans. The class helps families understand what the Service Member/Veteran is experiencing related to trauma, combat stress, civilian life transition, PTSD, and other mental health conditions. NAMI Homefront leaders have personal experience with mental health conditions impacting their Service Member/Veteran. Our Spiritual Support Group addresses the needs of people who use spirituality in their journey to recovery. This nondenominational group is open to both individuals living with a mental illness and their family members. Spiritual mental wellness retreats are offered twice per year. The Depression Support Group, now partnered with NAMI-Eastside, has been faithfully serving those with Depression and related mental illnesses since 2008. The group meets weekly on Zoom but will resume meeting in King County libraries when public health conditions allow for in-person meetings. NAMI-Eastside partners with PFLAG to provide mental health resources geared to the specific needs of the LGBTQ+ community.Legacy Giving Program:NAMI-Eastside has established a Legacy Giving Program for after-life gifts. This program ensures that NAMI-Eastside continues to address the mental health needs in our communities for future generations. Legacy gifts help build an Endowment Fund that is managed by Prevail Wealth Management. Examples of Legacy Gifts include bequests-naming NAMI-Eastside (NES) as a beneficiary in your will. After your death, NES receives a specific sum of money or property from your estate; life insurance-name NES as a beneficiary of your life insurance policy; sale of property, stock, or assets with the proceeds donated to NES; donation of annual Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) of an IRA; retirement plan beneficiary-name NAMI-Eastside as a beneficiary of your IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or other retirement plan; outright gift to NAMI-Eastside's Endowment Fund.