My husband and I nearly lost our oldest daughter to suicide. After that experience, we got more involved in advocating for mental health services and have been volunteering with NAMI Montgomery County since 2013. They provide excellent training for their volunteers and we facilitate a support group for parents of children living with mental illness. I also help teach their NAMI Basics class for parents. They offer so many tremendous free resources to the community to help families with a loved one suffering with mental illness know they are not alone and have the support they need to move forward towards recovery.
My husband and I have a 22 year old son who was diagnozed with bipolar disorder at the age of 10, and schizophrenia last year. Why we waited until now to take the NAMI Family-to-Family class I'll never know, but it was incredibly valuable. Both to us in understanding our son's illness, but also as a support for the others in the group who we have bonded with. This program and the others they offer are amazing!!!
Prior to joining the Board I found the organization when my older brother was struggling with a mental illness. Doctors diagnosed and rediagnosed my brother with various illnesses. In the meantime my brother was complying with his doctors orders of taking medication. Unfortunately this came to an end and his condition worsened. Luckily NAMI-MC offered free classes for family members to learn more about to help those with mental illnesses. At times my brother would reach out for help and other times he did not which generally led to trouble for him. If I had not taken the free NAMI-MC educational classes I would not have known how to help my brother. Now this is my chance to be part of a fantastic organization.