NAMI Fairfield, Neighbor

The National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons living with serious mental illness and their families. 

Founded in 1979, NAMI has become the nation’s voice on mental illness. A national organization made up of NAMI affiliates in every state and in over 1100 local communities across the country, volunteers join together to meet the NAMI mission through support, education, advocacy, and research.

NAMI promotes SUPPORT for individuals living with mental illness and their families; EDUCATION to raise awareness about mental illness and to eliminate the stigma often associated with these biological brain disorders; ADVOCACY at state, national, and local levels to raise funding for non-discriminatory and equitable treatment, and services for individuals with mental illness in the public and private sectors; RESEARCH into the causes, symptoms and treatment of mental illness. 

NAMI is dedicated to the eradication of mental illnesses and to the improvement of the quality of life of all whose lives are affected by these diseases.

* Support Group Meetings are held on the third Wednesday of every month. They are open to to adult family members, spouses, and friends of those diagnosed with a mental illness and to adults who have been diagnosed with a mental illness and are in recovery. They are facilitator-led. Meetings are free of charge and light refreshments are served. Meetings begin promptly at 7:30 pm and end at 9:00 pm. and are held in the Eliot Room (Library), First Church Congregational, 148 Beach Avenue, Fairfield, CT.

For more information about the NAMI Fairfield Support Group Meetings, please call 203-650-3463. For a list of all NAMI Support Groups in the state, please go towww.namict.org.

* Book Group: NAMI Fairfield, in conjunction with the Fairfield Public Library, runs a book club featuring books that focus on the mind. The Book Club meets on the third Thursday of every other month at the Fairfield Public Library Main Branch, 1080 Old Post Road, Fairfield, Ct.  For more information about the book club please contact the library at 203-256-3155.

* Speaker Meetings are held the first Wednesday of the month (except for July and August) from 7:30-9:00 p.m. in the Eliot Room Library, First Church Congregational, 148 Beach Road, Fairfield, Ct. They are free of charge and open to the public. Light refreshments are served. Announcements about each speaker will be posted on the Patch calendar/events page for the date of the speaker meeting. 

* Education & support classes for families of close relatives suffering from illnesses such as: Bipolar Disorder, Major Depression, Borderline Personality Disorder, Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, Panic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Co-occurring Brain Disorders, and Addictive Disorders

Family to Family is a series of 12 weekly classes structured to help family members understand and support their ill relative while maintaining their own well being. 

The free course will cover information about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder, and other serious mental illnesses. It will teach coping skills such as handling crisis and relapse, listening and communication skills, and self-care for caregivers around worry and stress. It also provides basic information about medications as well as recovery and rehabilitation. 

The course is taught by a team of trained volunteer family members who know what it’s like to have a serious mental illness in the family. There is no cost to participate in the NAMI Family to Family Education Program, but registration is required. Classes are limited to 20-25 persons. For more information call Judy at 203-650-3463 or email atnaminewsffd@earthlink.net.