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Conference Calls with NAMI's Medical Director Dr. Ken Duckworth
The call is toll free and scheduled from 11am-12:30pm Eastern Time. 
To access the call, please dial 1-888-858-6021; access number 309918.
This call can be made from any phone.
Please see the Calendar for schedule of Guests.
If you have any questions, please contact Laura Usher at laurau@nami.org.

Meet Ruth Halpin our new Employment Coach!

Give her a call at (843) 681-2200 or click here for more information

NAMI Connections

NAMI Connections is a weekly support group for consumers in various stages of recovery starting May 28, 2008.  It will be held every Wednesday by a trained facilitator at the Bluffton/Okatie Outpatient Center Education Room.  For more information, call the NAMI office at (843) 681-2200 and visit NAMI Connection.

Suicide Hotline

The nation's largest suicide hotline, 1-800-SUICIDE, is scheduled to go out of service this Saturday, August 12, 2006. There are currently negotiations in progress that may prevent this. However, in the event that these negotiations are not successful, NAMI is issuing this alert to raise public awareness of the alternative for those in need of help.

The alternative number for those in crisis is 1-800-273-TALK. This number will put callers in touch with the federally-funded National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a service that has been in operation since January, 2005. It functions as a central switchboard to immediately connect callers to virtually the same network of certified, local crisis centers accessed by 1-800-SUICIDE. So callers can receive counseling or emergency services, if needed, close to home.

All calls to the 1-800-273-TALK Lifeline are private and confidential. Confidentiality of personal information and of personal disclosures during calls is a high priority for the parties involved in operating the Lifeline.

The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is working with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the entire suicide prevention community to ensure that every call for help during a suicide crisis is answered. Some of the measures being put in place include:

• Ensuring that the entire suicide-prevention community is working the phones and Internet to make sure that all referring agencies know that 1-800-273-TALK is the number to call for suicide intervention.
• Notifying service providers, including directory 411 and 211 operators, that 1-800-SUICIDE is scheduled to go out of service beginning August 12, 2006 and to direct callers to 1-800-273-TALK for help.
• Redirecting callers who call 1-800-SUICIDE to call 1-800-273-TALK through a recording.

As a part of this effort, NAMI will participate in a meeting with SAMHSA and its other partner groups on Friday afternoon, August 11, and we will issue an update afterwards if there is additional information to share.

NAMI urges you to help distribute this alert in your community. Together, we can ensure that every call for help is answered.

Thank you,

Michael J. Fitzpatrick, MSW
Executive Director
NAMI

Psychiatric Service Dogs (PSDs)

A psychiatric service dog is a dog individually trained to work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual disabled by mental illness.  According to the Psychiatric Service Dog Society, the types of mental health disabilities that can be assisted by a PSD include major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, panic disorder, anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.  Tasks PSDs can be trained to do include reminding handler to take medication at a specified time.  For more information, contact www.PSYCHDOG.org, dedicated to responsible Pyschiatric Service Dog education, advocacy, research and training facilitation or www.deltasociety.org.

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