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 At NAMI, Peers Help Peers

NAMI Anchorage ACTIVITIES & PROGRAMS

COMMUNITY ROOM DROP-IN HOURS -- NAMI Anchorage meets in the NAMI Building close to downtown Anchorage, at 144 West 15th Avenue, between C and Cordova Streets.  If you would like to meet with one of our volunteers, we are open Tuesday- Thursday 12:00pm-3:00pm, or call (907)272-0227 to make an appointment for a meeting.

PEER SUPPORT GROUPS--  At our peer-facilitated support group meetings, we share our experience, strength and hope with each other.  We discuss psychiatric diagnoses, medications, therapies, coping skills and more.  We help find answers to questions and encourage each other.  We embrace humor as healthy and remind each other to never give up  hope!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Consumer Support Meeting (for adults who experience a mental illness):  Every Tuesday from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. and every Saturday from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Families & Friends Meetings:  Second Tuesday of the month from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.

PEER EDUCATION -- We have a small lending library of medical and non-fiction literature about mental illness and people who have recovered.  We learn from each other's experiences and readily share what we have learned from our own professional caregivers or our own research.  Once a month we choose a topic of general community interest, show a related video or ask a guest speaker to give a presentation, which we then follow with a lively peer-facilitated discussion.

General Education Community Meetings:   Fourth Tuesday of the month at 6:00 pm. September -  May.

NAMI Anchorage also offers two of NAMI's signature programs:

• In Our Own Voice -- NAMI Anchorage offers this two-hour presentation given by trained consumers to educate the community, the media, public officials, mental health professionals and other interested persons about the truths of mental illness and to dispel the many myths and the stigma associated with the "mentally ill."  IOOV presenters share their own recovery stories of the Dark Days, Acceptance, Treatment, Coping Strategies, Successes and Hopes & Dreams.
• Family-To-Family -- This 12-week course is for the family and friends of individuals with serious mental illness.  Many families describe the impact of taking this course as life changing.  The course is taught by trained family members.  The course covers: information about each of the mental illnesses; current research relating to the biology of brain disorders; evidence-based, most effective treatments to promote recovery; up-to-date information about medications and side effects; coping skills such as handling crisis and relapse, problem solving, listening and communication techniques; and self-care for the caregiver.  The next Family-to-Family class is September 10  thru December 3, at 6pm.  Located at Central Luthran Church 1420 Cordova                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

PEER ADVOCACY -- We provide advocacy on two levels. 

Personal Advocacy:  When a consumer or family member needs help going to a doctor's office, filling out forms or understanding how part of the mental health system works, a volunteer can assist them as available.

Public Advocacy: When our Alaska Legislature is in session in the spring of each year, there are ample opportunities to advocate on behalf of people affected by mental illness.  Throughout the year, we pursue advocacy issues at the federal and local levels.  At NAMI Anchorage, we engage in public advocacy through testifying before legislative and administrative bodies, writing letters to the paper and to policy makers, and occasionally traveling to the capital in Juneau.

CRISIS INTERVENTION TEAM-- NAMI Anchorage has a special relationship with the Anchorage Police Department's Crisis Intervention Team (CIT).  We participate in the training of law enforcement personnel in mental illness and in methods of law enforcement techniques that better serve people with mental illness.  CIT recognizes that mental illness requires a specialized response to people who have special needs and who deserve specialized care.  For help by a CIT officer, call 786-8900 and ask for a CIT dispatcher. The dispatcher will assess your situation and send CIT officers whenever possible for wellness checks or to help resolve difficult situations.

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