Webinar Attendees Tips and Partnerships NAMI Indianapolis/VA F2F Project – Nov. 10, 2010 NAMI Georgia/VA F2F Project – Nov. 29, 2010 Front Line Project – Dec. 7, 2010

Check out a fantastic Web site that you can use to get the word out to families of veterans: Outreach Tip Kathleen Fitzsimmons NAMI Sussex Co., NJ

–We have a monthly meeting which includes our VA contacts; this creates a good relationship with the clinical staff. We presented NAMI at our local CBOC all staff meeting with 50 in attendance. –Our Readiness Center has all of our brochures that they pass out as our troops come home. –We are in the process of our 3 rd class at our local CBOC in Bakersfield, CA. Outreach Tips NAMI Kern Co, CA Patrice Maniaci, VP & Peer Coordinator

Outreach Tip NAMI Metro New York City See how we are promoting our next F2F/VA class on Facebook.

We will be doing information nights for veterans’ families to explain the class, help them understand symptoms, etc. – a short primer on what to look out for. This will be a lead in to F2F enrollment. Teddie Pierce, CA To get more people involved, include on promotional materials the testimonials from students from the class 12 evaluations, i.e., what they write in the “any other comments” questions. It’s all anonymous, so there is no problem in publishing the testimonials. Francine Harbour, F2F teacher/trainer, AK More Helpful Tips…

Have you connected with Yellow Ribbon support centers which support deployed service members? Amy Foley, More Helpful Tips…

Since we’re doing much of the advertising for F2F through the veteran who has the mental illness we’re hoping to find some good quotes from the person with the mental illness. This message would be one of the first things seen by the veteran when receiving the literature. These quotes would be the different ways they’ve personally benefited from the class, such as “My spouse really ‘gets it”. Outreach Tips Beth Barry, Local Recovery Coordinator Madison VA

We got our free handbooks for family and friends of service members in the mail today from PBS’s This Emotional Life and they are great! I am going to ship some to all of our affiliates as an enticement tool for outreach with the OBOCs in their communities. Outreach Tip Sarah Eisenman NAMI Virginia

Contact the National Federation of Woman’s Clubs who sponsor one illness every two years. The NJ Woman’s Club almost chose NAMI this past year. We came in second but if NAMI joins with the VA, we think we could win this volunteer sponsorship two years from now! Kathleen Fitzsimmons, NJ More Helpful Tips…

Where have F2F/VA Partnerships Occurred? At the end of the first 3-year F2F/VA MOU project, 46 out of the 49 NAMI F2F program states had held one class at a VA hospital.

Successful F2F/VA Partnership The Alaska VA and NAMI have a very positive relationship. Last spring, had a great class in Anchorage at the local VA domiciliary that had about half vet-related people and half community members. We are signing up prospective students for the class that will start in Feb Francine Harbour, F2F teacher/trainer, AK

Successful F2F/VA Partnership The San Francisco VA Medical Center has run 2 F2F classes as of this date. Michael Drexler, Ph.D., the point of contact and the Local Recovery Coordinator

Successful F2F/VA Partnership Our coordinator, Dr. E. Alice Van Ormer, at the Bedford Veterans Hospital in Bedford, MA, was fantastic as our partner in starting the first class. We hope to have another class there next year. V. Jane Fadden, F2F teacher, MA

Successful F2F/VA Partnerships NAMI NC has F2F going at VA sites in Durham, Fayetteville, Jacksonville, Asheville and Salisbury. We do lots of advertising in the VA and local newspapers. Brenda Piper, Education Director, NAMI NC

Successful F2F/VA Partnerships In Virginia, we have been successful in bringing F2F into two of our three statewide VA’s. We are currently conducting second classes at each location. Our next big interest is to outreach to the Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC’s). Sarah Eisenman, Education Director, NAMI VA

Welcome NAMI is proud to provide resources for everyone touched by military service, i.e., the people who are currently serving, those who have served and their families. They face unique stressors and need mental health information and treatment tailored to their needs. The mental health challenges faced by veterans, active-duty troops and their families include stigma, access to quality health information and innovative new treatments which are on the minds of military families and the rest of NAMI’s families. Visit the site today: NAMI Veterans Resource Center