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15 September 2010 – Alameda, CA: It is the secret disease that cannot remain a secret any longer.  Mental illness is a brain disease.  On Tuesday, October 5 at 7pm, NAMI Alameda County presents a free awareness event to help remove the stigma around mental illness and provide resources and information. Called  “Lives Affected by Mental Illness.” The event will take place at Pathway Community Church, 4500 Thornton Avenue, Fremont, and marks “National Mental Illness Awareness Week” taking place October 3 – 9.  The event is sponsored by the Mental Health Association of Alameda County,  Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services and the Family Education Resource Center (FERC).

 

According to NARSAD (National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression), one in four adults – approximately 57.7 million Americans – suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. One in 17 lives with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder. At least one in 10 children have a serious mental or emotional disorder. Mental illness is the leading cause of disability in the United States among people aged 15 to 44.

 

“While NARSAD continues the monumental task in its ‘Research for the Cure’ many of us continue to try to find ways to best deal with the symptoms of the disease (brain disorder),” said Joe Rose who is producing along with co-producer Michel Wms-Smith the “Lives Affected” event. “Others try to ignore it and pretend it does not exist.  However, many organizations are now available to help consumers of mental health services, caregivers of someone with a mental illness, providers of services for someone with a mental illness, and last but not least, the stakeholders.”

 

According to Rose and other professionals, these “stakeholders” are our school teachers, clergy, landlords, homeless shelters, police departments, fire departments and the list goes on.  In fact, all of us are stakeholders in one way, shape or form.  As a result of this situation, there are many organizations that can provide help to stakeholders.  One such organization: NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

 

The “Lives Affected” event on October 5 will feature five people with a mental illness or a caregiver for someone with a mental illness telling their stories.  After they tell their stories, there will be a time for questions and answers. 

 

“Recognizing that the three people on the Q&A panel are not clinicians, they cannot answer clinical questions,” Rose explains. “However, they can answer questions about their lived experiences in dealing with mental illness issues.  Following the Q&A session, there will be a reception where many informational resources will be available.  Also, there will be people from various organizations available to talk with you at the reception.”

 

There is help available.  For additional information about the “Lives Affected by Mental Illness” event call(510) 573-1193 or go to the blog site http://livesaffected.blogspot.com  For more information about mental illness in general go to www.nami.org