After a family member went through a mental health crisis several years ago, Peter Menk started advocating for mental health.
“The challenge with mental illness is a lot of people don’t want to tackle it head on. That’s what you have to do. It’s similar to a broken leg. You’re not going to go back to playing sports if you’re injured. It’s the same way with mental illness, and it can leak into every part of your life,” said Menk, a board member for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Augusta chapter.
NAMI Augusta will highlight its mission and raise funds at a Nov. 16 walk at Gateway Park In Grovetown. The event, which begins at 9 a.m., is also a “thank you” to the community because it takes a village to raise awareness, he said.
NAMI is a grassroots organization that was founded in 1979 by a small group of families as they gathered around a kitchen table, and it grew from there, according to the national NAMI website.
It “has blossomed into the nation’s leading voice on mental health. Today, we are an alliance of more than 600 local affiliates who work in your community to raise awareness and provide support and education that was not previously available to those in need,” the website said.
Locally, the chapter has a variety of support groups with a belief in the power of shared experiences and voicing those concerns.
“We’re not there to be doctors and diagnose,” said Menk although there are clinicians on the board. Many people within the groups are already seeing a doctor and use NAMI to augment their treatment.
In addition to helping the person who has the mental health diagnosis, the chapter offers support to the family members, he said.
The group’s parent chapter is in Atlanta and at higher levels, officials work toward legislation. There’s a suicide prevention hotline and a “ton of different resources” on the website, Menk said.
At NAMIAugusta.org, there’s information about local support as well as the upcoming walk plus podcast and webinars.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
