A GROWING event needed more space to grow! Click on the video to be one of the first to see our new location for NAMIWalks 2024:
Join us Saturday, May 18th, 2024 for NAMIWalks 2024!
Don’t miss the inaugural IMPACT SUMMIT! Hear inspiring stories and actionable strategies for 2024 and beyond. Join NAMI Massachusetts, partners, sponsors, and change-makers as we celebrate the Impact made in 2023 and drive future progress. Secure your spot – limited tickets available!
5 February
Day: 1st Mondays of the month
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 PM
Location: Zoom
Contact: Ingeborg at namisiblings@yahoo.com
Day 1: Saturday, February 17, 2024
Time: 8:30 AM – 6:00 PM
Day 2: Sunday, February 18, 2024
Time: 12:00 – 5:00 PM
Trainers: Steve Hadden and Dori Prescott
Location: NAMI Massachusetts, 331 Montvale Ave, Suite 200, Woburn, MA 01801
Contact: Ilya Cherkasov at (617) 286-7607 or icherkasov@namimass.org
NAMI Family-to-Family is a free, 8 or 9-session educational program for family, significant others and friends of people living with mental health conditions.
A NAMI Family-to-Family teacher is a trained NAMI leader who plays an important role in ensuring that all participants feel welcomed and supported. They are volunteers who become certified by completing a self-paced 2-hour pre-training online module and then attending and graduating from one-and-a half-day in-person training. Teacher trainees must go through an application and screening process before being approved to attend a training event.
Thanks to the DMH grant, NAMI Mass can now acknowledge each F2F leader’s contribution with an optional $400 stipend for each course they teach.
All meals and program supplies are provided free of charge to all trainees.
Hotel accommodation is provided for trainees from far-flung affiliates.
21 February
22February
26 February
Date: Monday, February 26, 2024
Time: 7:00 – 9:30 PM
Location: Zoom
Contact: Katerina Georges at katgeorges@icloud.com; Yolanta Kovalko at kovalkoyolanta9@gmail.com
23March
Otoño
Contacto: NAMI Western Mass en information@namiwm.org o 413-786-9139
Day 1: Saturday, March 24, 2024
Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Day 2: Sunday, March 25, 2024
Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Trainers: Dee Febba, Diane Delaney and Sharon Kautz
Location: NAMI Massachusetts, 331 Montvale Ave, Suite 200, Woburn, MA 01801
Interested and able to attend both days of the training? Email Ilya Cherkasov at icherkasov@namimass.org to register.
At this time, we do not have any available Basics courses. You can add your name to the general registration waitlist and, once we have available Basics courses on our schedule, we will be in contact with you regarding the next steps in the registration process. Please register early, as your registration date serves as your priority date for admission to the next class.
If you have any questions, please reach out to programs@namimass.org.
Day: Tuesdays
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 PM
Location: Zoom / Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center, Inc., 268 Central Street, STE A, Gardner, MA 01440
Contact: Cortney at 508-331-2921
Support increased access to behavioral health care through insurance! Act now and let the Co-Chairs of the Joint Committee on Financial Services know that commercial insurance should be required to provide community-based care for those experiencing psychosis.
Contact: monica@mhpolicy.org
NAMI is proud to introduce the Teen & Young Adult (T&YA) HelpLine: A free nationwide peer-support service providing information, resource referrals, and support to teens and young adults. Our T&YA Specialists are young people who understand what you’re going through because they have been through stuff, too. They are experienced and well-trained. They care and want to help you find a way forward. Reach out by phone, text, or chat.
- Text “Friend” to 62640 to immediately connect with a HelpLine Specialist trained to provide resources, information, and support.
- Chat at nami.org/talktous to connect with a HelpLine Specialist on NAMI.org.
- If you are a teen or young adult with questions about mental health, call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) to speak with a NAMI HelpLine specialist now.
Available Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM ET
At NAMI Massachusetts, we’ve always believed in the power of collaboration and community impact. Our Small Business Ally Initiative, launched in Summer 2023, is a way for local businesses to support the mission and programming of NAMI Mass while tapping into our vast network of people and resources.
Plus, get your goodies and make an impact by shopping at one of our Founding Members of the Small Business Ally Initiative. A portion of every sale goes to NAMI Mass at these existing Small Business Allies:
Date: Friday, February 9, 2024
Time: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: Encore Boston Harbor, 1 Broadway Everett, MA 02149
Join us for an empowering and eye-opening event, where we’ll tackle the important topic of mental health within the Black community. At DeeDee’s Cry Summit, we believe it’s time to break the silence and create a safe space for open discussions. Together, we’ll explore ways to support each other and promote mental well-being. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals at Encore Boston Harbor. Let’s make a difference and be the change we want to see. Support the work of DeeDee’s Cry.
Don’t miss this amazing workshop on “Understanding the Difference Between Social Security Income and Social Security Disability Income”! Caitlin Thomas BSN, RN has nearly 10 years’ experience with disability claims! She will offer all the information parents need when seeking SSI or SSDI!
Date: Saturday, February 10, 2024
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: Zoom
Contact: carol_silva@waysideyouth.org
Date: Sunday, February 18, 2024
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 PM
Location: Spontaneous Celebrations, 45 Danforth St, Boston, MA 02130
Join us for an incredible night of music and support a great cause! The Rhythm Future Quartet will be performing live at Spontaneous Celebrations in Jamaica Plain, MA, USA. Get ready to tap your feet and let the rhythm take over!
Don’t miss this opportunity to enjoy the captivating sounds of this talented quartet while helping to raise funds for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). It’s a win-win!
Mark your calendars for this in-person event, and grab your friends, family, and anyone who appreciates good music. Let’s come together to make a difference and have a fantastic time!
This concert is part of a yearlong series of jazz fundraising concerts produced by New England Jazz Connections thanks to funding from the Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture. New England Jazz Connections (NEJC) is a performing arts organization that presents concerts in conjunction with non-profits, charities, or advocacy groups to raise money and awareness for worthy causes. Its mission is to foster community through shared experience, raise the profile of jazz and jazz artists in New England, and help existing organizations carry out their vital work.
The Recovery Education and Learning (REAL) Program Training is a 4-week training that covers information on what goes into working as a Peer Specialist and what goes into working as a Mental Health Provider in human services. Upon graduation from the training, the REAL Program also offers 4-week Peer Support & Mental Health Provider Internships in order to begin getting experience in human service work.
When: Week of March 11, 2024 – April 1, 2024
Zoom Days: Mondays and Wednesdays
Zoom Time: 5:30 – 8:00 PM
In-Person Days: Tuesdays and Thursdays
In-Person Time: 11:00AM – 3:30 PM
Contact: Chris Laureano at claureano@baycove.org; or (617) 379-5275 or (508) 243-8460
This is a rigorous training for people preparing for a Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) role in the community or service system. CPS is not an entry-level position and the training is designed for people who have some knowledge and have their own experience with mental health peer support. A CPS has been trained to share their experiences of healing with trauma, a mental health diagnosis, services, and support and to carry the message that “Healing is a Self-Determined Process.”
In sharing our wisdom, strength, and hope with others (including people using services, mental health professionals and policy makers) CPSs can significantly impact peoples’ beliefs about their own capacity to heal and the capacity of others to heal with the experiences they’ve lived through. The CPS program includes classes that covers 24+ modules, small group activities and homework. The course supports students to inspire hope in people they support and work with. After completing the class, students are eligible to take a written examination in order to become certified. Application process is open until January 19, 2024.
CPS Eligibility Requirements
- 18 years of age or older
- Live or work in Massachusetts
- High School Diploma or equivalent (GED, HiSET, etc)
- Have your own lived experience with significant life impacts like trauma, receiving a mental health diagnosis.
- Willingness to share your own mental health recovery story in the context of peer support
Class 5 (Spring): March 4, 2024 – April 4, 2024
Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Hybrid
Contact: cps@kivacenters.org
Major General Gregg F. Martin, PhD, US Army (Ret.), aka the BIPOLAR GENERAL, is a 36-year Army combat veteran, bipolar survivor, thriver, and warrior, and a retired two-star general. He commanded an engineer company and battalion, and the 130th Engineer Brigade during the first year of the Iraq War. A former president of the National Defense University, commandant of the Army War College, and commander of Fort Leonard Wood, he is a qualified Airborne-Ranger-Engineer and strategist, who holds degrees from West Point, MIT (two master’s and a PhD), and both the Army and Naval war colleges. He unknowingly lived most of his life on the bipolar spectrum, which largely enhanced his performance as a leader, until it went too high and ended his career, threw him into crisis, and led to his hospitalization. Now in his eighth year of bipolar recovery, he is an author, speaker, and ardent mental health advocate, who lives with his wife in Cocoa Beach, Florida. He has three sons, two of whom live with bipolar disorder – an artist and a poet/Special Forces veteran – while the third son is an Army Special Forces officer. Gregg’s life mission now is sharing his bipolar story to help stop the stigma, promote recovery, and save lives. His new book, “Bipolar General: My Forever War with Mental Illness”, is available on Amazon, and co-published by the Naval Institute Press (Jack Clancy’s first publisher), and the Association of the US Army.
Today, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Middlesex County Restoration Center Commission, announced the Commission has selected Vinfen as its clinical partner as it works towards establishing the first law enforcement focused crisis diversion facility in the Commonwealth. With an aim of diverting individuals away from criminal justice involvement and into treatment, the state’s first Restoration Center will have a “no wrong door” policy, providing walk-in and police drop-off opportunities to serve those in need of behavioral health care in the community.
The Center will serve as an alternative to arrest or emergency room transport for individuals in need of behavioral health care including substance use disorder (SUD) treatment by providing a full behavioral health continuum of services under one provider. Vinfen is a leading nonprofit provider of community-based services for adults and youth with behavioral health conditions and adults with developmental disabilities.
“This announcement is an exciting moment and the culmination of years of planning and implementation. As we prepare to launch services through the Restoration Center, we know that this model has been both tested and proven in states across the country. Our goal is not only to create a pathway away from incarceration here in the Commonwealth, but to build a lasting program that can inspire other alternatives across the nation,” said Commission Co-Chairs Dr. Danna Mauch, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health and Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian. “We look forward to working with a trusted and local partner, Vinfen, which has the leadership and expertise to support individuals in crisis by knocking down traditional barriers to access and helping connect them with effective support and care.”
Services will include triage and assessment, crisis stabilization beds for up to 24 hours, sober support beds, crisis respite beds for up to two weeks, and case management and aftercare planning. Once implemented, the pilot will serve as a model for other crisis centers in the state and fold into an already strong network of community behavioral health centers offering immediate, confidential care and wrap-around support to divert people from unnecessary hospitalization.
What is EPICC?
EPICC is a program focused on helping parents with serious mental illnesses connect with their children through meaningful activities. This is a 10-week program aimed at supporting parents to learn about the benefits of engaging in meaningful activities as a family. Parents will also receive support in planning and making meaningful activities a part of everyday life. These activities may improve communication and may help improve relationships between parents and kids!
We are looking for individuals who:
- Are ages 18 and older
- Are an adult parent with a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder or mood disorder.
- Indicate a desire to engage in more meaningful activities with their child, regardless of child’s age
If you are eligible to participate, you will be asked to complete 3 research interviews, which will take approximately 90 minutes each. In appreciation of your time, you will receive a $20 gift card for each interview completed.
You will also be enrolled in an online program to support you with ideas and problem-solving to help you connect with your child. The program has 1-1 phone call or video meetings with a recreational therapist every other week, and a video support group every other week. You will also receive informational videos. You may be enrolled right away, or you may have to wait 10 weeks to participate in the program.
Contact: parenting@temple.edu
Communicating effectively helps us build and shape support for mental health policies and programs that work. Framing issues in ways that tap our audience’s innate optimism, empathy, and shared values helps us advocate successfully for change. But effective framing is not always intuitive, and it’s easy to inadvertently undermine advocacy goals with communications that lose sight of the big picture.
In partnership with the FrameWorks Institute, MAMH is offering a free training, tools, and resources to help you communicate more effectively to boost knowledge, shift attitudes, and build support for mental health and wellness in your community.
Communicating for Change: How to Talk About Mental Health to Build Support for What Works is a 4-hour training available free of charge to organizations and individuals working toward improved mental health policies and programs, especially at the intersection of the mental health system and the criminal legal system or mandated treatment. Advocates, policymakers, and communications staff are especially encouraged to participate.
Each training includes an overview of effective framing, strategies to improve communications, and hands-on opportunities to apply the strategies to your own work. Trainings can be provided in person or virtually.