NAMI assists with mental health needs

NORWALK — Anyone experiencing mental health issues or caring for someone who does is not alone. Diane Tuttle, president of the board of the Huron County chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Health (NAMI), said the local organization provides education, advocacy and support for those in need of help with mental health issues. The national organization began in 1979 as a grassroots movement, building upon the combined efforts of people seeking out others with the same needs. "As with what happens with a lot of organizations, it blossomed then," Tuttle said. The local group, said Tuttle, was started by late Huron County Engineer Larry McGlinchy. "Larry started it out of personal reasons, because he had a child who was pretty severely affected." Tuttle's own involvement came from a need to understand and better assist her son, who lives with bipolar disorder. Even as a nurse, she said, she did not have all the skills to help him in the ways he needed. Nationally, NAMI has become a very well-respected group, as it has also done at the state level, Tuttle continued. "Ohio has a very active organization," she said. At the local level, NAMI offers many types of help. Meetings are held at St. Peter Lutheran Church on Executive Drive, at 6:30 pm, every second Monday of the month and are open to the public. Tuttle noted, however, that NAMI has no religious affiliation, but meets in a classroom at the church because it is available. "Our next one is May 9," she said. "Anyone can come." Tuttle said that attendees are cautioned to keep what happens at meetings and who attends in strict confidence. She added that attendees may choose the level to which they participate. "It's all held in such a manner that anyone can come and they can speak as much as they want, or they don't have to," she said. Information, referrals and other manners of assistance are often found at the meetings, but the local group also offers an eight-week course every fall, called Family-to-Family. The program is typically held beginning in the middle of September and is shown to improve the coping and problem-solving abilities of those close to persons affected with mental health conditions. Family-to-Family is designed to provide mutual support among those attending. "We have all kinds of reference numbers that we can give them," Tuttle said. Tuttle is among those who teach the class and said her involvement has grown from her first interactions regarding her son. "You just want to help people when you're in that position yourself." Also offered by NAMI is Crisis Intervention Team training, which helps direct the mentally ill into treatment, rather than inappropriate incarceration. Many law enforcement officers take the 40-hour class, which informs them as to how to use de-escalation and other techniques in their approaches to the those they believe have mental disorders. Tuttle said that it is important to know that a CIT-trained officer may be requested when calling police for assistance in emergency situations with mentally ill persons. "Another thing that we're continuing to do is to get the word out," Tuttle said. She said local efforts to reach counsellors and doctors generated two additional attendees at the last meeting. Until recent years, the local organization held walks to raise money, but they ended with the loss of a major sponsor and McGlinchy's unexpected death. A 50/50 raffle will be held this year, with tickets available beginning this summer. The winner will be drawn at the Huron County Fair by Bruce "Skip" Wilde, president of the Huron County Board of Commissioners. Anyone seeking more information may contact NAMI Huron County coordinator Kevin Mount at (419) 677-0714, or NAMI Huron County on Facebook or Twitter. The local crisis mental health hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 1-800-826-1306. To contact the crisis text line, interested parties may text HOME to 741741. The national organization may be reached at nami.org.