Christmas time is ALMOST here!

It's been a while since my last post so I wanted to bring you all up to speed. We had a great Walk! We had over 1,100 people there and I know everyone had a great time.

We also had our annual Heroes in the Fight Awards. The Governor and the First Lady were there to receive the Wings Award and Joe Toy, CEO of Bluegrass Mental Health was there to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Thank you to both of them for their committment to improving the lives of us living with mental illnesses.

As for the new hospital, it is moving along smoothly. The RFP came out recently giving us some more information about how many beds may be in the hospital. We are very excited about that. There are several more steps until we break ground but our dream is getting closer and closer! I'll keep you posted.

Right now, we are gearing up for our Annual Blue Christmas Service that will be held on Sunday, December 21, 2008 at 5:00pm at Central Christian Church in Lexington. This service is for anyone feeling isolated, lonely, sad, grieving, hurt, overwelmed or empty. We ask that you come to this special service to "Rest your soul."

Our Annual Consumer/Family Christmas Party will be held on Sunday, December 7, 2008 at 2:30pm-4:00pm at the Faye Morton Consumer and Family Center on the grounds of Eastern State Hospital. We will have lots of good food and fun. We will also have a brief business meeting to elect new officers to our NAMI Lexington Board of Directors for 2009-2010. So all NAMI members please try to attend.

As for me, personally, I have begun a new therapy called EMDR (eye movement desensitization & reprossessing). I am seeing Dr. Barbara Hensley in Cincinnati for this specialized form of therapy. It is for trauma survivors. I have had significant childhood trauma. This treatment seems to be working!! I am so excited that I have found something that actually seems to be treating the root of the problem rather than just the symptoms. If you are interested in more information on this life changing therapy please email me at blind.justice@insightbb.com.

Hopefully, I will get to post before Christmas but if not, have a safe and Happy Holiday Season!!!

Kick Off the Walk & Roll at the Cabaret!

Come join us on 8-8-08 for our annual Kick off for the Walk event. This year we will be having a Cabaret theme. The party will be held in the courtyard at Bluegrass MH/MR Regional Office on Newtown Pike (we ask that you use the Citation Blvd. entrance) under big tents from 7pm-11pm. We will have The Bats performing their Cabaret to Rock n Roll type of entertainment for all the party goers. They promise that you will have a great time and so do we! We will be having great food and drinks and a cash bar catered by the Saute' Cafe' as well. So come out and party with us and we will see you there!

Out of the Shadows on KET

There is a new special available for online viewing at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/takeonestep/depression/video-ch_01.html KET has produced this wonderful program. Jane Pauley is also involved with this project. Go check this one out also!!!

MTV True Stories - I Have Schizophrenia

Hey everyone! I have been missing in action for about a week with my "noise," but I am back and ready to work for NAMI and keep all of you up-to-date on all the goings on at NAMI Lexington.

MTV did a show about 3 people living with schizophrenia and how it affects their lives. NAMI is mentioned a few times during the video. Please check it out...it's eye opening. Here's the link to the special in its entirety:

http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1586145&vid=234632

Don't forget about our Gourmet Social on Thursday, June 12 at 7:00pm at the Bluegrass Board Room on Newtown Pike. Call our office at (859)272-7891 for more details.

Even with setbacks, I continue on this journey...

VM

WTVQ, Channel 36 does a special series

WTVQ, Channel 36, will be featuring stories on the 5:00pm and 6:00pm newscast on May 13th, 14th and 15th to celebrate Mental Health Month and to try to break the stigma associated with mental illnesses. On May 13th, the topic will be depression, on May 14th, they will focus on bipolar disorder/schizophenia and on May 15th, they will talk about suicide. So tune in to Channel 36 to check out these great stories. Thanks to Greg Stotelmyer for covering our mental health stories!

We did it! We did it! We did it!

Because of all your phone calls and sending postcards to the governor's office, we are getting a replacement for Eastern State Hospital. You should all pat yourself on the back! Can you believe it's actually going to happen?!? I'm so happy, I'm sure you are too!

CALL YOUR LEGISLATORS!

Call your legislators now! Especially those in the House of Representatives. We want Bluegrass Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board, Inc. to run the new hospital because they have done such a wonderful job running Eastern State and Oakwood. Where would this State be without Bluegrass? You can find out ho your legislators are by going to www.nami.org/advocacy or you can call 1-800-372-7181 to leave a message to one or all of your legislators. This is so important!!! So act today!