Kevin Hines to Speak at NAMI Conference

NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania is pleased to welcome international speaker and suicide prevention advocate Kevin Hines to its 14th Annual Education Conference on Saturday, April 14 at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott.

Who is Kevin Hines?
In the year 2000, two years after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Kevin Hines tried to take his own life by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. He immediately regretted his decision and, remarkably, Kevin survived. Since then, Kevin has dedicated his life to living and staying mentally well and inspiring people of all ages to change their lives for the better. In his keynote presentation at our 14th Annual Education Conference, Kevin will discuss his experiences and feelings as a 19-year old on the brink of despair, and how parents, teachers, caregivers, professionals and other role models can connect with and help young adults who are coping with a serious mental illness. He will speak with gripping candor about surviving his suicide attempt and his journey through recovery, and how he has dedicated his life to helping others find the peace and hope that now fills his life.

About Kevin
Kevin has spoken to more than 300,000 people about his firsthand experience with suicidal thoughts and eventual attempted suicide in 2000 by jumping 220 feet from the Golden Gate Bridge. Kevin is a powerful, honest and intimate presenter and has been featured in the critically acclaimed film The Bridge, on Larry King Live, 20/20, Anderson Cooper 360, Good Morning America, and Ireland's famed Tonight with Vincent Brown. He has also been featured in hundreds of national and international print, radio, film and television media outlets. In 2012, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding work as a suicide prevention advocate and speaker. Kevin has written several articles about the prevention of suicide and mental health in America and in July 2013 published his memoir, Cracked...Not Broken, Surviving & Thriving After a Suicide Attempt.

Special thanks to Project Transition, a unique recovery-centered psychiatric rehabilitation program, who sponsored Kevin as the Keynote Speaker of our conference.

For more information about the conference, visit our website or call 412-366-3788.

Meet Dana DeFonso, Plenary Speaker

Excitement is mounting for our 14th Annual Education Conference on Saturday, April 12 at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott. We are pleased to welcome amazing speakers to illustrate our theme: "Young Adults and Mental Illness: Voices for Hope."  You can view the full agenda here.

Last week, we highlighted our morning keynote speaker Stacy Pershall. Today, meet Dana DeFonso, MA, Supervisor for Behavioral Health Rehabilitation Services at SPHS Behavioral Health. Dana will serve as our late morning plenary speaker on the following topic:

The Voice of Addiction: Substance Use Among Young Adults

The voice of addiction is consuming. Drugs and alcohol are becoming this voice for many youth and young adults. How can we as parents, caregivers, family members and professionals help them to hear other positive voices, and not the destructive voice of addiction? This presentation will reveal the drugs of choice for today's youth and young adults, including the effects, dangers of these substances and treatment options. The presentation will also include feedback of consumers from their own voices as to what they needed prior to, during, and after their addiction. What did they wish they would have known? What did they need for success in their recovery? We will discuss the roles connected adults can play in leading, guiding, supporting and strengthening young adults struggling with addition so that they can recover.

Continuing education credits are available for attending this conference. For more information or to register, click here.

Meet Stacy Pershall, Conference Speaker

Much anticipation is building about our 14th Annual Education Conference on Saturday, April 12 at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott.  We are pleased to welcome amazing speakers to illustrate our theme: "Young Adults and Mental Illness: Voices for Hope." 

You can view the full agenda here. Over the next few weeks on the NAMI Blog, we will highlight each speaker, beginning with the first speaker of the day Stacy Pershall.

Meet Stacy Pershall, Motivational Speaker and Author

Morning Keynote Address - What I Wish I’d Known in My 20s: A Unique Story of Recovery
When Stacy Pershall was a teenager, she knew she was different, both in how she felt and how she acted on those feelings. But what she didn't realize for many years was that she was struggling with a serious mental illness, borderline personality disorder (BPD), as well as an eating disorder. It was only after she reached a state of complete exhaustion, near suicide, that she submitted to treatment. Stacy's presentation highlights BPD, eating disorders and bullying from a young person's perspective. She shares how BPD looks to others as opposed to how it feels, and the healing effect of unconditional love. She also discusses suicide, body modification, dialectical behavior therapy and reducing stigma, and how young people facing serious mental illness have found innovative, highly personalized recovery methods such as tattooing and body piercing.

For more information or to register for this conference, visit our website.

We Must Be More than Supervisors... We Must Be Leaders

We’re pleased to share a new conference offerered by Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic and Community Care Behavioral Health.

SUPERVISION IN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

We Must Be More Than Supervisors...
We Must Be Leaders
Friday, March 21
Sheraton Station Square, Pittsburgh

Supervision is crucial for professional development. It is essential to examine why supervisors can and must be effective leaders who create an alliance between themselves and their staff. The supervisor and staff must work together in support of the purpose, principles, and mission of their agency to improve services for their clients. During the keynote, Mike Morrison, PhD, the founder of a leadership consulting firm, will address the art and science of personal leadership – a powerful framework for bringing our best self and the best self in others to the workplace.  There will also be workshops focusing on topics for leaders/supervisors including development of a supervisory model, balancing clinical and administrative supervision, and supervision needs for peer and recovery specialists.  Participants should leave the conference with a greater understanding of the importance of providing and receiving effective supervision.

 

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Leading Through Meaning

Mike Morrison, PhD

Executive Consultant, Lean Leadership

Los Angeles, California

 

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

·         The Reality of Supervision: Balancing Clinical and Administrative Supervision

·         “I Love My Job!”:  Leading with Compassion, Service, and Hope

·         Effective Leadership Skills for Clinical Supervisors

·         Supervision of Peer and Recovery Specialists

·         Developing Your Model of Supervision

·         Supervision and Trauma                

Details can be found on the conference website or the conference registration page.

 For additional information or to receive a brochure, please contact Nancy Mundy at mundynl@upmc.edu or (412) 204-9090.

Registration Open for 14th Annual Education Conference

Registration is officially open for our much anticipated 14th Annual Education Conference "Young Adults and Mental Illness: A Voice for Hope" on Saturday, April 12 at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott. Click here for the conference brochure, and click here to register online. Continuing Education Credits are available.

3 Reasons To Join NAMI Today

Joining or renewing your membership with NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania at this exciting time in our organization's history will help advance our mission of recovery focused support, education and advocacy in a very important way. 

Last year, our Board of Directors and staff spent a significant amount of time developing a new, three-year strategic plan. We decided that we needed to change in order to meet the needs of those we serve and represent. As a result, here are some of the many activities underway for the year ahead:   

• We are expanding our focus to better serve children and youth. We have added a full-time position that is focused on children, adolescents and transition age youth and are expanding our education programs to better serve young families and school personnel. 
• We are collaborating with peer organizations to increase our collective impact. We have joined with Allegheny Family Network and Mental Health America of Allegheny County to create a mental health advocacy collaborative.  
• We are diversifying our reach to strengthen our voice. We are developing an advocacy hub to influence public policy and legislation.    

The more members we have who are standing together with us, the louder and stronger it  makes our voice for individuals and families affected by mental illness!

When you join or renew your membership to NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania, you will receive:   

1. Discounted registration fee to our Annual Education Conference on Saturday, April 12 featuring Kevin Hines, an international speaker, author and mental health advocate who will talk about surviving a suicide attempt off the Golden Gate Bridge and his commitment to staying well and inspiring others to live their best lives.  
2. Your New Personalized Membership Card and a subscription to our quarterly newsletter The Voice. (The Winter 2014 edition is hot off the press.)   
3. Automatic membership to NAMI (National) and NAMI PA.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, staff and the people we serve each day, thank you for your support as a member of NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania. Click here to join today! 

NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, contributions to which are tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by the law. The official registration and financial information on NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania may be obtained from the PA Department of State by calling toll-free within Pennsylvania: 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

Meet our Keynote

We are pleased to announce the keynote speaker of our 14th Annual Education Conference Young Adults and Mental Illness: Voices for Hope on Saturday, April 14 at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott. Registration info will be available next week.  
 
KEVIN HINES
The instant that 19-year-old Kevin Hines jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge, he regretted his decision.

Recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Kevin had begun to hear voices telling him he had to die; and, days before his attempt, he began to believe them. Yet, as soon as Kevin jumped into the empty air, he turned, wanting to grab the rail. It wasn’t there. He thought to himself, "What have I done? I don't want to die!'

Kevin miraculously survived and, in the years since then, has spoken to more than a quarter million people about his firsthand experience with suicidal thoughts and living well with mental illness.

A powerful, honest, and intimate presenter, he has been featured in the critically acclaimed film The Bridge, on Larry King Live, 20/20, Anderson Cooper 360, Good Morning America, and Ireland’s famed Tonight with Vincent Browne. In 2012, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding work as a suicide prevention advocate and speaker.

Kevin Hines speaks with gripping candor about his journey from the edge of despair back to recovery. It is an unforgettable and remarkable story of faith, courage and hope.

His memoir, Cracked…Not Broken: Surviving and Thriving After a Suicide Attempt, was released in July 2013. We are pleased to bring Kevin to Southwestern Pennsylvania.