What is Major Depression?

Major depression is a serious medical illness affecting 15 million American adults, or approximately 5 to 8 percent of the adult population in a given year.

Unlike normal emotional experiences of sadness, loss or passing mood states, major depression is persistent and can significantly interfere with an individual’s thoughts, behavior, mood, activity and physical health. Among all medical illnesses, major depression is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and many other developed countries.

Depression occurs twice as frequently in women as in men, for reasons that are not fully understood.

To read more and learn about other types of depression, symptoms, causes and treatments, visit our website or call (412) 366-3788.

Program Highlight: Family to Family

The Family-to-Family Education Program is one of the signature programs at NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania and at NAMIs across the country.

The program is a free 12-week course for families and friends of people living with serious mental illness. The unique thing about this program is that it's taught by trained family members who have lived with this experience.

The program is nationally renowned and has been called "life changing" by participants. This Spring, NAMI is offering the program in three locations in Allegheny County. This is a FREE program, and program materials are furnished at no cost.

The locations are North Hills, Squirrel Hill and South Hills (Dormont). Regardless of where you live, driving to the location nearest you may be one of the best investments you make for your life.

For more information, call (412) 366-3788 or visit our website.

Board's Working Group Tackles Tough Issue

The NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania Board of Directors has several sub-committees, one of which is a working group that addresses the shocking fact that people with serious mental illness are dying 25 years sooner than the rest of the population.

Last night, the working group invited Jon Lovelace, President of UPMC for You, and Pat Valentine, Director of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, to its meeting. Jon and Pat were gracious enough to lend their time and thoughts on the life-expectancy disparity and share with us the current work they are doing to address the issue. They also gave NAMI specific ideas of what we can do to help them better serve people with serious mental illness.

Here is NAMI Board Member Jack Calahane, PhD, Chief of Adult Mood & Anxiety Disorders at Western Psych. Jack is a member of a couple of the Board's sub-committees, including this working group. He always makes the effort to volunteer his time and attend NAMI events and meetings.

After the meeting, Jon Lovelace changed into his tux to head out to a social engagement. We couldn't help but to snap a photo of Jon with Pat Valentine and NAMI Board member Dick Jevon.

Thanks to all who attended. Hopefully, together we can begin to close the gap on this unsettling life disparity.

First Look at '09 Conference Brochure

The brochure is still at the printers, but you can click here and download it for yourself. We are very excited about this year's conference on Saturday, April 18. And we're happy to report that prices have remained exactly the same and that you can register online this year.

The speaker roster is exceptional, and we're growing more excited as the pieces of the conference fall into place. Special thanks to staff member Susan Harrington and volunteer Kevin Harrington for a fantastic job on the brochure's layout and design. Great job!

Flashback to NAMI Walk '08

On a cold, snowy day like today, why not take a few minutes to look back to a sunny and cool fall morning in October? Remember Sunday, Oct. 5? We gathered together at the SouthSide Works to celebrate mental illness -- the fact that treatment works and recovery is possible!

Then we took a nice, brisk walk along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail. WTAE-TV covered the event, and we made it to the 6 o'clock news.

If you click here, you can view hundreds of walk photos. You may even see yourself in them! Feel free to leave comments or forward these photos along to your friends.

Don't forget to mark your calendar for the 3rd Annual NAMI Walk on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009.

Keynote Speaker Announced

NAMI is pleased to announce its keynote speaker for the 2009 Regional Education Conference Take Back Your Life: Living Longer with Serious Mental Illness.

We are thrilled to welcome Matt Kuntz, who was recognized by President Obama at his inauguration as one of the "18 Ordinary Americans Who Have Made Extraordinary Contributions."

Read this article for a brief overview of Matt's story. You'll see why we chose him as our keynote speaker.

We have an exceptional roster of speakers and an outstanding program underway. Stay tuned for more details.

Lunch & Learn at BNY Mellon

Today, NAMI did a presentation about mental illness and its programs, services and events at BNY Mellon's Lunch & Learn.

Once a month, the company's Heart Committee chooses a non-profit to come to its corporate office during lunch and talk about its mission.

We had a great opportunity to spread the word about NAMI and answer several interesting and heartfelt questions from audience members.

If your organization would like to NAMI to present information about mental illness and what we do, call us at (412) 366-3788.

And the Winner Is...

The Jefferson Awards Ceremony, honoring the top volunteers in our region, took place on Thursday night, Feb. 12.

Each year, thousands of local applications are submitted to the Jefferson Awards. Those applicants are narrowed down to 50 Community Champions. From those 50, seven "unsung heroes" are selected as the local winners. They receive a Jefferson Award medallion, a $1,000 grant for their organization and publicity in the Post-Gazette. Among those seven was NAMI volunteer Dick Jevon.

At the awards ceremony, seven video clips showcased each of the winners and what they do for their organizations. Then each winner had a few minutes to speak.

Listening to their stories was inspiring. From Amy's Army (started by a stay-at-home mom trying to find a bone marrow match for her friend's daughter Amy) to Raising Achievement in Monroeville & Pitcairn (run by a second grade teacher trying to close the education gap), each story was more touching than the next.

Dick Jevon did us justice with a wonderful presentation on who NAMI is and what we do. We were all very proud to have him represent us at such a prestigious event--and we very fortunate to have him as our own volunteer and advocate.

The final winner (selected onstage from the seven) was Nancy Heil with Homeless Ministry. Her story was amazing. She started a small ministry 15 years ago when someone left a coat at her house. She ended up giving it to a cold homeless man on the street. From there, the ministry began, moving from clothing to food and beyond. She does no fundraising and only accepts in-kind donations.

Nancy describes her work as "an endless flow of miracles." Whatever she needs seems to magically appear. For instance, one time she needed diapers. On her way out of church that day, she saw a man in the back pew. They made small talk and she told him about her ministry. She said she had to make some calls to find diapers. He said, "I can get you diapers... I'm a diaper rep!"

That's the way Nancy's ministry works. She was in tears as she received the top honor and a standing ovation. Nancy will go on to represent the Pittsburgh region at the National Jefferson Awards.

NAMI would like to congratulate the 50 Community Champions and seven Jefferson Award winners, and say thank you to Dick for all he's done for us over the past 25 years.

The Big Day Is Here

We've all been anticipating the award ceremony tonight, announcing NAMI volunteer Dick Jevon as a Jefferson Award winner.

Tonight, we're looking forward to an elegant cocktail party at the Carnegie Music Hall Foyer, followed by the award ceremony inside the Music Hall.

Dick is very proud to receive this honor, but he's down-to-earth as ever. He may have worn his necktie today, but he still ate his Wendy's takeout for lunch!

During lunch, Dick received a huge bouquet of flowers from Allegheny HealthChoices, congratulating him for his achievement. The entire office smells fragrant.

Darcey Garda, Manager of Development and Marketing, and Debbie Ference, Associate Director, are the last two at the office, trying to wrap up their work. Here they are, ready for a big night, watching their co-worker and friend receive this very special award and $1,000 for NAMI.

Take Back Your Life

At the NAMI office, we are busy putting the finishing touches on a fantastic program for this year's NAMI Southwestern PA Regional Education Conference. This year's theme is:

TAKE BACK YOUR LIFE
Living Longer with Serious Mental Illness

The conference will explore the issues surrounding a recent study* that proved people with serious mental illness are dying 25 years sooner than the rest of the population. We will examine WHY this is happening, HOW it is happening, and WHAT we can do to stop this alarming trend.

The speakers and presenters are top notch, and we look forward to announcing them soon. In
the meantime, mark your calendars for:

Saturday, April 18, 2009
Pittsburgh Airport Marriott
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Credits are available for this program


*The study is Morbidity and Mortality in People with Serious Mental Illness, published by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, Medical Directors Council.

Hot off the Press

Yesterday's Post-Gazette ran an article on NAMI board member and volunteer extraordinaire Dick Jevon. He's been named a winner of the prestigious Jefferson Award for Public Service. Dick and the other winners will be honored Thursday night at an awards ceremony at Carnegie Music Hall. Dick's co-workers and friends are very proud of him and everything he's done for NAMI and families affected by mental illness. Click here to read this wonderful article on Dick.

From Our Director Chris Michaels

My work is a big part of who I am, but the biggest part of who I am is my family. My closest immediate family circle is my husband Damien, my parents, my children and their spouses, and my six grandchildren (pictured with me below) with another grand-daughter Abigail May coming in March.

My youngest son, Corey, was 31 years old on Friday, Feb. 6. So we all got together on Sunday for dinner and birthday cake. Check out me and my baby.
In raising my children, I tried hard to instill the importance of family and making every effort to attend family gatherings. I usually bribe them with food. Lasagna is the standard birthday dinner.

Did I mention that I am a Steelers fan? Part of my Steelers Tree can be seen in this photo of my grand-daughter Courtney holding her basketball trophy. When the Steelers are in the Playoffs, we convert our Christmas tree into a Steelers tree. Alas, Steelers football must end for now, but "Oh how sweet it was this year!"

--Chris Michaels
Executive Director
NAMI Southwestern PA