Woman has mission to help others
Americus resident Rhonda Moreland strives to develop an affiliate with NAMI in this area.
By Bobbi Mlynar
Saturday, September 29, 2007
An Americus woman has made mental health support groups a personal mission.
Rhonda Moreland has been working since April to develop a formal affiliate here with the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Kansas. The local group currently operates as an adjunct of the state organization.
“I want to see NAMI grow because when I first was diagnosed with bipolar, there was no group for me. ... There was no group out there besides the mental health center,” said Moreland, who was diagnosed 12 years ago. “I needed somebody out there to talk to who was going through the same thing.”
Then, she wondered if she ever would be able to get past the problems inherent in the diagnosis; now, through NAMI, she is trying to give a boost to others who may be struggling or need support.
“I have to give credit to the mental health center,” she said. Director Bill Persinger, counselor Jayme Collins and hospitals liaison Gail Coburn have worked with Moreland to develop and support the local NAMI group.
“Not only did they support me for those 12 years that got me where I’m at, but I’m a board member at the mental health center,” she said.
She serves as a family member who has a child with a severe emotional disability.
Moreland has progressed so well during the past 12 years that she has taken on other responsibilities statewide.
She is on the Services Delivery Systems subcommittee for the Governor’s Committee on Mental Health and is on the consumer council for NAMI Kansas.
“I do have bad days,” Moreland said, “but for the most part, most of them are good ones.”
Moreland also has been trained by NAMI to work with the support group for consumers of mental health services.
“NAMI Kansas is trying to set up a class for the family members to have a facilitator to run the support group for them, so it would be separate, so they could feel free to express themselves about what they deal with,” Moreland said. “We do not say we are counselors; we are not therapists. All we can do is listen.”
Sometimes listening can be one of the most important aspects of coping with mental illnesses, both for the people who receive services and for their families.
Families who have gone through crises of one sort of another find support from others who have had similar experiences.
“NAMI is a place a person can go, the family can go, and talk about how they feel,” Moreland said.
“They have to ask for a CIT officer,” Moreland said; “things may not go different, but they go smoother.”
The national organization evolved from an on-line posting by three women who said they wanted to get together to talk about mental health issues.
“And 300 people showed up,” Moreland said.
She hopes to increase the local group size to at least 50 people, including consumers and their families. Last month, for the first time, the support groups were able to meet separately.
“It went real well the first time we did it,” she said. “There’s guidelines for the group. Nobody is told where they’re at in their crises. It’s a basic support group.”
She said that the public also needs to be aware that a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) formed through the mental health center operates in Emporia, and several law enforcement officers also have been specially trained to deal with mentally ill people who may be having problems that involve law enforcement.
Moreland believes that NAMI will be a plus in helping the groups understand mental illness and how to live with it, and she hopes to be able to find a church or other meeting place that would allow NAMI to use a kitchen and meeting room that would be open during hours more convenient to the working public.
The local group now meets from 3 to 5 p.m. the first Monday of each month in the large group room on the second floor of the Courthouse Annex, 402 Commercial Street.
Meetings, which are open to the public, typically feature a speaker before breaking into the two support groups for discussions. Mayor Julie Johnson is scheduled to be the guest speaker at the Oct. 1 meeting.
namitopeka (anonymous) says...
rhonda, this is a good write up of your work, of the effort
it takes to create and run a support group, and the nature
of nami, from the national to the state to the affiliate to the
individual level. you are not alone!
while people with brain diseases may live on average
25 years less than most folks, we can and do contribute
a disproportionate share of innovation to society!
eric
September 29, 2007 at 8:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )