Ed Smith interviewed Donna Ligh-Estes, the Executive Director and Beth Winslow-D’Amico, the Director of Programs and Training for NAMI Rochester.
-Donna talked about how they are working to rebuild and bring back programs and services that they offered before the pandemic.
-Donna said that this time of year can be stressful for a lot of people but it is important for us to all recognize that it might not be joyful for everyone. Some people could be dealing with trauma, mental health issues or family issues.
-She talked about the importance of listening, if you have a family member or friend that is struggling during the holiday season, just being a good listener instead of trying to solve their issue is many times all they need
-In particular, they are now providing support groups (Peer and Family Support Groups) in person.
-She said they had received a lot of feedback from folks about the importance of having these groups meet in person. They will continue to offer them online as well.
-Beth said they plan to grow these services in 2024
-She also talked about a new support program they are working on for 2024 to End the Silence and help prevent sucide. They currently have a support group for friends and family members of sucide victims.
-They talked about providing mental health presentations to local schools, businesses and organizations. Educators, managers or owners can request that they come to their facility and do the presentation. The presentation is led by trained volunteers and they try to teach people how to effectively talk to people dealing with a mental illness.
-Donna gave an update about a major that was presented to them recently from Meg’s Gift. Meg’s Gift does an annual golf tournament and after this year’s event they were able to give NAMI Rochester a check for $65,000.
-Donna said that they appreciate the partnership and both organizations will be supporting each other with various events and fundraising efforts.
-They are looking for individuals and businesses to make donations as part of their end of the year campaign.
-Donna said her philosophy is to do even more collaboration with other nonprofits in our community.
-They will be doing their annual NAMI Walk, which is a big fundraising event for the organization. They are moving it from May to October to align with the National NAMI’s Walk.