My Advocacy Paper On Nami Chicago

I valued the participants, with a mental illness, sharing their perspective and experiences of living with a mental health diagnosis. As social workers, it is beneficial to understand a clients experience and environment to the best of our ability. I will take away the stigmas faced by individuals with a mental illness and consider how this impacts their psycho, social, and emotional

NAMI is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to change the image of mental illness and advance the care and treatments they receive. It was formed to change to public and professional views on the issue. The main focus is to destigmatize the diseases of the mind and change the characterizations of the mentally ill from negative to positive. It was founded in 1979 because the mentally ill have been historically been misunderstood. In the three decades that it has been in place they have found a spot on both the public and governmental level. NAMI and other advocates created a film in 2002, A Beautiful Mind, which won an academy award for best picture. The organization is commonly known as the primary facilitator of this image to change the views on mental illness. NAMI created a group called StigmaBusters, their job was to fight and end the hurtful things being said about mental illness. In 1999 there was a peak of articles about stigma and mental illness, 92. This goes to show that with the growth of information about the issue the more the image of mental illness is changed (Vaughan and Arsneault, 2008 p. 411-426).

The social problem I have chosen to write about is mental illness. This problem is important to talk about “because of the number of people it affects, the difficulty of defining and identifying mental disorders, and the ways in which mental illness is treated” (Kendall, 2013, p. 227). “About 57.7 million people, or one in four adults, in the United States suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder” (Kendall, 2013, p. 229). “Many of these illnesses begin in childhood or adolescence, with the most common problems being anxiety disorder, mood disorders, impulse-control disorders, and substance abuse disorders” (Kendall, 2013, p. 229). I chose this topic because I wanted to learn more about how mental illness is a social problem and I have been interested in learning more about mental illnesses and how to help people with mental disorders.

The NAMI presentation that took place on February 2, 2017 had a really intriguing effect on me. NAMI stands for “National Alliance on Mental Illness”. NAMI provides the In Our Own Voice presentations, which are offered with the goal “to change attitudes, preconceived notions and stereotypes” about mental illness (NAMI North Carolina: North Carolina’s Voice on Mental Illness, n.d.). I am one to hold a stigma against those with mental disorders. The New Oxford American Dictionary says that, stigma is “a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person” (Stevenson & Lindberg, 2011). Even after the presentation, I still do to some extent. The presentation did open my eyes to the fact that people with certain mental disorders can get the treatment they need to live some-what “normal” lives.

Mental Health America (formerly known as the National Mental Health Association) is the country’s leading nonprofit dedicated to helping all people live mentally healthier lives. With more than 320 affiliate nationwide, we represent a growing movement of Americans who promote mental wellness for the health and well being of the nation, every day, and in a time of crisis (2007 Mental Health America). As an organization, Mental Health America has been around for nearly a century. We began work in 1909 when Clifford W. Beers, a young business man who struggled with a mental illness and shared his story with the world in his autobiography “A Mind

Select and describe one issue of interest. Describe advocacy processes needed to address institutional and social barriers that impede access, equity, and success for clients. Identify public policies on the local, state, and national levels that affect the quality and accessibility of mental health services.

I went to advocacy day not known what to expect, this is my first time. That the prairie capital convention, a lot of students from different schools with their representatives came there just to make their voice and that of their communities heard. The panels explain why it is important for the bills to be passing in to law.

Growing up in a small town in Iowa I was unaware of the many situations involving hardship or misfortune that were around me. Therefore, it was not till college when I received the opportunity to work for a reentry program called the Transformative Justice Initiative that I became aware of the multiple factors lead to incarceration, drug use, homelessness, and other areas of hardship. The longer I was involved with the program the more I learned how mental health is convoluted in all of these situations and in all populations. Consequently, my experiences with the Transformative Justice Initiative helped me develop my future aspirations as a professional, which include a desire to work with individuals that have mental illness.

This got me researching and talking to relevant stakeholders about the condition and it exposed me to a lot of people with different forms of mental disabilities and the support systems available to them. During my research, I came across an article of yours (titled: The 61st Conversation: Raising Mental Health Awareness

I chose to write about the mental health system because I suffer from mental illness. I also have several, past and present, friends who are mentally ill. I specifically wanted to explore Section 12: Emergency restraint and hospitalization of persons posing risk of serious harm by reason of mental illness of the Massachusetts General Law. I had a friend who was self-harming. She was convinced she had developed multiple personalities and suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). A group of her friends, including myself, got together and wanted to Section 12 her but we did not meet the qualifications to do so.

Key words used are: mental health, community mental health service, mobile crisis, Clubhouse, severe mental illness, Housing first. I chose mental health boarding as broad topic and the main focus was going to be mental health and funding. I had a difficult time narrowing down the topic. After contemplating and getting advice and suggestions, I finally found my focus topic as to strategies available for community mental health

Throughout this entire project I have gathered a lot of information on the Woman's Building of the Chicago World’s Fair. The time period of when this event took place had a huge influence over why the social changes were so accepted. Chicago, for instance, wanted better representation of their city and were willing to accept more modern ideas to be considered one of the elite. At the time Chicago was seen as a dirty city and unable to cultivate a fair of the architects dreams. If they could prove that Chicago was capable of such progress, than every other city could do the same. For women this meant an opportunity to demonstrate to people why their roles should be expanded from just the standard role of a housewife. The Woman’s Building was designed by women for women but also had an important role in changing the

The American mentally ill population faces numerous barriers to acquiring basic services that those without mental illness receive daily. Advocating for the mentally ill population gives a voice to those who cannot voice their problems or may not know how. Mental illness is often misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed. Individuals who are not properly diagnosed cannot receive necessary medical treatment which can help them live normal lives. When needed medical treatment is not made available, those who suffer often end up homeless, and frequently cycle in, and out of the judicial system because their

Central Idea: I am going to be talking about the stigmas associated with mental illness and what we can do to decrease this stigma.

Many people often have stereotypes or stigmas regarding mental illnesses. There is a general public stigma that is overall expressed by people who may not have full knowledge over the importance of mental health. When referring to the stigma, people will usually say that those with mental illnesses are irresponsible, should be cared for, or should be feared and kept out of the direct community. All of these stigmas having to do with mental illnesses are false. Many people with mental illnesses are able to hold stable jobs, graduate from high school and college, and even live as good neighbors in a community. By creating this stigma, people are adding to the everyday challenges that people with mental illnesses are going through. We should aim to educate and stop the prejudice that is brought about by those who are not fully aware of the importance of mental health.