Despite national efforts to encourage open discussion on the stigma surrounding mental-health awareness, it’s an issue often shrouded in secrecy and shame. This weekend, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the nation’s largest grassroots mental-health awareness organization, is making an effort to bring that conversation to Westchester via a 5K #JointheMovement Walk this Saturday at Rye Town Park in Rye at 9 am. The goal is to raise $134,000, and festivities will also include refreshments, entertainment, live music, a DJ, and children’s events.
As is the case for many nonprofits combating cancer and other diseases, events like this 5K represent NAMI’s most important source of annual funding. As NAMI Westchester representative Marie Considine explains, “We don’t charge for any of our services at any time, so all the money that is raised directly supports our programs.” But even more so than larger advocacy groups, Considine reminds, “We don’t do a private, big-ticket expensive gala or dinner; instead, we make it a huge community event and involve as much of the community as we can.”
At a fundraiser this past week at South Salem’s Horse and Hound Inn, local NAMI Walk team leaders Tamara Lanza and Janet Heneghan echoed those sentiments, with Lanza imploring, “The more we share our experiences with each other, the more we can help each other, and most importantly, those with mental illness.”
For information on what our region’s doing year-round to improve education about, and resources allocated to, mental-health awareness, visit the Mental Health Association of Westchester online.
