NAMI California Monthly Newsletter
August 2016

BackFuture2016 NAMI California Annual Conference is almost here!

Join us this week and learn what's new in mental health at the  2016 NAMI California Annual Conference  August 26 & 27 in Burlingame! We have an exciting lineup of sessions focusing on advocacy, criminal justice, consumer and family engagement, transitional age youth, diverse communities, and strengthening NAMI - plus inspirational talks and practical workshops. 

 

Online registration is now closed, but you can still register onsite. Hope we see you there!!! 

TeambriTeam Bri triumphs! 

Team Bri members Brian Lungren, Sr and Alanna Lungren competed in the Ironman Vineman Triathalon to raise funds for services and supports at NAMI California. 

Team Bri is named after Brian Lungren, Jr., "an all-around athlete in his youth" who lives with mental illness. Brian Sr. and Alanna, the sister of Brian Jr., completed the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bicycle ride and 262. mile run in Sonoma County to raise about $5,000 to benefit the organization. 

In total, Team-Bri has raised $45,000 for programs over the past year. Please join us in giving a huge thanks to Team-Bri for their dedication and efforts to making California a better place for everyone living with a mental illness and their families. 

If you'd like more information about Team-Bri, or to make a donation, please click here
ResourcesResources and Help

ABLE Accounts Available in California!

The Treasurer's office is promoting an exciting new program that will enable disabled individuals and their families to save up to $100,000 without jeopardizing their social security.    

The  ABLE Act-(Achieving a Better Life Experience), allows people with disabilities and their families to open tax-free savings accounts without fear of losing vital government assistance. An ABLE account is a tax-advantaged savings account that can be established for the benefit of qualified individuals with disabilities. Contributions to the account, currently limited to $14,000 per year, can be made by family, friends, or the beneficiary themselves. 

The account's earnings are allowed to accumulate tax-free, and the withdrawals, provided they are applied to qualifying disability expenses, are tax-free. One of the biggest benefits of the ABLE account is that the savings held in the account, up to a current $100,000 limit, is not counted against the $2,000 limit on personal assets for individuals to qualify for public benefits.

ProgramsNAMI News and Information for Affiliates
Reporting NAMI Education Program Data

Reporting the data collected from classes, support groups and trainings to the NAMI Data Collection Site is extremely important. Reporting helps NAMI California provide more data to obtain funding so that we can provide trainings for NAMI's Signature Programs. We understand that navigating the reporting site can be challenging, but we are here to help if any assistance is needed with navigating the Data Collection Site. If you have any questions or need any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact NAMI California at (916) 567-0163.
 
Need to Report NAMI Class or Training Data?  Please follow this link: www.nami.org/programdata

 
Welcome Amberly Sabado!

Amberly Sabado is our new Family & Peer Programs Coordinator at NAMI California. After graduating from the University of California, Riverside with a B.A. in Sociology and Women's Studies, Amberly moved to San Diego to work with an assertive community treatment program, Catalyst San Diego.  She has also worked in the social services field providing job training to underemployed communities and crisis intervention and case management for youth housing program before joining NAMI California.

She is extremely excited to be a part of such an amazing organization and to work with all of our affiliates in providing program support and promoting mental health awareness in California. Amberly will be working with the following programs: Family-to-Family, Family Support Group, Basics, Peer-to-Peer, Connection & Homefront. She can be reached by email at [email protected] and by phone at (916) 567-0163 x 101.
Family Support Group Facilitators and Coordinators

Thank you to those who participated in the very productive webinar last Thursday. We had 80 participants, many of whom contributed to the valuable group wisdom shared around common challenges that arise in group.

Thank you and we look forward to connecting with you again soon!

Family-to-Family Teachers and Trainers

Thank you to those who joined our NAMI Family-to-Family webinar on August 10th. We are thrilled to report that we had 93 people on the call despite some technical glitches!
  • The PowerPoint and the Agenda for the NAMI Greater Orlando event discussed by the presenter are attached.
  • For those who were unable to join us, you can access the recorded webinar at this link: https://nami.adobeconnect.com/p91githtlst/
  •  We look forward to connecting with you on the next TA call October 19th at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Send Inquiries To:

 
NAMI California Office:  (916) 567-0163 


We welcome your submissions for the NAMI California monthly newsletter. We look for articles from our affiliates and members across the state that highlight the best of what's happening in California.  Please keep the length of your submission to 250 words or less, and include a contact name, email and phone number in case we need to reach you for more information. We love photos, so please send a picture if you have one. We regret that we cannot publish all submissions, and we reserve the right to edit all content.
  
Email your submissions to [email protected]. Thank you, and we look forward to hearing from you!
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