In This Email:

Ask The Doctor Hour & NAMI Wichita Support Groups - August 19, 2025
Slido - Ask questions anonymously for 'Ask the Doctor'
Support Groups upcoming changes
Upcoming Virtual NAMI Peer-to-Peer Class - Registration Open
Upcoming In Person NAMI Family-to-Family Class - Registration NOW OPEN
NAMI Wichita Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities and New Board Member Application
Upcoming Event calendars - August and September

Ask The Doctor Hour and

NAMI Wichita Support Groups

Join us on Tuesday, August 19, in person at 1010 N. Main, Wichita. (The location of Breakthrough Club/ESS) for our NAMI Wichita Ask the Doctor Hour at 6 PM and Support Groups at 7 PM.

ASK THE DOCTOR HOUR will still be available via Zoom. PLEASE EMAIL DAVID E LARSON or TARA GWYNN TO RECEIVE THE ZOOM LINK. Virtual participants will be able to ask questions through the Zoom chat or via the Slido link (please see below for details).

NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group will continue to be hybrid for this month only. For our Peers who cannot attend the Connection Support in person, PLEASE EMAIL DAVID E LARSON or TARA GWYNN TO RECEIVE THE ZOOM LINK.

NAMI Family Support Group will continue to be in-person only.

SLIDO - Anonymous Question Platform

Slido is an easy-to-use, FREE platform that allows users to anonymously ask questions during the Ask the Doctor Hour, whether you are participating through Zoom or are attending in-person. You do not need to download anything or sign in to anything.

How does it work?

Every month, the meeting reminder will include a link: August Ask the Doctor Slido Link and a QR Code (See above). Follow the link or the QR Code. Enter your question and hit send!

How soon can I start asking questions?

As soon as you have that month's link or QR Code, you can start asking questions to be answered by the Doctor. We will also have the QR Code available during the meeting for people to use from their smartphones during the meeting. Just be aware that the questions will only be answered during the meeting and you must be in attendance virtually or in person to hear the answer from the doctor.

I don't want to use the link or QR Code. Can I still ask questions in person?

Yes! You are still free to ask questions verbally during the event. As we gain new attendees to Ask the Doctor Hour, we want to provide an avenue for them to ask questions if they are uncomfortable doing so around strangers. We also know that sometimes people don't want their personal situation known to others. Using Slido provides them with the means to get their questions answered anonymously. Virtual attendees can also still use Zoom chat.

UPCOMING CHANGES TO

NAMI WICHITA'S SUPPORT GROUPS

STARTING SEPTEMBER 2025

As many of you may know, all of our support groups have been growing! Additionally, many of you and the community at large as requested that NAMI Wichita create additional support groups so there are more options than once or twice a month as well as a non-evening option. Further, our current situation of offering hybrid (both in-person and virtual together) support groups has become untenable. To address each of these needs, we will be making some changes to our support group schedule starting in August 2025.

CONNECTION RECOVERY AND FAMILY SUPPORT GROUPS

Starting in SEPTEMBER 2025, the Connection Recovery Support Group that meets on the 3rd Tuesday will become an IN-PERSON ONLY support group. They will still meet at Breakthrough Club at 7:00pm after "Ask the Doctor Hour"*. Family Support Group will remain in-person only.

We will be ADDING a VIRTUAL ONLY Connection Recovery Support Group and Family Support Group on the 1st Tuesday starting September 2. These groups will meet at 10:00 a.m. via Zoom.

We will be sending out a reminder email with the Zoom link just like we do with all of our other recurring monthly meetings. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend the virtual Connection Recovery and Family Support Groups every 1st Tuesday morning!

*(Ask the Doctor Hour will still be a hybrid meeting - in person with a Zoom option).

NAMI Virtual Peer-to-Peer Registration Open!

Class runs Thursdays, August 28 - October 16

NAMI IN PERSON Family-to-Family

Registration Open!

Class runs Saturdays, Oct. 4 - Nov. 22

NAMI Wichita's Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities

NAMI Wichita runs on volunteers! We have multiple different opportunities available, some short term, some long term. If you don't see anything you are interested in below, please reach out to discuss further. If you are interested in helping out, or would like more information on any of these opportunities please fill out this: NAMI Wichita Volunteer Interest Form.

Tabling event volunteers. We are looking for tabling volunteers for the upcoming tabling events in September:

September 10: 11 am - 1 pm - Newman University Mental Health Fair (1-2 people)
September 13: 9:30 am - Noon - Mulvane Mental Health Walk (3-4 people, shifts available)
September 27: 10 am - Noon - Hope Fest at WSU* (4-6 people needed)
September 28: 10 am - 4pm - Open Streets ICT - Douglas* (8-10 people, shifts available)

*Highlight denotes extra help will be needed as we will be making Calming Bottles in addition to a Resource table.

Signature Program Leaders. We are looking for signature program leaders! Are you interested in becoming a Family Support Group or Connection Recovery Support Group facilitator? Are you interested in becoming a Family-to-Family program leader? We have upcoming trainings for these in demand volunteer positions!

New Pilot Program for Middle School/High School Students. NAMI Wichita has recently received a grant as part of a pilot program called "Creative MindSets" geared toward our middle school and high school aged students. We are looking for a few people interested in assisting us with planning, running, advertising, etc. for the implementation of this program throughout the next 12 months.

Coalition Liaisons. NAMI Wichita has the opportunity to be a part of a variety of local coalitions focused on a variety of topics where mental health plays a role, such as the Sedgwick County Suicide Prevention Coalition, Veteran Service Providers of Sedgwick County, Coalition on Aging, the Health and Wellness Coalition, and many more. Ideally, we would have 2 volunteers for each of the committees.

Committee Volunteers. The Board of Directors has many different committees that do the organizing and planning for events. These committees include event planning, fundraising, and more. Some committees are long term, others are for specific events. You do NOT need to be a dues paying member to be on a committee, but must be willing to attending regularly scheduled meetings and assist with the event(s) planned.

NAMI WICHITA IS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR BOARD MEMBERS!

CLICK HERE FOR THE APPLICATION

If you have any questions about the contents of this NAMI Wichita weekly update, please contact:

Tara Gwynn

NAMI Wichita Executive Director

t.gwynn@namiwichita.org

Resource Line: 316-686-1373

https://www.namiwichita.org