In This Email:

Ask The Doctor Hour & NAMI Wichita Support Groups - July 15, 2025
Slido - Ask questions anonymously for 'Ask the Doctor'
Rooted in Strength - July 19, 2025
Volunteers Needed - Rooted in Strength - July 19, 2025
Support Groups upcoming changes
Upcoming Events calendars

Ask The Doctor Hour and

NAMI Wichita Support Groups

Join us on Tuesday, July 15, 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 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.

All programs are FREE to attend!

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: July 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.

Rooted in Strength:

Honoring Emotional Fitness Through Community and Culture - July 19, 2025

The event will be in Room 180 of the WSU Metroplex which is located in the southeast corner of the building. Attendees, please enter through door "N" with the covered walk-way. This is a family-friendly event. Come-and-go or stay for the entire event! See below and the flyer for more information.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

11:45 a.m. - Doors Open

12:00 p.m. - Welcoming Remarks - Eric Hargrave

12:15 - 1:00 p.m. - Session 1: Shattering Stigma: Open Conversations on Emotional Fitness

Panelists: Bernestine Williams, Winnia Sithideth, Ngoc Vuong, Elizabeth Brunscheen-Cartagena

1:00 - 1:30 p.m. - Break - Resource Tables, Activity Tables, Door Prize Giveaways

Music from Handpan Dan

1:30 - 2:30 p.m. - Session 2: Therapy Uncovered: Breaking Myths and Finding Support (Audience Q&A included)

Panelists: Jamaal Jones, Yeni Silva-Renteria, Dr. Rhonda Lewis

2:30 - 3:00 p.m. - Break - Resource Tables, Activity Tables, Door Prize Giveaways

Music from Handpan Dan

3:00 - 4:00 p.m. - Session 3: From Symptoms to Solutions: Expert Answers on Mental Health Care (Audience Q&A session)*

Panelists: Dr. Htet Htet Lin, Dr. Hiba Abualama, Dr. Alisha Sapkota, Dr. Rojal Rijal

*Styled after NAMI Wichita's monthly "Ask the Doctor Hour"

RESOURCE TABLES

FREE ACTIVITY TABLES

Calming Bottles
Gratitude Journals
Photo Booth
Kid's Coloring Corner

FREE GIVEAWAYS

NAMI Wichita Swag Bags (until supplies run out)
Door Prizes (must be present to win) including:
Texas Roadhouse gift basket
Self Care gift basket
Jewelry by Soul Sisters Custom Designs
Game On gift card
and much, much more!!

NAMI WICHITA UPCOMING

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

(please reply to this email if interested!)

NAMI Wichita runs on volunteers! We are looking for Rooted in Strength volunteers! We have a variety of opportunities and areas were we need assistance:

Gratitude Journal table (1 spot)
Photo Booth (1 spot)
Microphone Runners for Q&A during Sessions 2 and 3 (1 spot)
Door Greeters (2-3 spots)
Kids' Coloring Corner (2-3 spots)
Set up assistance (2+ spots) (11:00 a.m. start time)
Tear down assistance (2+ spots) (4:00 p.m. start time)

If you are interested in helping out, even for a partial shift, please contact Tara Gwynn at t.gwynn@namiwichita.org with your name, phone number, and where you would be able to help out, and if you plan on staying for the entire event or what hours you are available. Please also include the same information for anyone else in your family/group that will be volunteering as well! You do not need to be a NAMI Wichita member to volunteer.

UPCOMING CHANGES TO

NAMI WICHITA'S SUPPORT GROUPS

STARTING AUGUST 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.

SHARE AND CARE SUPPORT GROUPS

Starting in AUGUST 2025, the Share and Care Support Group that meets on the 4th Tuesday will become an IN-PERSON ONLY support group. They will still meet at the College Hill United Methodist Church at 6:30pm.

We will be ADDING a VIRTUAL ONLY Share and Care Support Group on the 2nd Tuesday starting August 12. This group will meet at 6:30 p.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 Share and Care Support Group every 2nd Tuesday!

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).

Please note that you do not have to choose one over another support group with these changes! If you want to attend a support group every week, we would love to have you!!

Last note, as our support groups grow, so does our need for additional support group facilitators! By creating 3 new support groups, we are stretching our current facilitator pool quite thin. Simply volunteering 2-4 hours a month, whether you are a peer or a family member, will help us keep providing the much needed support groups we are currently offering. To start the conversation about what it takes to become a support group facilitator, please respond to this email with your interest.

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