NAMI trying to erase the stigma associated with mental illness and suicide prevention

There has been a big push by the Governor and Lieutenant Governor recently to raise the bar on suicide prevention and awareness. Some of the data in Utah has the governor’s office and lawmakers concerned about some of the trends being seen.

There are many resources out there, but according to Nick Cornwell from the Cache Valley Chapter of NAMI (which stands for National Alliance for Mental Illness) many times sufferers and families of those suffering do not know what is out there to help.

“What NAMI offers are peer education programs. These programs are taught by volunteers who have been trained either at the state level…I was trained by a national representative who came here to Utah”, said Cornwell.

On KVNU’s For the People program on Monday, Cornwell said the programs they offer right now include Family to Family, which is 12 weeks long. It’s designed for family members who have someone with a diagnosed brain disorder. Among the other programs is Peer to Peer, a 10 week course taught by individuals who have a biological brain disorder. Plus there is ongoing family support.

He said many people don’t want to seek help because of the stigma involved with mental illness or brain disorders. Cornwell said he was encouraged though when Lt Governor Spencer Cox spoke about problems he encountered as a teenager being bullied and he said for a time he considered suicide.

Cornwell says the message that NAMI wants to promote is ‘Don’t be ashamed’ . He said it’s very important for families and parents to understand that they can reach out for help. For more information: www.namicachevalley.org or call (435)787-4165.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I agree to these terms.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.