On Saturday, September 13, 2008, from 6-8 PM, NAMI-CS with Canon City and Pueblo, will be holding its annual Stars of Hope Walk.

If you would like to participate in this worthwhile event please download the registration form here:

REGISTRATION FORM

If you cannot participate in the walk, come by anyway and see the hot air balloon glow or look at art being entered into our consumer contest!

If you would like more info, please call our office at 473-8477

Schedule of Events:
5:00 p.m. - Registration Opens
6:00 p.m. - Opening Ceremony and WALK BEGINS!!
6:30 p.m. - Join us for hot dogs and chips
7:30 p.m. - Awards and Closing Ceremony

Enjoy the following:
* family picnic
* face painting
* hot air balloon glow
* informational booths
* art display: artists with mental illness
* team and individual awards for funds raised
* "celebration of light" closing ceremony

FREE Education for Families & Consumers Who Have Relatives and/or a Significant others with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

A new class has been added to support Our Veterans & their Families Major Depression; Bipolar (Manic-Depressive) Disorder; Borderline Personality Disorder Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder; Panic Disorder; Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; and Co-Occurring Disorders of Substance Abuse and Mental Illness.

A series of classes once a week for 12 weeks will be offered to help family members & consumers understand and support their love one while maintaining their own well-being.

See Flyer Here

On 6 - 8 June 2008, NAMI Colorado Springs held a fundraising event called Ride for the Mind. The Ride was a North American Trail Ride Conference sanctioned event with riders from all over the country participating.

The North American Trail Ride Conference (NATRC) is a national sanctioning body for competitive trail rides in the United States. It is based on philosophies of stimulating the breeding and use of equines possessed of stamina and hardiness for trail riding and to encourage good horsemanship, training and conditioning of these equines.

NATRC has developed a philosophy of competitive trail riding with uniform judging being of paramount importance. Uniformity of rules aids management in conducting rides and makes it easier for judges to evaluate each horse and rider on a more objective basis.

You can view photos from the event here: http://www.namicoloradosprings.org/natrc_gallery/

Amber Main, 19, of NAMI Virginia (Hampton-Newport News) recently was featured in "True Life: I Have Schizophrenia," part of the award-winning MTV documentary series that explores issues affecting young people.

The episode follows Amber’s return to college one year after receiving her schizophrenia diagnosis. Two other young adults, Josh and Ben, are profiled, focusing on Josh's habit of self-medicating with marijuana and Ben's fears of relapse during a difficult time in his family.

NAMI's medical director, Ken Duckworth, M.D., answers questions on the show's internet blog. The blog also includes a bonus story profiling Sarah, a young woman returning from a psychiatric hospital and struggling to regulate her medications at home.

Watch True Life: I Have Schizophrenia

True Life Production Blog

Q&A with Dr. Ken Duckworth

Schizophrenia Fact Sheet

WASHINGTON - The National Council on Disability (NCD) today released a paper entitled Inclusive Livable Communities for People with Psychiatric Disabilities (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2008/LivableCommunities.html), calling on Congress and the Administration to fully include and integrate people with psychiatric disabilities into America’s livable communities. Let people with psychiatric disabilities become part of the American dream.