What do 26 percent of homeless adults, 20 percent of state prisoners, 70 percent of youth in juvenile justice systems and one in four American adults have in common? They all are affected by mental illness.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), a grass-roots, self-help, education, support and advocacy organization founded by two Wisconsin moms in 1979, defines mental illness as “a medical condition that disrupts a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning.” Such conditions “are not the result of personal weakness, lack of character or poor upbringing,” NAMI points out. It’s unfortunate that much stigma is attached to mental illness and seeking help to address it, when in reality mental illnesses are treatable, and recovery is possible.
The Board of Christian Social Action invites the public to learn facts about mental illness, its impact on our country and what we all can do to help with an informational presentation by NAMI. Free and open to all, the event will occur this Thursday, March 13, at 6:30 p.m. in Plymouth Congregational Church’s Waveland Hall, 4126 Ingersoll Ave. in Des Moines.
