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5/27/2022

NAMI Ramsey County 2021 Accomplishments

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NAMI Ramsey County NAMIWalks team, 2021
NAMI Ramsey County NAMIWalks team, 2021
NAMI Ramsey County President’s Annual Meeting Report for June 2021-May 2022 Accomplishments (Fiscal Year 2021)

1. Programs:  
  • Hosted a well-attended fall program with an illustrious panel discussion on Early Signs of Mental Illness in Children.
  • Despite NAMI Minnesota canceling the in-person NAMIWalks event, we held a smaller walk at Como Park.
  • Hosts a monthly Book Club.
  • Hosted a well-attended Holiday Party for NAMI Ramsey members and volunteers, with a catered dinner, bingo, and door prizes.
  • Worked with a Ramsey County administrator to host a presentation about county services and conducted a listening session on Accessing Ramsey County Mental Health Services. The Ramsey County Adult Mental Health Advisory Council co-sponsored. Over 40 people attended and shared stories.
  • Co-hosted a St. Paul Human Rights Commission Housing Accommodation training.
  • Hosted a spring program about employment, Can I Get a Job If I Have A Mental Illness? A panel consisting of 3 county employment staff, the director of Vail Clubhouses, and a Clubhouse client spoke.
  • Planned a May tour of Vail Clubhouse to kick off our advocacy for a Clubhouse International in Ramsey County.
  • Planned a June Summer Picnic for NAMI Ramsey members and volunteers, with music, bean bag toss, door prizes, and catered picnic food.

2. Action: 
  • Invited Department of Health representatives to a board meeting to give our input about implementing 9-8-8.
  • Had a board member liaison to NAMI Minnesota Legislative Committee.
  • Invited the NAMI Minnesota lobbyist to a board meeting where we gave timely input on legislative priorities.
  • Mental Health Day on the Hill at the Capitol.
  • Initiated a terrific MinnPost article about our exemplary, active affiliate.
  • Scheduling meetings with individual county commissioners and staff to share our County Services Listening Session Report.
  • Initiating monitoring local government agendas for possible mental health advocacy.
  • Two board members are liaisons to Ramsey County Adult Mental Health Advisory Council and worked to make it more viable.

3. Organization:
  • Our board continues to grow: we recruited five new board members, have three advisors, and added diversity to the board.
  • Board member Debbi Gunsell leads a NAMI Connections peer support group. 
  • Initiated a consent agenda so we could use board time for major discussions and action.
  • Maintains a standing board agenda item to discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion and to monitor our progress.
  • Appointed board committees for planning each of our programs, the holiday party and summer picnic, and for nominations, the budget, and bylaws.
  • Help fund our fantastic NAMI Minnesota staff liaison who works with us and volunteers to produce the beautiful NAMI Ramsey County website, e-newsletters (monthly, volunteer, and NAMIWalks), and social media pages for Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook (page and volunteer group).
  • Partner with the Ramsey County Children’s Mental Health Collaborative and contribute to their hospital backpack program.
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Author: Mindy Greiling

Mindy was a state representative for 20 years, served on state and national NAMI boards, and is the author of Fix What You Can, a book about her legislative work and her family's story about her son's schizo-affective disorder. She was president of NAMI Ramsey County from June 2020 - May 2022.

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5/6/2022

May's Book Club: "It's Kind of a Funny Story"

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Photo of St. Paul Public Library
Photo by Christa Rittberg
In the book, It’s Kind Of A Funny Story by Ned Vizzini, the protagonist Craig went through a bout of depression. While in the hospital, he discovers that he has tentacles and anchors. His tentacles are the things that bring him down, and the anchors are a solid force in his life. Some of the tentacles are his friends and his high school, and his anchors are his family and his art. 

Craig worked hard to get into a high school, but after he got in, he realized the work load was too much. After the hospital, Craig decided to attend another high school. In the discussion, we discussed the stress that Craig put himself under while attending the pre-executive high school. One of our book club attendees talked about how high school is a place where people tend to not leave unless something bad happens. 

Craig had a friend named Nia, who was dating his best friend. The book club discussed that she had positive and negative qualities. She was on medication and helped Craig not feel alone, but she also tried to use Craig.

In the book, Craig got numbers from people in the hospital, and the group talked about how he was put into an adult ward because the adolescent unit was being renovated. The book club talked about how the adults in the unit were positive influences, and Craig may have struggled in a teen unit.

The club thought that the catalyst for his change was making art. In the story, Craig created art for other patients, and he found a purpose for his life. A member of our discussion group thought the book was a good description of depression, and people who hadn’t had the struggle would understand it better.

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Author: Brandt Schubbe

Brandt is co-chair of the Book Club Planning Committee and manages NAMI Ramsey County's Facebook volunteer group, NAMI Ramsey County Volunteers.

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  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • What We Do
    • LEADERSHIP >
      • Our Board
      • Committees
    • Mental Illnesses
    • Press
    • COVID-19
  • FIND SUPPORT
    • SUPPORT GROUPS
    • RESOURCES
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Book Club
    • NAMIWalks
    • Summer Picnic
    • Day on the Hill
  • GET INVOLVED
    • VOLUNTEER
    • BECOME A MEMBER
  • Blog
  • Donate
  • Book Club