As groups throughout Henry County and surrounding areas continue to establish best practices to address the region’s dire physical health outlook, at least one group is looking to improve the area’s mental health outcomes.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness, a national nonprofit with 14 satellite chapters across Virginia, is setting up shop in Martinsville to provide mental health services to Southside communities, while advocating for better laws relating to mental health.
“We support, we educate and we advocate for people who are experiencing mental illness and the families and caregivers of people experiencing mental illness,” said NAMI spokesperson Michael Ward, adding that Southside communities are often overlooked relative to other Virginia communities NAMI operates in. “NAMI is a tremendous resource. They have all kinds of support and educational programs.”
NAMI was founded in 1979. Its arrival in Martinsville coincides with a healthful living initiative led by the Equity Collaborative, a group of citizens and local officials trying to establish best practices for improving community health across all demographics. Last year, their efforts ramped up following the publication of a pair of health surveys highlighting a number of community health gaps.
“From my perspective, having the National Association of Mental Illness coming to Martinsville is much needed and appreciated,” said Nancy Bell, the Virginia Department of Health’s population health manager. “I hope that we can find ways to work together, as we face many challenges. We certainly will share our primary and secondary data on the issue with them at their request.”
NAMI operates in communities across the country, working with families and individuals to provide counseling while helping participants understand their own illnesses and those of others. Ward, a former participant in NAMI’s Roanoke affiliate, said the program had a significant impact on his family, which is why he decided to work with the organization.
“They have a good program,” Ward said. “We started going there … around eight years ago.”
Ward described it as a 10-week class that he and his wife attended.
“We dive into how we talk to, approach and care for [people with mental illness] better,” Ward said. “There was a part of the class where someone would talk in our ear while we were trying to hold a conversation, it kind of simulated what it was like to have voices in your head when you are trying to live daily life. Folks got emotional because they finally understood what their loved ones were going through.”
The creation of a Martinsville affiliate was months in the making, according to Ward. The local NAMI steering committee applied in the spring and received word in November from the statewide organization. While they will begin working under the auspices of the state association, they hope to achieve nonprofit status in the coming months with an all-volunteer group. Their offices will be located in the Baldwin Building at 191 Fayette St. in Martinsville.
In the meantime, they plan to begin their work with their first family support meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Baldwin Building. Meetings are free and confidential. Ward said in the months they have spent trying to establish the affiliate site they have noted that the need for mental health work in the area is multifaceted.
“The more we got to talking with people in this area, the more we learned that there is a need,” Ward said. “This area, Southside, is kind of lacking. There’s really not many [mental health organizations] between Danville, Martinsville and Patrick County area.”
Ward cited factors like the area’s homelessness problem or financial hardships.
“A lot of people in the area are hurting and not knowing where to go,” Ward said.
Ward said that while he hopes the initial event will be successful, he also understands that there is a stigma with mental illness, and understands that some might not be willing to accept they or their loved ones might have a problem.
“We are all about ending the stigma,” Ward said. “I get that, years ago things were swept under the rug and things weren’t talked about. Now we’re trying to get past that because there is hope for people experiencing mental illness to live a healthy life. It doesn’t help when people have a negative connotation to it.”
