It’s a fundraiser “fore” highlighting mental health: National Alliance on Mental Illness Southern Arizona presents Swing for a Cause — Tee Up for Mental Health Awareness on Saturday, Aug. 31, at Topgolf Tucson.
“We wanted to have an event that raises money and also gets us out more in the community. We need to bring people together with opportunities to get to know one another and create a community where discussions about mental health are stigma-free. We are also trying to make it fun, and we wanted to do it in collaboration with recognizing the people who have worked so hard for NAMIWalks Southern Arizona,” said Briana Felix, executive director of NAMI Southern Arizona.
The nonprofit, which is dedicated to helping people of all ages find help and hope for mental illness, successfully raised more than $150,000 at its spring walk and seeks to raise at least $10,000 at the summer golf event.
Funds support a range of programs that are free to the public, including a NAMI Basics course that serves parents and caregivers of adolescents living with mental health conditions; and Peer-to-Peer, a course for people with mental health conditions led by peers. Other programs include Family-to-Family, in which family members provide tools to the loved ones of those affected by mental illness; and In Your Own Voice, in which adults present their lived experiences to other adults. It also offers an advocacy department that provides case management and connects community members with other resources.
A local NAMI priority is an expansion of the Ending the Silence suicide prevention program for middle school and high school youth, according to Felix. Ending the Silence presentations take place in schools and are taught by a trained team that includes a young adult living in recovery with a diagnosable mental health condition.
Felix said this population is particularly vulnerable: An estimated 49.5% of adolescents have had a mental health disorder at some point in their lives, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“We want to focus on younger kids and want to make sure that we at NAMI are building resilient families. Through Ending the Silence, we want to incorporate programs for the entire family,” said Felix.
The goal is to offer wrap-around services such as NAMI Basics and Peer-to-Peer to at-risk families, with schools as the point of contact.
“In a lot of these schools, these kiddos have challenging family dynamics and other hardships and school may be our best chance to reach them and offer this support,” said Felix.
Felix said that through the program, students can essentially become ambassadors for mental health. Partnerships with entities such as the University of Arizona Psychology Department and Project Future, local school districts, and various social service agencies enable participants to access additional support.
“If a student has a lived experience, they can undergo free Peer-to-Peer training and we can give them the direct experience of working with community members. This strengthens the community and can set them up to have their foot in the door for a behavioral health career ... we are kind of working in employment and training, if you will,” said Felix.
She emphasized that NAMI Southern Arizona is also working closely with the Pima County Crisis Intervention Team to enhance public education on the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which provides free, confidential 24-hour phone access to a counselor.
“If you are having a mental health crisis or are suicidal, a counselor can talk with you on the phone one-on-one and help you through the situation. Anyone can dial 988 to talk with counselors directly instead of starting with law enforcement,” said Felix.
For more information or to make an online donation to the cause, visit namisa.org or call 520-622-5582.
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