It’s no joke: April Fool’s Day in Tucson will feature several walks to raise funds — and promote awareness — about health-related causes.
On Saturday, April 1, NAMIWalks Southern Arizona seeks to raise at least $150,000 to benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Southern Arizona, which is dedicated to helping people of all ages find help and hope for mental illness.
The need is great: One in five Americans experience mental illness manifesting in conditions such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and more. In 2020, suicide was the second-leading cause of death among people ages 10 to 24 and 25 to 34, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
“Suicide rates have gone up quite a bit, even among kids as young as 6. It is unbelievable to realize that kids can feel that desperate even before they are teens. The isolation of the past few years was rough on everyone, and it seems like younger kids and older adults age 50-plus were really affected. We want to keep reaching out to them and provide support,” said Christina Bickelmann, executive director of NAMI Southern Arizona.
NAMI support programs include Peer-to-Peer, a course for people with mental health conditions led by peers; Family-to-Family, in which family members provide tools to the loved ones of those affected by mental illness; and In Our Own Voice, in which adults present their lived experiences to other adults. Other offerings include NAMI Basics, a course for parents and caregivers of adolescents living with mental health conditions; suicide prevention presentations; and Ending the Silence for middle school and high school students.
Ending the Silence presentations are taught by a trained team that includes a young adult living in recovery with a diagnosable mental health condition. Over the last fiscal year, the program doubled in size, resulting in more than 6,700 youth served. In December, it received a $388,000 grant from Angel Charity for Children to fund one year of presentations — up to 40 monthly — in Tucson schools.
NAMI programs can be life-changing, according to volunteer Lyn Lieby, who has struggled with anxiety, depression and other mental health diagnoses since age 12.
“It is a really challenging world and my heart bleeds for children with mental health issues who have try to navigate them without support. NAMI has a plethora of resources at no cost for people with mental health diagnoses and their families and I recommend they get connected. There is definitely something that can be done to help with their struggles,” said Lieby.
Lieby also recommends that the public participate in the upcoming walk.
“There are many people out there struggling and the walk is so empowering. It helps people to realize they aren’t alone and they don’t need to be isolated. It works to end the stigma about mental illness and connect people and is a great resource,” said Lieby.
Another fundraiser offering resources on April 1 is Walk the Loop for Lupus at Reid Park. Supporters hope to raise $25,000 to aid those dealing with the challenges of lupus, an autoimmune disease in which the immune system forms antibodies against its own cells and tissues. The resulting inflammation is characterized by wide-ranging symptoms such as skin rashes; arthritis-like swelling of joints; neurological disorders; pleuritis or pericarditis; renal and blood disorders; extreme fatigue; hair loss and more. Lupus can be difficult to diagnose and there is no cure, but treatments to manage symptoms are available for people with the disease.
“I have started using the phrase ‘people with lupus’ instead of ‘lupus patients,’ since it is important for people to know that these are people who just happen to have lupus. I want to change the language a bit,” said Sharon Joseph, president and CEO of the Lupus Foundation of Southern Arizona.
More than 1.5 million Americans are living with the disease and an estimated 16,000 new cases are diagnosed annually.
Joseph is reaching out to those in Southern Arizona through presentations to local churches, clinics and small groups. She also hopes to raise the profile of the Lupus Foundation with a new meeting location at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona campus at 5049 E. Broadway.
“Traffic to the Lupus Foundation office during COVID was negligible. In order to make better use of resources and reduce our overhead, we changed our business to a remote operation. As a member of the Community Foundation campus, we have functional and welcoming spaces to meet and gather. We can avail ourselves of their resources with an opportunity to engage with other nonprofits. It has been a positive experience,” said Joseph.
Upcoming gatherings include Coffee Talk at 5:30 p.m. on April 5, as well as June 7, Aug. 2, Oct. 4 and Dec. 6. Quarterly Living with Lupus meetings will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. on May 20, Aug. 19 and Nov. 16.
Adolescent mental health has become a topic of growing concern. Crisis episodes related to mental illness can feel incredibly overwhelming, especially for youth. A mental health crisis can look different for everyone and some may experience no warning signs of a crisis.
