By Claudia Loucks
Geneseo Current

The upcoming NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program will begin Sept. 19 in the Matthew 25 Center at the Geneseo-Atkinson Food Pantry. The course is provided at no charge to family members and caregivers of an individual living with a mental health condition who is over the age of 18.

The course, to be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, from Sept. 19 through Nov. 7, is an eight-session nationally-developed program for those supporting an adult living with Major Depression, Bi-Polar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder.

An explanation of the course states: “The course is taught by trained family members who have many of the same experiences you may be going through. Course participants describe this program as life changing. Join the thousands of families who have gained information, insight, understanding, and empowerment from attending this NAMI signature program.”

Online registration for the program is available at https://bit.ly/3Oxj0Wh, or by calling 563-386-7477, ext. 266, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The program is made possible by grants from the Henry County Mental Health 708 Board & the Henry County Mental Health Alliance.

Course topics Include:

-Family response to trauma.

-Diagnosis & dealing with critical periods.

-Conditions & co-occurring brain addictive disorders.

-The biology of the brain; emerging scientific discoveries.

-Problem solving workshop.

-Medication review.

-Understanding the inner experience of having a mental health condition.

-Communication skills workshop.

-Self-care, relative group testimony.

-Rehabilitation; services available.

The course is hosted by the Geneseo-Atkinson Food Pantry and the Geneseo IMPACT (Integrated Model Police And Crisis Team - to address mental health/substance use/crisis intervention) Task Force. IMPACT stands for Integrated Model Police And Crisis Team - to address mental health/substance use/crisis intervention.

In asking Michael Sigwalt, director of the Geneseo-Atkinson Food Pantry, to comment regarding the upcoming NAMI program and why IMPACT reached out to the Geneseo-Atkinson Food Pantry for the NAMI program, he said, “Geneseo’s Police Department Integrated Model Police and Crisis Team (IMPACT) is designed to put a focus on community issues relating to mental health, substance use and crisis intervention.”

“At Geneseo-Atkinson Food Pantry (GAFP), we’ve long recognized if our pantry guests are visiting us for food, then they probably have other issues they need to deal with as well. ‘Hunger’ is just a symptom of a much larger problem. If all we ever did was hand out food, then we would essentially treat the symptom but unwittingly would be ignoring the other issues in our guests’ lives. Additionally, we believe hunger in our community is a community problem. It’s not an ‘us-vs.-them’ concern, but a concern for everyone in the community! With this awareness, we had started the Matthew 25 Center, which is a resource hub designed to address some of the other concerns our guests may have in their lives. And to the extent we can, we try to make our programs open to the entire community since the work we do is a community concern.”

In setting up the Matthew 25 Center, Sigwalt said it was decided to set up the programs offered on the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH https://www.cdc.gov/about/sdoh/index.html or https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health)...”SDOH provides a more holistic view toward a person’s sense of well-being/health, and is based on the five domains: economic stability; education access; healthcare access; neighborhood environment, and; social/community context.”

Sigwalt said, “Working collaboratively with IMPACT and NAMI fits well in the social/community domain. Providing the NAMI Family-to-Family program at GAFP also fits very well in the SDOH construct under healthcare access; particularly since, according to the National Rural Health Association as reported by the Rural Health Information ‘the following factors are particular challenges to the provisions of mental health services in rural communities: Accessibility, Availability, Affordability, Acceptability’.”

“NAMI helps fill the void to some of the challenges listed,” he added. “By supporting the work of NAMI in our community, then we are also supporting the work and focus of the Geneseo Police Department’s IMPACT program. The three organizations (NAMI, IMPACT and GAFP), by working together, are helping to strengthen our community. (We’re forming community by working together!) So having the NAMI Family-to-Family program offered at the Matthew 25 Center simply seemed like the natural thing to do”

In 2022 Detective Jamie Shoemaker of the Geneseo Police Department began working to set up a mental health task force within the police department, and it was while she was working in the community and as a result of her training with crisis intervention that she realized more than just help for mental health was needed.

“During trainings it was brought to my attention that a person who suffers form mental illness can turn to substance use to self medicate, therefore making our task force not just about mental illness, but also substance use as well as crisis intervention. Every person we work with has different needs and different resources they need to help them.”

She said it has taken some time to collect a list of resources – whether it is for inpatient substance use detox, inpatient patient mental health, therapy, food, and possibly housing.

“One of IMPACT’s focuses is to collaborate with multiple businesses, churches and resources within our community,” she added. “We are so grateful for our collaboration with Mike and the Geneseo-Atkinson Food Pantry.”