Wednesday, November 27, 2024
33.0°F

Over $15,000 raised for NAMI during Cinco de Mayo

by LAUREN REICHENBACH
Staff Writer | June 29, 2024 1:00 AM

SANDPOINT — Over $15,000 has been donated to NAMI Far North’s Sand Creek Clubhouse project this year by the 2024 Leadership Sandpoint class.

These funds were raised at the Cinco de Mayo fundraiser held in downtown Sandpoint in early May, which featured a variety of booths offering music, food, drinks, raffles, an auction and activities the whole family could participate in.

NAMI Far North, the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is nearing its goal of opening the Sand Creek Clubhouse. This facility will provide psychosocial rehabilitation for community members living with serious mental illness in Bonner and Boundary counties, which many mental health professionals are saying is vitally needed in the region.

Serious mental illness accounts for 5-6% of the population, which translates to one in 20 people. In Bonner and Boundary counties, approximately 4,000 community members suffer from serious mental illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar disease, and severe PTSD, among others. These debilitating diseases interrupt a person's life, and negatively impact their relationships as well as their sense of purpose and employment.

Utilizing 37 specific standards and a work-ordered day structure, the Clubhouse will aim to help members recovering from various mental health conditions reestablish three vital elements — people, place and purpose.

"When you have a physical injury, we understand you need time and therapy,” said NAMI Far North president, Dr. Dawn Mehra. “What is not as well understood is that a mental injury takes even more recovery time and support. This is what Clubhouse specializes in.”

The Sand Creek Clubhouse will offer a safe place for those living with serious mental illness to reestablish relationships, community connections and a sense of purpose — especially for those who are rebounding from harrowing psychological breaks.

The facility is an extension of an international group called Clubhouse International, which has created over 300 clubhouses — or out-patient care facilities for those struggling with mental illness — in 30 countries.

Members collaborate with staff and each other on the clubhouse's operations, fostering connection and purpose, said Schweitzer marketing communications manager Taylor Prather. Through this work and employment programs, those struggling with their mental health can heal, reconnect with the community and return to productive, fulfilling lives after isolating mental health challenges.

Thanks to Leadership Sandpoint's donation and community support, NAMI Far North is actively seeking an executive director, Prather said, with a $50,000 goal to launch the clubhouse.

"The community, including police, judges and jail staff, understand this facility is badly needed to decrease hospitalizations and incarcerations,” said Mehra. “There is nothing like this in Bonner or Boundary counties — it will be the first in our state.”

The Leadership Sandpoint class is assembled annually by the Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce. For nine months, accepted participants attend once-monthly, day-long sessions. During those sessions, participants learn new perspectives and approaches to leadership development through immersed experiences supported by instructors and community members.