NAMI Mercer CalendarFor regular support meetings, see Page 8

PU B L I C ED U C A T I O N ME E T I N G S

A T T H E NAMI CE N T E R

Jan. 18 (Tuesday)7:30 to 9 p.m.

Help that Hurts, Help that HelpsDr. Loren CrabtreeProject Transition in Chalfont, PA

Learn how to communicate withyour friend or relative with mentalillness in a constructive, caring way.

Feb. 15 (Tuesday) 7:30 to 9 p.m.

Special Needs TrustsPlanning for the long-term futurecare of your relative with mentalillness.

Mar. 15 (Tuesday)7:30 to 9 p.m.

Feeling Emotionally Healthy inthe Golden Years

Abbie KatzGreater Trenton Behavioral

HealthCare Senior Wellbeing Program

A presentation on aging and themental health needs of olderadults.

NAMI Mercer is pleased toannounce that the Grammy-nominated Bill Charlap Trio

will perform a benefit concert for ourninth annual Night Out with NAMI onJan. 9, 2011 at the College of NewJersey (TCNJ) in Ewing. This event isone of our organization’s major fundrais-ers, generating resources to sustainNAMI Mercer’s free education and sup-port programs.

Charlap, regarded as one of theworld’s premiere jazz pianists, hasappeared with the most acclaimed musi-cians and vocalists of our time. He willbe accompanied by Kenny Washingtonon drums and Sean Smith on bass.Together, they will perform jazz classicsbased on popular works by renownedAmerican composers who have beenaffected by mental illness. They includeCole Porter, George Gershwin, andLeonard Bernstein.

NAMI Mercer has selected Denice

Torres, president and CEO of JanssenPharmaceutica, as our honorary eventchair. Under her leadership, Janssenhas loyally and generously sponsoredNAMI Mercer events, hosted ourNAMIWalk kick-off luncheons andformed strong Walk teams to fight stig-ma.

Night Out will begin at 3:00 p.m. inTCNJ’s Music Building. A gala dinnerand silent auction at Eickhoff Hall willfollow the concert. By popular demand,Thursday Night Jazz will be back to pro-vide entertainment during the recep-tion. This trio of young musicians willperform a mix of fusion, funk, blues,pop, and smooth jazz from contempo-rary and traditional artists such asDuke Ellington and George Gershwin.

The ticket price for the concert is $49;the price for both concert and dinner is$165. You also can support Night Out bymaking a donation, sponsoring theevent, or advertising in our program.

December 2010 Published by NAMI Mercer NJ, Inc. www. n a m i m e rc e r. o rg Vol. 28, No. 4

Jazzing it up at Night OutOur Mission

NAMI Mercer is a nonprofit organization of individuals

and families working to improve the lives of those affected by mental

illness through education, advocacy and mutual support.

NIGHT OUT WITH NAMIThe Bill Charlap Trio will perform jazz classics based on works by renowned American composerswho have been affected by mental illness. Charlap, widely considered one of the world’s best jazzpianists, has earned two Grammy nominations for his CDs “Somewhere” and “The Bill CharlapTrio Live at the Village Vanguard.”

Concert at 3 p.m., The Music Building, dinner/auction at 5:30 p.m., The College of New Jersey.Tickets: $49 for concert; $165 for concert and dinner.Contact 609-799-8994 or www.namimercer.org.

From left: Bill Charlapon piano,Kenny Washington on drums and Sean Smith on bass.

See bios on Page 2

Dear NAMI Mercer Friends andM e m b e r s ,

NAMI Mercer is a membershiporganization. We originated as a grass-roots effort and are sustained by volun-teers. We depend on our members forsurvival. They are our leaders, ourworkers and our audience. We are morelikely to receive funding from govern-ment or private sources if our member-ship rolls are high. And, as we advocatefor families affected by mental illness,the number of members we representdetermines the power of our voice.

In 2011, we are introducing a newway to handle membership. Until now,we have supported “rolling” renewals.That is, members renew in the monthin which they joined. For example, peo-ple who joined in June, renew the fol-lowing June. Our new system willimplement annual membership, withFebruary designated as NAMI MercerMembership Month.

There are two major reasons why weare changing our membership renewalstrategy. Having all members renew atthe same time reduces the administra-tive burden of processing renewalsthroughout the year. In addition, wewill be able to concentrate our energy toconduct a strong membership cam-paign every February.

Our membership levels and annualdues will remain the same.

Individual/Family $ 3 5Open Door (limited income) $ 3P r o f e s s i o n a l $ 5 0O r g a n i z a t i o n a l $ 1 5 0

Your paid membership sustains:Education and SupportFamily to Family programSupport groupsHelpline (Monday through Friday)Monthly public education programsAnnual wellness conference

Community OutreachIn Our Own Voice programMulticultural outreach programsCongregational and college outreach p r o g r a m s

A d v o c a cyA strong lobby

for change onlocal, state andnational levels

P s y c h i a t r i chospital moni-toring to ensurequality care

Crisis Inter-vention Trainingfor law enforce-ment officers.

Membership gives you:• Opportunities to network and

receive support from other fam-lies affected by mental illness

• Notification of all upcoming NAMI Mercer programs and events

• Resource materials and t r a i n i n g

• Participation in all programs

• NAMI Mercer quarterly newsletter – The Messenger

• Nationally published magazine – The Advocate

• Membership in NAMI National and NAMI New Jersey

• The right to vote to elect the NAMI board of directors

• New benefits under consideration by the board.

We cannot overemphasize the impor-tance of membership and hope that youwill renew in February when we con-tact you. If you are not currently amember, please join us. As an incen-tive, if you join before the end of 2010,your membership will be valid untilFebruary 2012. Let’s continue to growour membership and our voice in thecommunity on behalf of families affect-ed by mental illness.

S i n c e r e l y ,

Sally OsmerExecutive Director

Executive Director’s Message

Sally Osmer

Membership: a new approach

Page 2

Night Out With NAMI musicians at a glance

Bill CharlapOne of the world’s premiere jazz

pianists, Bill Charlap has performedwith many of the most acclaimedartists of our time, including saxophon-ists Phil Woods and Gerry Mulligan,trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, andsinger Tony Bennett.

Charlap is known for his sensitiveinterpretations of American popularsongs. His Bill Charlap Trio, now rec-ognized as one of the leading groups injazz, has earned two Grammy Awardnominations, for Somewhere: TheSongs of Leonard Bernstein and morerecently The Bill Charlap Trio: Live atthe Village Vanguard.

Charlap is the artistic director of theNew York City Jazz in July Festival.He has produced several concerts forJazz at Lincoln Center and an eveningof George Gershwin’s music at theHollywood Bowl.

Time magazine wrote, “Bill Charlapapproaches a song the way a loverapproaches his beloved . . . no matterhow imaginative or surprising his take

Continued on Page 7

Make your donation go further!

Here’s a way to make your donationto NAMI go even further towardimproving the lives of people affectedby mental illness. Your employer maybe willing to match your charitablecontribution. Some companies also gen-erously match gifts made by retireesand spouses of employees.

Please take a moment to contact thepersonnel or human resources depart-ment where you work to determine ifyour company has a matching gift pro-gram. If so, please sign and submit thecompany matching gift form wheneveryou make a donation to NAMI or pur-chase a ticket to a NAMI event. NAMIMercer will do the rest.

If you have any questions, pleasecontact our Development ChairmanJohn Marsland at 609-497-1214 orj e m s a i l s 1 3 4 @ g m a i l . c o m .

If someone says “I want to killmyself” or “I’m going to commit sui-cide,” you should always take this

statement seriously and immediatelyseek assistance from a qualified mentalhealth professional. In most cases,expressing a suicidal thought is an indi-cation of extreme distress, not a harm-less bid for attention.

As we experience the worst economicperiod since the Great Depression, theresulting stresses have contributed tothe onset of mental disorders at a timewhen mental health resources are suf-fering budgetary cuts.

The National Institutes of MentalHealth currently estimate that approx-imately 11 per 100,000 Americans dieby suicide each year. Greater than 90percent of people who end their liveshave a diagnosable mental illness, mostcommonly a depressive disorder or sub-stance abuse.

Fifteen percent of individuals diag-nosed with either schizophrenia orbipolar disorder ultimately die by sui-cide. Suicide remains the third leadingcause of death for 15 to 24-year-oldsand the sixth leading cause of death for5 to 14-year-olds. Our seniors have asuicide rate of 14.5 per 100,000.

In Mercer County, we continue towitness tragic loss due to suicide, espe-cially among teens and young adults.Today’s youth experience stress, confu-sion, self-doubt, pressure to succeed,financial uncertainty, and other fears.For some, divorce, the formation of anew family with step-parents and step-siblings, or merely moving to a newcommunity can be very unsettling andintensify self-doubts. Recent studiesalso have revealed that children andadolescents who are bullied are at highrisk for suicide.

Depression and suicidal feelings aretreatable mental disorders. If you sus-pect that a child, adolescent or adulthas a serious problem, facilitate his orher seeing a professional. When indoubt, consider approaching your fami-ly physician or minister for advice.

Signs that a teen or adult may be sui-cidal include:

• Change in eating and sleeping

h a b i t s• Withdrawalfrom friends,family, and regu-lar activities• Violent actions,rebellious behav-ior, or runninga w a y• Drug and alco-hol use• Unusual neg-lect of personala p p e a r a n c e• Marked per-sonality change• Persistent boredom, difficulty con-centrating, or a decline in his/herquality of work• Frequent complaints about physi-cal symptoms, such as stomach-aches, headaches and fatigue• Loss of interest in pleasurablea c t i v i t i e s• Rejection of praise or rewards.

A person who is planning to commitsuicide may also:

• Complain of being a bad person orfeeling rotten inside• Give verbal hints with statementssuch as: I won’t be a problem for youmuch longer• Put his or her affairs in order, giveaway favorite possessions, clean hisor her room, throw away importantb e l o n g i n g s• Become suddenly cheerful after aperiod of depression• Have signs of psychosis (hallucina-tions or bizarre thoughts).

Studies show that cognitive therapyreduces subsequent suicide attempts by50 percent during the year followingtreatment. This type of therapy teachesalternative actions when thoughts ofself-harm arise. A suicide attempt isamong the strongest predictors of laters u i c i d e .

If you think someone is suicidal, donot leave him or her alone. Seek imme-diate help from a doctor, the nearesthospital emergency room, or 911.Eliminate access to firearms or other

potential tools for suicide, includingunsupervised medications.

Unfortunately, The AmericanAcademy of Child and Adolescent(AACAP) Psychiatry has found thatsuicide-awareness programs in schoolshave not been effective in reducing sui-cidal behaviors or increasing help-seek-ing behavior, perhaps because theyencourage disclosure, which may dis-turb high-risk students.

A safer approach is to focus on theclinical characteristics of depressionand other mental illnesses that predis-pose youth to suicidality. In the absenceof contrary evidence, talking about sui-cide itself should be discouragedbecause of the propensity to activatesuicidal ideation in disturbed adoles-cents.

Suicide-education programs for teensthat do not include procedures to evalu-ate and refer students at risk are notendorsed by AACAP. There is ampleevidence that teens in mid-to-late ado-lescence, the group at greatest risk forsuicide, will reveal intent if askeddirectly. This practice is recommendedto family practitioners, pediatricians,school counselors, juvenile-justice pro-fessionals, and psychologists who wishto survey their populations for teensconsidering suicide. Those identifiedshould be referred for further evalua-tion and treatment.

Clinicians engaged in public healthpractice should advise the media on thedangers of excessive coverage of indi-vidual suicides. The most importantsuicide prevention program is a well-designed and comprehensive mentalhealth care system that ensures easyaccess to evaluation, education, treat-ment and support. NAMI Mercer playsan important role in suicide preventionby providing education, advocacy andsupport to individuals and their fami-lies affected by mental illness.

S i n c e r e l y ,

Bill HayesP r e s i d e n t

President’s Message

Bill Hayes Jr.

Page 3

Always take a suicide threat seriously

Page 4

Harvest of Hope, October 9

Top left: Ruth Vitale and Vicki Leyton.Top right: NAMI Mercer President Bill Hayes.Middle left: Goofy and Drew Horn. Middle right: Maggie and Colin Hill.Bottom left: Kitchen crew Charlene Green, Danita Saunders, KaitlinBishop and Tom Tompkins.Bottom right: Joan Brame (right) with exercisers. Photos by Galen Va l l e y

Page 5

Farewell to Nora KalesBy Ellen Heath

Nora Kales died suddenly onAugust 28, at the age of 72. Forme, one of the great pleasures

of belonging to NAMI Mercer over thepast two decades has been volunteeringalongside Nora. She was someone youcould count on, ready to pitch in with-out hesitation if she could. Althoughshe had other commitments over theyears, including a job, a small businessof handcrafted children’s clothing, thecare of her mother, and the quality timeshe devoted to her daughters andgrandchildren, she made helping others

struggling with mental illnessa high priority.

Nora received a posthumous“Change Maker” award onOct. 27 from Volunteer Con-nect at Janssen Pharmaceu-tica. Her daughters, Jennyand Susan, were at the eventto receive the award in herm e m o r y .

Nora demonstrated her com-mitment in a distinctive, no-nonsense manner that oftenamused us. She brought asense of fun to every engage-ment, including hours on theHelpline. Her handmade-ban-ner waits ready for futureevents. When she passedaway, we lost a true friend.

If you would like to honorNora, her daughters suggest adonation to their mom’s favorite chari-ty: NAMI Mercer, 3371 Brunswick

Pike, Suite 124; Lawrenceville, NJ08648 or http://www.namimercer.org.

Nora Kales at the NAMI Walk, May 22, in WashingtonCrossing Park.

N o r a ’s favorite recipeSouthwest Black Bean Soup

1 pkg. black beans and rice mix(such Zatarain’s or Carolina), cooked

1 can creamed corn1 cup salsa 1 cup of stock. Serves six.

More than 150 NAMI Mercerfamily members and friendsgathered to learn how to keep

joy alive at our second annual Harvestof Hope Conference on Oct. 9 at thePresbyterian Church of Lawrenceville.

Keynote speaker Lizzie Simon,author of D e t o u r, gave a moving andenlightening lecture on her personalstruggles with bipolar disorder andher journey of recovery.

Later, guests participated in small-group workshops to learn ways to pro-mote wellness through stress manage-ment, sharing personal stories, nutri-tion, exercise, spirituality, art, journal-ing, friendship, humor, communica-tion, and meaningful work.

NAMI Mercer sincerely thanks thefollowing conference presenters whovolunteered their time to our commu-nity: Joan Brame, Debbie Branson,Denise Dennis, Kathleen Errig,Amanda Freeman, Ni Gao, Bill Hayes,Drew Horn, Jean Joslin, Carol Kivler,Patricia Korsak, Kathy Puca,

Josephline Reyes, AmandalynnSalzman, Alicia Stevenson, KateSturke, Dwight Sweezy, Mary Vitullo,and Michelle Zechner.

Overall, participants rated the con-ference an average of 4.55 out of 5.0regarding relevance and conducivenessto learning.

When asked the most importantconcept they learned, here is whatattendees responded:

“Adversity has its benefits, buildingcompassion and resilience.”

“You can truly succeed, despite men-tal illness.”

“I am responsible for the joy that Ibring into my life.”

“Don’t give up on your loved ones.”“Live one day at a time and appreci-

ate the beauty.”“Hug, touch, and smile more.”“Today is most important.”“Everyone has a story that is rele-

vant to everyone else.”“Joy is the culmination of hope.”

Harvest of Hope conference NAMI MERCER’S

ANNUAL APPEAL 2010

We have completed six weeks ofAnnual Appeal 2010:

Deposits to date are $ 9 , 9 6 1

To date, we have reached 71percent of our budgeted goal of $14,000.

Number of donors, 80We have already exceeded last

year’s total number of donors,which was 74.

By comparison, on the same date ayear ago, for Annual Appeal 2009:

Deposits to date were $12,235Number of Donors: 72

Thank you for your support!

NAMI Mercer WALKSAVE the DATE

by Madeline Monheit

The New Jersey Division ofMental Health Services(DMHS) has established a new

program to monitor the quality of carein state psychiatric hospitals. NAMIMercer members Elaine Candelori,Patricia Korsak, and Tom Pyle cur-rently are preparing to monitorTrenton Psychiatric Hospital (TPH)when the new program officially getsunderway early in 2011.

“This innovative program supportsthe notion that mental health profes-sionals and families, working together,can strengthen the power of advocacy,”stated Gregory P. Roberts, formerassistant director of State HospitalManagement. “We aim to produce con-crete, positive improvements in thedelivery of services and in the condi-tions of treatment.”

For nearly 10 years, NAMI Mercervolunteer Bob Demers led the FamilyPartnership, an earlier TPH monitor-ing program, made up of representa-tives from Mercer, Middlesex,Monmouth, and Burlington Counties.Demers stepped down in June, and theprogram has been inactive since then.

TPH, a 400-bed psychiatric hospital,is one of five such psychiatric hospitalsgoverned by DMHS. It was founded inthe 1840s by Dorothea Lynde Dix, alifelong crusader for those affected bymental illness.

“Many of the TPH residents havebeen rejected by society and even bytheir families,” stated Demers.

Every month, he would scheduleteams of observers to visit the hospitaland report on conditions to its Board ofTrustees. Bob takes pride in knowingthat the Family Partnership con-tributed to improving the lives of TPHr e s i d e n t s .

The new state-wide program is mod-eled on the Family Partnership as wellas the procedures of the PatientServices Compliance Unit and the

court–appointed Doe v.Klein Committee that moni-tored conditions atGreystone Hospital from1975 to 2009.

The DMHSW e l l n e s s / R e c o v e r yTransformation Statementof Feb. 2006 was the impe-tus for creating the newmonitoring system.Assistant CommissionerKevin Martone wrote: “Theprocess for moving to arecovery-oriented systemmust be inclusive and col-laborative . . . The Divisionwill incorporate the recoverymodel into every policy, regulation,contract and expectation, but the effortwill only succeed if the entire mentalhealth community helps to shape thes y s t e m . ”

Elaine Candelori, who will leadNAMI Mercer’s volunteers, has aunique perspective on monitoring.Before her retirement, she was sectionchief of the TPH Raycroft Complex.

“The medical staff welcomed theobservers,” she said, “and appreciatedthe additional eyes and ears. Our rela-tionship always was cooperative.”

Under the new program, the role ofa volunteer monitor is to ensure thatpatients in state psychiatric hospitalsreceive appropriate care and servicesin a recovery-oriented system thatincludes a safe and therapeutic envi-ronment.

The recommendation is that moni-tors visit the hospital once a monthand work as twosomes. Their visit willbe unannounced, except to the hospitalliaison coordinator.

The monitors will observe patientcare, including treatment and thera-pies; staff member activities; security,and confidentiality of patient informa-tion. They should report use ofrestraints and seclusion. Monitors also

will survey the environment regardingcleanliness, noise, odor, privacy,crowding, furnishings, lighting, tem-perature, air, and water quality.

The monitors also will have theopportunity to interview consentingpatients about their understanding oftheir treatment plan and their satis-faction with the type and quality ofhospital services.

All monitors must sign a statementof confidentiality pledging not to dis-close patient information except toother members of the site review team.

It is the hospital’s responsibility toreview the assessment reports andtake action to address deficiencies in atimely way. The hospital must docu-ment a remediation plan, assign aresponsible person, set a target datefor completion, and evaluate the effec-tiveness of the corrective actions.

The DMHS is forming a small com-mittee of experienced monitors andstaff to interview candidates who havesubmitted applications to become mon-itors. Those selected will require fin-gerprinting and background checksbefore beginning orientation.

If you are interested in serving as aTPH monitor, please contact SallyOsmer at 609-799-8994 ors o s m e r @ n a m i m e r c e r . o r g .

Monitoring of TPH to continue

From left: Bob Demers with Phil Lubitz, associate direc-tor of NAMI New Jersey, at the NAMI Walk, May 22.

Please write it downand plan to participate!

Page 6

Saturday, May 21, 2011at Rider University

NAMI MercerBOARD OF DIRECTORS

William P. Hayes M.D.

P r e s i d e n t

Laurie A. Russell

Vice President

Madeline Monheit M.S.

S e c r e t a r y

Damon Magnes Vigiano

T r e a s u r e r

Lauren Agoratus, M.A.Robbi K Alexander RN, B.A.

Kurtis BakerCaryl Chambers, M.P.A.

Jules DeGraffInge Eriks, Ph.D.

Andrew Hendry, M.P.P.Hon. Joseph E. IrenasCarol A. Kivler, M.S.

C. Elizabeth Leach, M.S.W.Jeremy Mann

John E. Marsland, Jr.Karen L. Marquis, Ph.D.

Ivy Minely, Esq.Tom Pyle, M.A.

Valerie Powers Smith, Esq.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Sally T. Osmer, L.C.S.W.

OFFICE MANAGER

Danita L. Saunders

E D I T O R S

Madeline Monheit

Elisabeth Hagen

Page 7

on a song is, he invariably zeroes in onits essence.”

K e n ny Wa s h i n g t o nDrummer Kenny Washington has

been a member of the Bill CharlapTrio for the past 13 years. He has per-formed and recorded with dozens ofmajor artists including Benny Carter,Betty Carter, Johnny Griffin, MiltJackson, Tommy Flanagan, Dizzy

Gillespie, Arturo Sandoval, and BennyG o o d m a n .

A noted jazz historian, Washingtoncurrently serves on the faculties of theState University of New York and TheJuilliard School. He also has been adisc jockey on WBGO and Sirius satel-lite jazz radio.

Sean SmithBassist Sean Smith has been an

integral part of the international jazzscene for more than 20 years, perform-ing with jazz superstars, includingGerry Mulligan, Phil Woods, Benny

Carter, Flip Phillips, Johnny Griffin,Clark Terry, Lee Konitz, Art Farmer,and Tom Harrell.

Sean also has been the accompanistof choice for such celebrated vocalistsas Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney,Jimmy Scott, Mark Murphy, and AndyB e y .

A prolific composer whose music hasbeen played and recorded by leadingjazz artists, his Song for the Geese isthe title track of Mark Murphy’s 1998Grammy nominated album. The SeanSmith Quartet performs regularly inNew York City.

Musicianscontinued from Page 2

Entendiendo la Salud MentalNAMI Mercer sponsored an educationalevent, in Spanish, for over 90 people on Oct.3 at St. Anthony of Padua Church inHightstown. At left: panelist Mildred Frias ofAAMH with Dr. José Vazquez of UniversityBehavioral Healthcare, Piscataway.Below left: Aura Seidler of the Children’sHome Society.Below right: Dr. Vazquez.Below: Julio Rojas presents IOOV.

H O W TO REACH US

THE NAMI CENTERof Mercer County

Lawrence Commons3371 Brunswick Pike

Suite 124Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

(609) 799-8994fax (609) 799-8996

h o m e @ n a m i m e r c e r. o rgw w w. n a m i m e r c e r. o rg

Directions: From southbound Rte. 1,pass Province Line Road and make aright at the Office Depot sign. LawrenceCommons is a white building, second onyour left. Drive to the rear of the building.The NAMI Center is in Suite 124 on theground floor.

NAMI Mercer Support GroupsNAMI For adult consumers, run by consumersCo n n e c t i o n 1st through 4th Mondays, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

No registration required. NAMI Center of Mercer County.

W R A P A wellness/recovery action program for consumersNew class will be forming in Feb. 2011. Contact our office to register. NAMI Center of Mercer County.

Weight For adult consumers and families Ma n a g e m e n t 4th Wednesdays, 6:00 p.m.

Visitors welcome. NAMI Center of Mercer County.

I F S S / N A M I For families of adults with mental illnessMondays, 5:15 – 6:45 p.m.Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church a n dbiweekly Tuesdays, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.NAMI Center of Mercer County.(Contact NAMI at 609-799-8994 for Tuesday dates.)