The NAMImobile in Lancaster
June 9, 2014
On June 9th, the NAMImobile visited Lancaster as part of the 2014 anti-discrimination against mental illness bus tour. The bus was parked in the Methodist Church parking lot on the corner of High St. and Mulberry St. from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. This visit offered community members the opportunity to speak with representatives from local and state level mental health organizations.
The purpose of the bus tour is to end discrimination against individuals living with mental illness and their family members by getting the facts about mental illness out to the public. Discrimination is a major barrier to people seeking help for their mental illness when they need it. Over the summer the NAMImobile will visit over 100 communities in Ohio to share messaging and raise awareness about mental illness.
One in four adults − approximately 2.9 million Ohioans – experience a mental health disorder in a given year. One-half of all chronic mental illness begins by the age of 14; three-quarters by age 24. Early identification and treatment is of vital importance to recovery. In reference to a statement from the MIND Movement Partner Organizations, “widespread discrimination or fear of discrimination against individuals with mental illness often causes shame, despair, and hopelessness and can negatively influence a person’s decision to seek treatment. Lack of treatment can result in hospitalization, loss of employment, court involvement, homelessness or worse, death.” For too long, people have been ashamed to admit that they have a mental illness. That has to change. That is why this movement is so important.
This NAMImobile visit was organized in coordination with the Fairfield County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health (ADAMH) Board, the Fairfield County Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and the MIND (Mental Illness-No Discrimination) Movement.
The purpose of the bus tour is to end discrimination against individuals living with mental illness and their family members by getting the facts about mental illness out to the public. Discrimination is a major barrier to people seeking help for their mental illness when they need it. Over the summer the NAMImobile will visit over 100 communities in Ohio to share messaging and raise awareness about mental illness.
One in four adults − approximately 2.9 million Ohioans – experience a mental health disorder in a given year. One-half of all chronic mental illness begins by the age of 14; three-quarters by age 24. Early identification and treatment is of vital importance to recovery. In reference to a statement from the MIND Movement Partner Organizations, “widespread discrimination or fear of discrimination against individuals with mental illness often causes shame, despair, and hopelessness and can negatively influence a person’s decision to seek treatment. Lack of treatment can result in hospitalization, loss of employment, court involvement, homelessness or worse, death.” For too long, people have been ashamed to admit that they have a mental illness. That has to change. That is why this movement is so important.
This NAMImobile visit was organized in coordination with the Fairfield County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health (ADAMH) Board, the Fairfield County Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and the MIND (Mental Illness-No Discrimination) Movement.
