Vickie: I do the "In Our Own Voice" talks--I think that is what you are writing about for NAMI.

It has been received very well. My town is small & people have the opinion that there are no mentally ill people here so when I spoke to the local Kiwaniis club--I told them I may be the ONE mentally ill in our town, but at the end people came up to me individually to speak about a sister, daughter, wife, etc. that is dealing w/mental illness but will not speak about it out loud. I told the people that the supposition is that there are no "mentally ill" in our town--but I stood up & said there is at least one & I am it!

Have also spoken at the univ. in the "abnormal psych" class---I guess I know I was the abnormal one, but they appreciated hearing from someone "living with it"--the good, bad, ugly, but coming out at the other end w/a good quality of life.

Also have spoken in the local jail (women) & halfway house...

But all I do is give them HOPE. I've suffered a long time & finally have been given a measure of success. So, I think YOU would be great as an IOOV speaker. Other programs available from NAMI--Peer-to-Peer class, Provider Education classes (presented to personnel at mental health facilities) & being a featured speaker at a Family-to-Family class.