All Good Things
August 16, 2017Ending is always difficult. I am reminded of this painful fact as my time with NAMI Iowa comes to a close after a twelve-week internship I spent with them over the summer. My first-day-jitters quickly dissipated as I got to know my coworkers and learn about my responsibilities, and I quickly settled into my new surroundings. Very quickly, the location in the office where I worked became “my space”, and everything suddenly felt more comfortable. Now, it’s ending and I Read More
What Is Non Medical Switching?
Finding a treatment that works for a mental health condition is difficult. The process of finding a therapist or medication takes a long time, and you may have to switch several times before you find the combination of treatments that work for you. What if you find a medication that works for you, but then your insurance company says that you can’t buy it anymore unless you change your insurance plan? What if they increase its price so much Read More
Stories Make a Difference
During the 2017 legislative session, we quickly learned that personal stories are the key to advocating and swaying elected officials to care about mental health related topics. Stories put a face and name to hot button issues. Stories make statistic-laden materials more personal and easier to connect with. Most importantly, stories stick with us. It’s impossible to forget that anecdote about the 10 year old in the emergency room because of a mental health crisis. Or that 45 year old Read More
NAMI Iowa Welcomes Engagement and Advocacy Intern
We are excited to welcome Rob Marko-Franks as a new addition to our staff here at NAMI Iowa! Rob is joining us as an Engagement and Advocacy Intern for the summer, so he will be working on improving relations with our local Affiliates and creating some resources which will strengthen our advocacy at all levels across the state.
Rob will enter his fourth year at Grinnell College this fall, where he is studying Psychology and Policy Studies. While originally from Read More
When Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System Collides
A great executive board for a non-profit organization is made up of constitutents from different backgrouds, career paths, have varied interests and expertise. We are proud to say the NAMI Iowa board fits this description. The two characteristics that bind our enthusiastic board together are:
Every member has a mental illness or knows a close family member or friend with mental illness. Every member wants to see the stigma of mental illness eradicated and the mental health system in Iowa improved upon.Beautiful Minds Revived History
Photo Credit: dsm Magazine
Friday night brought history alive with the likes of Carrie Fisher, Audrey Hepburn and Leonard Cohen visiting the Des Moines metro to perform and talk about their life with mental illness. These famous artists and thinkers privately or publicly battled with depression, eating disorders and severe anxiety but were still quite successful in their chosen career.
Attendees of Beautiful Minds, the first of its kind fundraiser event, were able to interact with these famous characters as Read More