NAMI members attend conferences to promote individual empowerment
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, below, or purchase a new subscription.
Please log in to continue |
HURON — You are not alone. That message rang clear for members of the local NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) group who attended the state NAMI Conference in Spearfish in September.
Funding for the trip was made possible by the Iroquois High School HOSA-Future Health Professionals Chapter, which gave $900 to the NAMI-Huron group last March as part of the organization’s national service project. Money left over from the HOSA gift will be used to send individuals to the 2018 NAMI Conference scheduled in Watertown.
NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for millions of Americans affected by mental illness.
“It’s nice to correlate with people who have mental illness and learn more about your illness,” said Jacinta “JC” Konechne, who attended the conference with Geanina Rehmeier and Community Counseling Services staff member Lisa Washechek, who helps lead the local NAMI meetings.
Konechne was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder when she was 17.
“It gets jumbled, many call it major depression with psychosis,” said Konechne, who will be 40 in December. “I was ashamed of my depression. Being able to communicate and have a plan for myself has helped.”
Rehmeier said information on self advocacy that was shared at the conference really spoke to her.
“How can I cope and have confidence and be able to speak about my diagnosis without being ashamed,” she said. “When I first came here I was worried to tell about it. Being able to communicate and have a plan for myself has helped.”
Photo:
In attendance at the state NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Conference in Spearfish were, from left, Jacinta Konechne, Lisa Washechek and Geanina Rehmeier. A gift from Iroquois High School HOSA-Future Health Professionals Chapter to the local NAMI group helped fund the trip. Remaing funds will be used to send individuals to the 2018 Conference in Watertown.
Photo by Crystal Pugsley/Plainsman