Man desperate and alone in the dark

By JAYMIE DEPEW

Journal Staff Writer

MARQUETTE — One in five people in the United States are affected by mental illness every year. Nearly 45,000 lives are lost to suicide annually, with over 1,300 of them in Michigan. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 35, with a high percentage of them suffering from a mental illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, mental illness costs the United States $69 billion in lost earnings annually.

NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization that is dedicated to building better lives for millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

NAMI has over 20 local affiliates across Michigan and provides key programs like NAMI Basics, Connections, Family to Family, HomeFront (for families of veterans), FaithNet, Peer to Peer, Ending the Silence, NAMI on Campus, and more.

While NAMIWalks celebrates its 16th anniversary this year, NAMI Michigan will host its first official NAMIWalks five-kilometer event in the Upper Peninsula on Aug. 18 at Mattson Lower Harbor Park in Marquette. To prepare for the big day, a kickoff event will be held at the Ore Dock Brewing Co. from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

All who attend the kick-off will be treated to a lunch catered by Border Grill and have the chance to learn about NAMI and ways to help the organization reach its goals of destigmatizing mental illness and raising funds for programs aimed at helping people with mental illness, as well as their families and friends.

Kevin Fischer, executive director of NAMI Michigan, said NAMI provides services to those in need at no charge.

“NAMIWalks supports the mission-driven work of our NAMI affiliates, which host education programs, facilitates support groups, provides mental health trainings, advocates for access to services, and offers a compassionate place to turn for the millions of Americans living with mental illness, all at no cost to the individuals, their families or caregivers,” Fischer said in a release.

NAMIWalks events are held in 85 communities across the country, making it the largest and most successful mental health awareness and fundraising event in the nation, according to www.namiwalks.org. More than $11 million was raised last year. So far, over $6 million has been raised by donors this year.

Cindy Bertucci, president of NAMI Alger Marquette, said the local chapter was started in 1987 by a couple who had a child with a mental illness.

“They lived downstate and moved to the U.P. and figured there was other people who might be in a similar situation,” Bertucci said.

Wednesday’s event will offer an opportunity for people to ask questions about NAMI and help promote the 5K fundraising event, Bertucci explained.

“The kickoff is to get the word out there that we’re looking for walkers, businesses, sponsors and anyone who’s interested in donating,” she said, adding that the majority of the money will stay in the U.P. to help with service costs.

“Everything we do is free to the public but with that there are still some costs,” Bertucci said.

Bertucci, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, said even though people are becoming more enlightened when it comes to mental illness, it could always be better.

“There are people who are still not understanding when it comes to mental illness — it’s getting better and people are understanding more, especially when we do our family-to-family program,” she said. “But it’s important to be very open about mental illness because that’s the only way to erase the stigma.”

Bertucci said mental illness is a brain disease and that it’s nothing to be scared of.

“I didn’t ask for this but I’m not ashamed of it either,” she said. “It just makes me work even harder to help other people realize it’s just a brain disease and just because our brains might work differently, it’s okay.”

Bertucci explained that one of the biggest reasons mental illness continues to be stigmatized is because a lot of people are uncomfortable talking about it.

“It’s important to talk about … people with mental illness need support but so do their families,” she said, adding that if people don’t start talking about it more, then the stigma will always be present.

NAMI Michigan is a non-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible.

The NAMIWalks kickoff event in Marquette will be held in the Ore Dock’s community room, on the upper level of the building. Anyone interested in attending must RSVP by emailing Cindy Bertucci at CKBertucci58@charter.net or calling 906-360-7107 by Monday.

Jaymie Depew can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 206. Her email address is jdepew@miningjournal .net.