RR non-profit to hold walk for mental health awareness - Albuquerque Journal
NAMI Westside President Marilyn Salzman has been with NAMI for 11 years.
Aiming to raise awareness about the importance of mental health one step at a time, the National Alliance on Mental Illness Westside affiliate held its annual NAMIWalks kickoff Wednesday.
After a season of fundraiser, the walk takes place May 11.
Last year, the event drew 900 participants and raised $10,500.
President of NAMI Westside Marilyn Salzman hopes this year the affiliate, located in Rio Rancho, can reach 1,000 participants.
The event was held near Hoffmantown Church in the beginning and then moved to the Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum, where it will be held again this year.
According to Salzman, the 5K walk is open to all individuals in all walks of life — and their pets.
People who wish to participate can register online for free until the day of the walk.
Typically, participants are encouraged to build teams and fundraise for their local, regional or state NAMI organization.
Participants who raise $100 or more receive NAMIWalks T-shirts on the walk day, while people who raise additional money can receive other designated prizes.
Salzman went through depression after losing a re-election campaign. Soon after, she became involved with NAMI to learn more about mental illness and the mental-health world.
“One of my constituents who lived just a couple of blocks away from me had called and, you know, offered her condolences on my loss and I told her, I said, ‘I’m so depressed,’ and she said, ‘Oh, I know what I could do to help you,'” Salzman said.
It paid off: “So she took me to my first meeting and I just found a home, as it were.”
Ever since, Salzman has been a part of NAMI. It’s been 11 years, nine of which she has served as president for the Westside location.
Salzman said everyone deals with their mental illness in different ways. For her, it’s daily medication and coping mechanisms. For others, it may be counseling and medication.
NAMI Westside offers free programs to individuals and families who are dealing with mental illness and wish to learn more.
The programs range from support groups to a 12-week course where family members, friends or significant others can learn more about what their loved one with mental illness is going through, without burning themselves out.
“On the West Side, we have eight Family-to-Family teachers and we try to rotate them, so they don’t burn out, because 12 weeks of your life is a long time,” Salzman said.
According to the national NAMI website, the group is the nation’s largest grassroots mental-health organization, dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.
Salzman said the community in Rio Rancho has been very supportive.
“Mental illness does not discriminate,” Salzman says. “I open every one of my speaking engagements with that line because it kind of wakes something up in people’s minds.”
To learn more about the programs offered at NAMI Westside, visit namirioranchonm.org.
To register for the walk, visit the national NAMI website at namiwalks.org.
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