Mental illness doesn’t just affect the people who receive the diagnosis; it’s an experience that loved ones go through with them. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), with chapters in both Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, is working to equip families with the tools they need to support a loved one who may be struggling.
In partnership with Transitions-Mental Health Association in Northern Santa Barbara County and SLO County, NAMI’s Family to Family program is a free class that educates family members about different mental illnesses, provides coping suggestions, and teaches students how to effectively communicate with ill loved ones. Santa Maria Valley classes begin Sept. 23. The SLO class’s exact start date is still being determined, but will also begin in September. Both classes will be held virtually over video conference because of the pandemic.
“It’s once a week, in the evening, and it’s 2 1/2 hours,” Transitions-Mental Health Association Family Support Specialist Maria Perez told the Sun. “Every week there’s a topic that’s talked about and read about. You learn about symptoms, medications, the recovery process, the possibilities of employment.”
In Santa Maria, the class will be offered in both English and Spanish, Perez added. The English course is eight weeks long, while the Spanish course is 12. The SLO class, which for now is only offered in English, is 12 weeks long.
Perez said that some of the course’s teachers are actually former students who completed the class in the past, and SLO Family to Family class coordinator Henry Herrera said the same is true for his course.
“The teachers are mostly all family members of someone who had a mental illness,” Perez said. “They go through training and certification to be able to teach it. The people who take the classes can then, if they’re interested, also do it.”
“Families go through an emotional roller coaster when they have a loved one with a mental illness, if either that person is not accepting of that illness or just not getting help for that illness,” Herrera told the Sun. “We help families cope with it and get through it. It’s a lifelong journey for both the person with the mental illness and the family members.”
Herrera said that those who complete the class often come out with not just the tools to support their loved one, but a new perspective on mental illness in general.
“Some people say, ‘I had no idea what I was up against, but now I understand what my loved one is going through, and I’m going to approach them a lot differently than I had before,’” Herrera said. “Some people say, ‘My attitude used to be to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, but my attitude’s not that way anymore. I understand that the illness they have, they didn’t ask for.’”
“A really big thing that these families get is realizing, ‘Our family is not the only family who is going through this,’” Perez added. “Because many times, that’s how it feels: You feel like your family is the only one. It’s just a matter of taking the time to learn, once a week.”
Perez encouraged North County residents who are interested to sign up as soon as possible by contacting her at (805) 441-3325 or mperez@t-mha.org. SLO County residents who are interested can contact Herrera at (805) 440-3516.
Highlight
• The Santa Barbara Foundation and Santa Barbara County announced on Aug. 17 the availability of grant funding for small businesses in unincorporated areas through a fund called Santa Barbara Better Together. The county is partnering with the foundation to support grants of up to $7,500 for qualifying small businesses “as they reopen and adapt to operating under proper public health guidelines due to COVID-19,” a press release stated. “Many small businesses that shape the character of our community are struggling during this time,” 2nd District Supervisor and Board Chair Gregg Hart said in a statement. “The county of Santa Barbara and the Santa Barbara Foundation want to help these businesses with a local, small-business grant program to provide some financial relief during the pandemic.” The fund received an initial donation of $500,000 from Deckers Brands in March 2020, and the fund’s committee includes representatives from Deckers, the Santa Barbara Foundation, and local experts, who collectively vote on fund distribution. Available at sbfoundation.org, the application is open through 5 p.m. on Aug. 31.
Staff Writer Malea Martin wrote this week’s Spotlight. Send tips to spotlight@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 27 – Sep 3, 2020.