If you have a mental illness, or you are the family member or friend of someone with a serious mental illness, you are not alone. You are part of a community that cares. In spite of recent cutbacks in services, no one needs to struggle with mental illness in isolation and shame.

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) was founded by family members to improve the lives of people living with these brain disorders. Locally, NAMI Orange County actively pursues the mission of providing support, education and advocacy on behalf of individuals with severe mental illness and their families. Our programs are free and include information sessions as well as confidential sharing and support groups. For more information, look for us on the Internet at www.namiorange.org or call us at (919) 929-7822.

At a NAMI event, you can count on receiving support from others who share your concerns as well as getting helpful advice about mental health services from others who have been there and done that. Please join us Saturday, Feb. 13, at the Church of Reconciliation, 110 N. Elliott Road, at 9:30 a.m. for fellowship and a presentation about CooperRiis, a therapeutic community in western North Carolina

In Chapel Hill, our NAMI Family-to-Family classes - a free education program for family members or close relatives of loved ones with major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, or borderline personality disorder - begin Thursday, Feb. 11. Supported, informed families can do a lot to help patients recover and to make life easier for each other. For information on this program, please visit our Web site or send an e-mail to gbelder@bellsouth.net, or call (919) 967-5403.

Joanna Bowen

NAMI Orange County