Earlier this week I told you about how Project Helping Hands is providing mental health resources to Gustav victims.

Yesterday I received an email and press release from The National Council letting me know that Project Helping Hands is now also extending their help to Hurricane Ike victims.

The press release:

‘Helping Hands’ For Hurricane Ike Victims

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2008—As Hurricane Ike bears down on the Texas coast, help is available for emergency mental health and addictions needs in the immediate aftermath of the storm. Project Helping Hands, established by National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, will help behavioral healthcare organizations respond to people’s emergency needs in communities affected by the storm.

It is estimated that up to 25 to 30 percent of people in the most vulnerable communities experience new mental health and addictions problems in the wake of disasters.

“The stress and emotional impact of yet another major disaster along the Gulf Coast can cause severe worry and anxiety,” said Linda Rosenberg, president and CEO of the National Council. “Project Helping Hands can be an immediate resource for residents who may be psychiatrically
vulnerable and traumatized by the storm.”

Rosenberg said that people who have to leave their homes-seen as places of safety and comfort—can make the mental health challenges even more pronounced.

“The fear of losing your home, personal possessions, and even loved ones helps to compound the anxiety that people feel,” said Rosenberg.

Begun in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Project Helping Hands provided modest grants to treatment organizations in several Gulf Coast states. The grants were used to help with emergency needs like hiring treatment staff, setting up emergency outreach offices, and
purchasing medications and emergency equipment.

“In the wake of disaster, community behavioral health providers must address the critical needs of two groups — those who experience the onset of trauma and mental disorders as a result of the disaster and those with pre- existing serious mental illnesses and addictions who
need continued care and treatment,” said Rosenberg. “Our pockets are not deep but we are standing by to help in any way we can.”

More information about Project Helping Hands may be found at
www.TheNationalCouncil.org/HelpingHands.

Please feel free to forward this information to any Ike victim you know!

Image: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

Update: Project Helping Hands Also Offers Assistance To Ike Victims

Who doesn’t love it when our society pulls together to help victims?

Yesterday I received this press release from the National Council, the same bunch of forward thinkers who created an office on an island in Second Life called Nonprofit Commons in order to virtually offer mental health and addictions awareness and support.

Emergency Assistance Available for Gustav Victims

Experts Available to Discuss Mental Health and Addictions Issues in the Wake of Disaster

Contact: Meena Dayak, MeenaD@thenationalcouncil.org; 301.602.8474

Washington, DC — As the Gulf Coast braces for another potentially devastating hurricane, help is available to meet emergency mental health and addictions needs in the immediate aftermath of the storm.

Established by National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, Project Helping Hands will help behavioral healthcare organizations respond to emergency needs in any community affected by the storm.

It is estimated that up to 25 to 30 percent of people in the most vulnerable communities experience new mental health and addictions problems in the wake of disasters.

“The stress and emotional impact of yet another major disaster can cause severe worry and anxiety,” said Linda Rosenberg, president and CEO of the National Council. “Project Helping Hands can be an immediate resource for residents who may be psychiatrically vulnerable and
traumatized by the storm.”

Rosenberg said that people who have to leave their homes—seen as places of safety and comfort—can make the mental health challenges even more pronounced.

“The fear of losing your home, personal possessions, and even loved ones helps to compound the anxiety that people feel,” said Rosenberg.

Begun in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Project Helping Hands provided modest grants to treatment organizations in several Gulf Coast states. The grants were used to help with emergency needs like hiring treatment staff, setting up emergency outreach offices, and
purchasing medications and emergency equipment.

“In the wake of disaster, community behavioral health providers must address the critical needs of two groups — those who experience the onset of trauma and mental disorders as a result of the disaster and those with pre-existing serious mental illnesses and addictions who need continued care and treatment,” said Rosenberg. “Our pockets are not deep
but we are standing by to help in any way we can.”

More information about Project Helping Hands may be found at www.TheNationalCouncil.org/HelpingHands.

Feel free to forward this information to any Gustav victims you know!

Image: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

Project Helping Hands Provides Mental Health Resouces for Gustav Victims

Or, soccer, for American readers.

I love Saturday Sanity.

Not only does it give me a chance to recognize all the important mental health-related news I discover throughout the week (that, for one reason or another, I don’t have time to talk about in depth), but it also gives me a chance to let you all know about things going on here at Mental Health Notes and the rest of the b5media Science & Health Channel.

• Yesterday I told you about the work The National Council is doing via Second Life. Soon after I posted it, I found out that Preferred Family Healthcare (a member of The National Council) is also doing great things with the help of Second Life. Hopefully I can get some more information on this soon!
• Taking care of yourself should be the first item on your list of priorities today and every day, and I firmly believe that in order to best take care of both your physical and mental health, you need to take care of your soul – regardless of what your religious (or nonreligious) definition of “soul” may be. Having said that, Mark over at A Dozen Steps is good for his thought-provoking posts, and two of his most recent are Things That Nurture My Soul and Things That Rot My Soul.
• Autism Vox’s Kristina Chew highlights a new study on rare genetic mutations and schizophrenia, but reminds us that “80-85% of people with schizophrenia do not have the mutations.”
• In an effort to treat and manage depression and/or bipolar disorder, are you upping your intake of omega-3 fatty acids like me? If so, and if you have babies (specifically babies you feed infant formula), you may be interested in one of Ruth’s latest posts, Infants Need Omega-3 and AA Omega-6 Fatty Acids, at Eating Fabulous.
• Dr. Frederick W. Reimherr of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and his colleagues report that women with ADHD are more impaired than men. And, speaking of ADHD, in addition to ADHDFamilies, which I added a while back, I’ve also added a wonderful new ADHD-related blog to the blogroll: ADHD-Living. Check it out!
• And how awesome is this news? In an effort to keep “mental health publicity” from being “mainly people just out of hospital stabbing someone,” Janette Hynes, founder of the London-based Positive Mental Attitude League, runs two football leagues for mental health consumers which she claims has both “positive psychological and physical benefits.”
• Speaking of the psychological benefits of football (or any sport, I’m assuming), check out Mental Help Net’s The Relationship Between Exercise and Mood by Natalie Staats Reiss, Ph.D.
• NAMI New Jersey’s Eric Arauz and NAMI New York City Metro’s Mary Ann Ceron spoke frankly on the ABC News digital cable channel’s “Mind and Mood” program about living with bipolar disorder. Getting on national television and discussing your mental illness? How’s THAT for busting stigma!
• I’m sure by now most, if not all, of you are aware of the reports of drug traces in our drinking water – including mental health drugs. While many of us could use a little extra help (a joke, and one in poor taste, I admit it), Mark Shannon of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is addressing the demand for cleaner H2O.
• Not only am I passionate about mental health advocacy, but I’m also passionate about mental health care and advocacy within the prison system. Imagine my delight when I found out “[t]he four-month-old NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal is investigating how to maintain the human rights and dignity of people detained in a mental health facility, or serving a community treatment order issued by a court.”

That’s all for this week, lovelies! Remember, if you have any mental health-related news you feel is worthy of Saturday Sanity, send it my way!

Cool image source and credit.

Post from: Blisstree

Saturday Sanity: Are You Ready For Some Football?

Are any of you familiar with Second Life? I know, I know, I can be really behind sometimes – I just discovered it a few months ago. I’m not a member yet, so to find out more about Second Life you should check out the Web site’s What is Second Life? and FAQs sections; however, simply put, “Second Life is a 3D digital world imagined and created by its Residents.”

So, why am I talking about Second Life on a mental health blog? The answer to that is interesting indeed.

A few days ago I received an email from an employee with The National Council letting me know about – well, actually, she explains it better than I can:

The National Council is the first organization of its kind in the United States to offer mental health and addictions awareness and support virtually using the technology of Second Life. The National Council created an office on an island in Second Life called Nonprofit Commons and uses the space to build community among those with mental illness and addiction disorders and those who care for them. Second Lifers get the benefit of in-person education and engagement that helps them better manage the challenges they face, knowing they are not alone. They are connected to resources for employment, comprehensive care, and grassroots advocacy to lobby for increased access to effective mental healthcare.

How cool is that?!

Aside from visiting The National Council’s Web site, you can also visit On Our Minds to learn more about The National Council and their virtual office at Second Life. And, if you’re already a Second Lifer, you can visit the virtual office now.

Sure, online mental health support groups and other resources are readily available; however, I think creating a virtual mental health-related office in an extremely popular virtual world is just, well, awesome. The National Council has just taken a giant leap toward closing the gap between mental health resources and folks who, for whatever reason, don’t have access.

The Internet can be amazing, no? So can passionate and caring mental health advocates.

Image source and credit.

Post from: Blisstree

National Council Uses Second Life For Mental Health Advocacy