Observations about the 2007 NAMI National Convention

My annual pilgrimage to the NAMI National Convention has become for me, as it has for thousands, an opportunity to gather with friends, share personal experiences, and catch up on the latest information about mental illnesses and related issues.

Progress in the fight against serious brain diseases comes from numerous sources and often when we least expect it. Sometimes it is nothing less than a revolution. More often it is an accumulation of bits and pieces that, when fitted together, begin to make sense, to provide some answers. Even those of us that have the time rarely have the expertise to interpret and integrate all this information in a meaningful way. NAMI has rescued thousands of us.

The education program at the NAMI Annual Convention is superb. Enthusiastic presenters share the latest information in their fields of expertise, laboring hard to do so in a way that lay people will understand. They also make serious efforts to explain how their information relates to other issues. In addition, there are series of classes intended for the novice, both consumer and family member alike.

Like those before it, the NAMI 2007 Convention was a family reunion of sorts, a very large family, not bound by common blood, but by common cause: to improve the quality of life of those suffering from mental illness, as well as their family and friends, and ultimately to eradicate serious brain disorders. Each year we respectfully mourn the loss of some of our numbers and rejoice in new members that have found solace, comfort and understanding at this conclave.

In addition to the two hats that I have always worn at NAMI conventions, those of a consumer and family member, this year a third one was added. I agreed to do some interviews and write a series of blogs about the NAMI Convention for SchizophreniaConnection, part of The HealthCentral Network. My interviews and discussions will be the nucleus for upcoming blogs which are intended to provide readers, be they consumers, family members, providers, advocates or other interested parties, with an additional perspective.

I have learned that each convention, like a person, takes on its own personality, one created in part by the theme of the convention and scheduled events, but also from the news of the day, and the particular set of individuals who have chosen to attend. This year was no exception. The theme for 2007 was "Building Our Movement, Building Our Future." The news of the day, the buzz if you will, was, as always, a mixture. It ranged from the tragic shooting deaths of Virginia Tech and how this singular event may affect the stigma that continues to engulf mental illness to the continuing growth and burgeoning successes of NAMI's Signature Programs, such as the Family to Family and In Our Own Voice educational and stigma-busting efforts at the national, state and local levels.

I believe there were at least three things about this year's convention that set it apart from previous gatherings in a fundamental way. The first was the intensity of our demands for improvements in mental health care delivery systems at the national, state and local levels coupled with the palpable expectations of measurable results.