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As a national board member of NAMI and a member of the Convention Planning Committee, I am pleased to report that the 2000 Convention in San Diego was a huge success. The event was held at the San Diego Town and Country Resort Hotel, a sprawling college campus like facility, that welcomed our group of over 2300 attendees warmly. The hotel administration noted that they had never had an event with a friendlier, nicer group of people!

Two New Yorkers were honored with prestigious awards, Ken Steele was given the Rona and Ken Purdy Award for significant contributions to end discrimination against people with mental illness for his "I vote, I count " voter education and empowerment drive which seeks to educate people about the power of the ballot box, register them to vote, and teach them advocacy skills to use in outreach efforts to candidates and office holders. Ken also played a prominent role in the Opening Plenary.

Consumer and tireless consumer advocate, Fred Levine was presented with the Lionel Aldridge Award for his service, courage, and leadership on behalf of people with mental illness. In presenting this award to attorney Fred Levine, NAMI recognized his long history of service to people with mental illness, particularly those served by Fountain House in New York City. Fred was especially recognized for his efforts in leading the coalition on behalf of New York City consumers to secure the Half Fare from the MTA. He was honored for the tremendous difference that he has made in the lives of many individuals as well as for the impact he has made on public policy issues which affect many thousands of people.

Dr. Steve Goldfinger, Vice Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn ("Downstate"), our very own Community Psychiatrist par excellence, was in attendance both as a volunteer "on call" physician during the entire Convention, as well as the Moderator of the Workshop: Dealing Effectively with Co-Occurring Disorders, which was co-sponsored by the American Association of Community Psychiatrists. This very topical subject addressed the comprehensive treatment of persons with co-occurring disorders from assessments to motivational interviewing, family interventions, assertive case management, comprehensive rehabilitative efforts, and state-of-the-art psychopharmacology.

Also from "Downstate," Dr. Peter J. Weiden, Director of their Schizophrenia Research Program and winner of a "Ken" 2000 Book Award for his guide for consumers, families, and clinicians: Breakthroughs in Anti-Psychotic Medications, hosted the very informative "Ask the Doctor" Session on Medications.

Topics: Research, Political and Social Issues and Treatment

A very impressive scientific presentation was made by Dr. Manfred Spitzer, Professor and Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Ulm in Germany in his five-hour session titled "Cognitive Neuroscience." Dr. Spitzer, who has written a book on this subject, published in 1999 by the same title, has given scientific legitimacy to what we in the field have known for years: that true recovery from psychiatric illnesses must be approached not only from the perspective of the medical model, but must also be supplemented with psychosocial rehabilitation. A scientist as well as a psychiatrist, Dr. Spitzer's slides of brain scans were able to show actual physical changes to the brain as a result of a type of patterning caused by environmental re-learning, once the medication has decreased the active symptoms of psychosis. Dr. Spitzer is the Director of the University Psychiatric Hospital located in Ulm, Germany. He welcomes international visitors to his clinic, by appointment.

Extensive research updates described up-to-the-minute information on research and treatment in critical areas: Mood Disorders, Schizophrenia, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Attention-Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders, Borderline Personality Disorder, Dual Diagnosis, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Anxiety Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

There was a great deal of focus, in the light of the Columbine tragedies, on the early diagnosis and treatment of Child and Adolescent Mental Illnesses. Dr. Peter Jensen, Director for the new Center for the Advancement of Children's Mental Health at N.Y. Psychiatric Institute, gave a research update on this subject and conducted an extensive Symposia on The Teen Screen Prevention Program at Columbia. Along with Leslie Craft, M.S.W. a director of the Teen Screen Program and Dr. David Schaffer of Psych Institute, a strong message was delivered that screening teens for depression, followed by effective intervention, can prevent a host of bad outcomes: school failure, substance abuse, chronic depressive illness, and suicide, which is the third-leading cause of death among youth ages 15 through 24, a rate that has tripled in the past 40 years. Attendees received a NAMI Teen Suicide Prevention Tool Kit, a new interactive, computerized version of the NIMH-DISC assessment tool for screening youth, which was developed at Columbia. NAMI is proud to be a partner in the new Center for the Advancement of Children's Mental Health at Columbia.

Accessing Services

Since the theme of the Convention was "Turning Promise Into Practice," much attention was focused on how to actually access services. Workshops and training sessions were held on such diverse subjects as: Getting What You Need From Your School System, Training of Family Members to serve on Mental Health Planning Councils, Public Policy Strategies for Advocacy Organizations, Education and Advocacy in the African American Community, and the Consumers' Role in Building Recovery into the System. These practical hands-on sessions were invaluable to the attendees who wish to go back into their communities and really make a difference!

Criminalization and Jail Diversion

The issues of forensics, alternative Mental Health Courts and Police Sensitivity Training were hot topics since even the U.S. Department of Justice has come out with a report revealing that 16% of all inmates in our nation's jails and prisons – some 283,000 individuals suffer from serious mental illness (NAMI suspects the number to be substantially higher). The Symposia dealing with this subject featured two individuals from the law enforcement community who have emerged as national innovators for diverting individuals with serious mental illness from incarceration into treatment: Lt. Sam Cochran, Coordinator, Crisis Intervention Team, Memphis Police Department, Memphis, TN and Judge James D. Cayce, presiding judge, King County Mental Health Court, Seattle, WA. Along with Linda Teplin, Ph.D., director, Psycho-Legal Studies, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL. These presentations were further evidence that NAMI's advocacy efforts are bearing fruit in this area.

NAMI Board Elections

An indispensable part of every NAMI Convention is the election of five board members, of the fifteen member plus one Consumer Council Representative board member. Brief biographies of the candidates appear in the issue of The Nami Advocate prior to the Convention. At the convention, time is set aside for brief candidate speeches, which are followed by State caucuses held to discuss not only the candidates, but also other current state business.

Nine candidates were running for office. The winners were announced at the Convention: incumbents Silvia Arias, Carla Jacobs and Jim McNulty were re-elected for a second three-year term. Two new board members were elected: Betsy Smith of Connecticut and Gloria Walker of Ohio. We are fortunate to have such qualified, enthusiastic advocates joining us on the board.
Consumer Friendly Convention

Being a family organization, NAMI welcomes and encourages consumer participation in its membership and welcomes the voices and opinions of consumers at our conventions.
At the beginning of the Convention, a special orientation was conducted for first-time consumer attendees. Throughout the Convention a Consumer Welcome Center was open offering companionship, refreshments and a place to take a quiet break. A full time psychiatrist was on call for any emergencies which might arise and a group of volunteer social workers and nurses were also available throughout the convention to assure the comfort level of our attendees. Mike Freedman, the Consumer Council Representative on the NAMI Board of Directors and his wife Sandi were very much in attendance and helpful in welcoming consumers.

The artistic achievements of the consumer community were highlighted with a wonderful Consumer Art Show arranged jointly by NARSAD Artworks and San Diego's Creative Arts Consortium.
The Arts and Media Festival featured the unveiling of a PBS Documentary of NAMI, "Visionaries." The event was hosted by two Hollywood celebrities, Michael Connors (of the television series Mannix) and Crystal Bernard (of the television series Wings). At 8 p.m. NAMI's own consumer celebrities took over and presented a highly polished program of song, drama, and poetry. Our outstanding performers were: Hal Rowberry, folk singer, Idaho Falls, ID; Wambui Bahati, singer and dramatic artist, Greensboro NC; Irene Russell, country and western singer, Surgoinsville, TN; Paul Abram, singer, Tustin, CA; James Eret, poet, San Diego, CA; and Gayle Bluebird, poet and emcee, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Where was our talent from New York? It would be wonderful to have your participation next year.

2001 Convention In Washington, D.C.

We hope that many of you will consider joining us next year in D.C. It's a little closer and has the advantage that we are able by our presence to impress the legislature with our sheer numbers and the importance of our organization and our mission. Please save the date: July 11th - 15th 2001!
Visit our Website, nami.org, for more information about our activities.