NAMI Celebrating May: Mental Health Awareness Month

Fairfield — May is National Mental Health Awareness Month and NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness Fairfield chapter, will sponsor two separate speaker meetings to honor this designation. NAMI’s goals are to support those living with mental illness and their loved ones, to provide educational programs to the community that foster understanding and healthy living, and to provide advocacy.

The First Wednesday speaker meeting on May 6 will feature Dr Alex Koleszar presenting “Current Trends in Psychiatric Medications.” Dr Koleszar will explain the different categories of psychotropic medications and how they are used in treating brain disorders.

It is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be served.

Then, on Thursday, May 14, three NAMI affiliates will cosponsor David Lovelace, award-winning author of Scattershot: A Memoir of My Bipolar Family. Mr Lovelace will receive NAMI’s Ken Book Award for “books which substantially contribute to the public’s understanding of mental illness.”

Scattershot is Mr Lovelace’s poignant, humorous, and vivid account of the disease’s effects on his family, and his gripping exploits as he spent his life running from — and finally learning to embrace — the madness encoded on his genes. Punctuated by a series of truly harrowing experiences, this devastating yet gentle portrait of the Lovelace family strips away the shame associated with bipolar disorder, and celebrates the profound creative gifts that come with it.

Both meetings will take place at the First Church Congregational Church, 148 Beach Road, in Wakeman Hall, from 7:30 to 9 pm, and are free to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

The Lovelace talk is a cooperative event of NAMI Fairfield, NAMI Stamford/Greenwich, and NAMI Trumbull. For more information call 203-650-3463.