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NAMI shines light on mental illness

Examiner-Enterprise - 10/4/2017

Oct. 04--This week the National Alliance on Mental Illness marks Mental Illness Awareness Week -- with a theme of #IAmStigmaFree -- to shine a light on mental illness and replace stigma with hope. The week kicked off locally with a candlelight vigil on Sunday night and a Day of Prayer on Tuesday afternoon.

Thursday is Bi-Polar Awareness Day. Guest speaker Nadine Lewis will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3700 SE Woodland Road in Bartlesville. Punch and cookies will be served at 6:30 p.m.

On Saturday night is a chili supper fundraiser from 5-7 p.m. at Redeemer Lutheran Church. The event begins with a silent auction at 5 p.m., then dinner at 5:15 p.m.

Guest speaker Michael Stick is set for 6 p.m. He is pastor at GloryLand Baptist Church in Broken Arrow, a fifth-grade language arts teacher in Bixby and the father of three adult children. He holds a doctorage from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo.; a master's from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas; and a bachelor's from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah.

Stick serves as a volunteer with NAMI as a family support group leader and is also a trained "Family to Family" teacher. He also shares his story as part of the NAMI Tulsa Crisis Intervention training team which trains police/first responders/detention officers in caring for those who have a mental illness.

He is passionate about advocacy for those living with a mental illness. His son, Matt, suffered a psychotic break in 2012, resulting in his wife's death. Matt lives with Bipolar 1 Disorder and Michael continues to support him in his recovery. His book, "A Father's Love" chronicles Matt's journey into the abyss of psychosis as well as his family's love and support for him throughout his confinement, trial and recovery. His book helps the reader understand psychosis from his son's point of view, from the inside out.

Silent auction winners and an iPad giveaway winner will be announced at 6:30 p.m.

NAMI Washington County, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, exists "to provide support, education and advocacy for persons with mental illness and their families."

For more information, visit www.nami.org/miaw, call 918-337-8080, ext. 2202, or email [email protected].

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(c)2017 the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise (Bartlesville, Okla.)

Visit the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise (Bartlesville, Okla.) at www.examiner-enterprise.com

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