Criminal Justice Forum

NAMI is the nation’s voice on mental illness, whose members are comprised of individuals living with a mental health condition, their family and friends, and advocates.  Mental illness affects one in every four families.  NAMI Pinellas seeks to serve the needs of these individuals by providing support, education, and advocacy through NAMI Signature Programs and groups.  NAMI Pinellas also makes presentations in Middle Schools and High Schools, and various community organizations to raise awareness of mental health conditions in an effort to end the stigma associated with a mental health condition.  In addition, monthly Education Meetings are held, open to the community to offer various resources and information related to mental health.  Specific details and dates of these groups and meetings are listed below:

• Every Monday evening from 6:30-8:30pm NAMI Pinellas offers a NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group for adults (18+) diagnosed with a mental illness at Empath Health 5771 Roosevelt Blvd. Clearwater, FL in the Garden House.  This group is led by 2 trained facilitators living in recovery and provides a safe and accepting setting with access to a community which can relate to each others experiences.
• Two Family Support Groups are offered monthly.  One is the first Thursday of the month from 4:00-6:00pm at Suncoast Center, 545 East Harrison Ave, Tarpon Springs (next to Cops and Kids, across from tennis courts).  The next meeting will be November 5th. The second Family Support Group is held the third Thursday of the month from 7-9pm at Empath Health 5771 Roosevelt Blvd in Clearwater at the Garden House, the next being offered November 19th.  The Family Support Group offers families, partners and caregivers of individuals living with a mental illness, a chance to become more informed and to seek solutions to frequently faced situations as well as a chance to gain insight and hope from shared experiences.
• The second Thursday of the month, NAMI Pinellas offers an Education Meeting from 7-9pm at Empath Health, 5771 Roosevelt Blvd,Clearwater, in the GARDEN HOUSE, open to the community.  The next Education Meeting will be Thursday, November 12th with speaker, Dr. Gregory Capriotti of CW Bill Young VAMC. Dr. Capriotti is the Local Recovery Coordinator at Bay Pines VA Healthcare System. His primary administrative  duties involve supervision of Peer Support Specialists and their training.  From 2012 to the present, Dr. Capriotti has provided  comprehensive psychological services as a staff psychologist at Bay Pines VA MC  in the Acute Inpatient Psychiatry Unit and Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center (PRRC).
  Education courses, such as Peer-to-Peer and Family-to-Family are currently being offered, however, registration is closed and will not begin again until January 2016.  Additional information will come as soon as another class is scheduled.  For more information, please visit our website at www.nami-pinellas.org .

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