For the caregivers: Longtime West Seattleite invites you to join ‘Cortex Vortex’

| Health | How to help | West Seattle news

Mental illness affects more than the people struggling with it – their families, friends, co-workers are affected too. One of your West Seattle neighbors found support and wants both to let you know about it, and to invite your support. Here’s the message from Jesse:

I have experienced incredible support and care from an organization called NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. This organization offers support groups, education, and listening ears to families who have a loved one with mental illness. Their goal is to help the caregiver, so the caregiver can better help their loved one in crisis and learns ways to help themselves. Often persons in crisis have little resources for help. This means often it’s a family member or friend who steps up and dedicates part of their life and resources to help this loved one. This takes financial and mental tolls on the caregiver. The support from NAMI and the many other caregivers is an indispensable resource. NAMI helped myself when I had a loved one enter a mental health crisis. My life changed completely after I never saw my husband, home, or puppy again due to his actions. At my lowest NAMI gave me the tools and support I needed to get me to a place where I am stronger than I have ever been. I am grateful beyond words. This is why I created my fundraising team The Cortex Vortex!

Saturday, June 3rd, NAMIWalks is hosting a fundraising walk at Marina Park in Kirkland. We hope to get people out to support the cause to aid mental illness in our community. We are asking for donations to continue providing the resources to help more families in need. Please Join, Donate & Walk with your Families, Friends and Pups!

If you decide to join the walk event, it’s happening 8-11 am Saturday. If you need support, here’s how to contact NAMI’s Helpline – that page also has information about emergency resources.

anonyme June 1, 2023 (9:47 am)

I don’t know how many people realize this, but when it comes to mental health care there is probably more support available for caregivers than for the sufferers themselves. The recent levy will provide some crisis intervention, but will not in any way address crisis prevention – care that could prevent a crisis from happening in the first place. We’re about to spend billions on a band-aid, building multiple crisis centers with no one to staff them. A lot of people requiring care are on disability and have either Medicaid or Medicare. Same for seniors, who face a spectrum of devastating prospects and life changes, including death. Very, very few providers out of an already limited pool accept either one of those insurance models. A recent search for a friend yielded ONE provider in the area, and she was in Lacey. This is just one way that our current medical system is in the stranglehold of the insurance industry, making care both costly and yet inefficient. Ironically, this often makes it more difficult for those with insurance to get care than those without, and even then the care received is not exactly top-notch. It’s time we started treating mental health as part of a total wellness package with equal access for all.

Jeff June 1, 2023 (10:32 am)

So true. I have “good” insurance, but good luck finding a provider that both takes it, and is accepting new clients.
WS Res June 1, 2023 (12:40 pm)

Thanks for naming those very real problems. One reason there are so few providers willing to take insurance is that insurance payments are so low that to make a living, you have to see an enormous number of clients, far past a reasonable capacity for most providers. It’s a short road to burnout for many, so lots of folks just don’t get on it.

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