Allstate Foundation Helping Hands Grant
June 19, 2018NAMI Sarasota County recently received a Helping Hands Grant from the Allstate Foundation thanks to Allstate volunteer, Katherine Adams-Love. The Allstate Foundation supports the causes that Allstate agency owners, financial specialists and employees care about most by providing Helping Hands Grants to nonprofits where they volunteer their time to bring out the good in their communities. This grant will enable NAMI Sarasota County to continue to provide support, education, and advocacy to individuals living with mental illness, their families and Read More
A case of misplaced priorities
Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Opinion
Updated May 19, 2018 at 7:56 PM
Proposed Department of Corrections cuts would decimate substance abuse programs in the midst of the opioid epidemic
Sometimes the shortsightedness of our state government leaves me speechless — and that’s not a condition I’m very familiar with.
I learned of a recent mind-bogglingly irrational decision last Friday when P.J. Brooks of First Step of Sarasota told shocked attendees at the regular monthly meeting of the Behavioral Healthcare Consortium that his agency Read More
Sarasota moving from ‘meanest’ to ‘most humane’ on the homeless front
Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Opinion
If ever there was an example of Sarasota at its worst, it was the prolonged, divisive and bungled effort to find a solution to reducing the number of homeless individuals in our city. It’s been a dozen years since Sarasota was named “the meanest city in America” by the National Coalition for the Homeless — raising red flags of alarm for a city reliant on tourism — and Read More
NAMI Sarasota County Welcomes Executive Director
Sarasota Patch | Mar 25, 2018 9:45 pm ET
Newly hired Executive Director for NAMI Sarasota will help the affiliate grow.
NAMI Sarasota County (National Alliance on Mental Illness), the nation’s largest organization for individuals and families affected by mental illness, has hired Colleen Thayer as their first Executive Director. As Executive Director, Ms. Thayer will provide leadership for NAMI Sarasota County’s mission and for the management of all programs Read MoreA historic day for mental health!
Gov. Scott signs SB 7026 into law | March 9, 2018
This afternoon, Gov. Rick Scott signed into law SB 7026, which would make it easier for schools to identify students at risk of mental illness and intervene more quickly. The bill contained a number of controversial items including raising the age of gun purchases from 18 to 21 and the banning of bump stocks.
In his signing ceremony, Gov. Scott recognized the controversial nature of the bill, saying it’s time for Read More
Young people and mental health
The shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School weigh heavily on all our minds, in Florida and across the United States.
Locally, Sarasota County has the ability to address some of the challenges related to mental illness and our at-risk youths, but more money from the Legislature and philanthropy should be devoted to the treatment of mental illness if we are to adequately address our community’s issues.
Twenty percent of youths Read More