Alliance expands mental health resources in Sussex

Recognizing Sussex County lacks services for people and families facing mental illness, the National Alliance on Mental Illness has focused new attention on Sussex County.

Now the organization wants people to know it is here to help.

The Wilmington-based alliance is part of a network of national chapters that seeks to provide support, education and coping strategies for people with mental illness and their families.

Late last year, the alliance noticed Sussex County was underserved, so it has redoubled its efforts, now running English and Spanish support groups every Thursday, throughout the county. The alliance also offers other programs such as police training and housing assistance.

These free programs are effective at promoting education and overcoming stigma associated with mental illness, Sussex County Volunteer Coordinator Sue Brunhammer said.

But nobody knows about them yet.

NAMI now sponsors three volunteer-led support groups in Sussex County, more than in both Kent and New Castle counties, where there is only one group for each county. Outreach in Sussex includes two English-speaking support groups for family members and loved ones coping with the diagnosis of someone close.

"It is hard when you have a family member that isn’t well, and there is the stigma that is involved with mental illness," Brunhammer said.

The other group in Sussex is a Spanish-speaking support group lead by Anna Ornelas that meets every first and third Thursday monthly at the Easter Seals building in Georgetown. This group offers peer-to-peer outreach for Spanish-speakers with mental illness and support for their families.

Since October, Richard Kapolka and his wife, Pat, have been leading a support group for family, friends and loved ones of people with mental illness at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Millsboro.

Kapolka said the free group is still catching on, but as more people attend, they offer strength and guidance to one another during the 90-minute meetings.

"Mental illnesses are medical illnesses, and frequently they have environmental triggers. It's easy for siblings or spouses to blame themselves, but that doesn’t do any good," he said. "We find strength in sharing experience and learning that we are not alone."

From anxiety disorders to clinical depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, the support groups at NAMI embrace a range of mental health problems, Kapolka said.

"We really don’t judge anyone’s pain is less than our own," he said. "Any one of these situations is difficult to deal with, and it's amazing how people gain strength listening to one another’s stories."

Group members learn strategies, develop support systems and find out about state support to help them better cope with their loved ones' illnesses.

The next NAMI-sponsored support group is slated for 7 p.m. Thursday, April 14, at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Millsboro.

NAMI is also sponsoring a Mental Health Walk at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 7, in Glasgow State Park.

For more information, go to www.NAMIDelaware.org.

NAMI support groups

LEWES

7 p.m.,  fourth Thursday, monthly

Lewes Presbyterian Church

133 Kings Hwy.

Lewes

MILLSBORO

7 p.m., second Thursday, monthly

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

West State St. and Ellis St

Millsboro

NAMI Connection  (Spanish)

7 p.m., first and third Thursdays, monthly

Easter Seals Building

2217 DuPont Blvd.

Georgetown