Nine San Francisco Bay Area NAMI Affiliates Raise Funds for Free Mental Health Services May 31st

March 31, 2014 - PRLog -- WHO:          The  10^th Annual 5K NAMIWalk San Francisco Bay Area in Golden Gate Park directly benefits eight participating NAMI affiliates in Alameda County, Alameda County South, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Solano counties who work together to create this annual fundraiser. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. Thousands of volunteers, families, corporate employees, community groups, and people living with mental illness from around the Bay Area will participate. Dr. Francis J. Harvey, 19th Secretary of the U.S. Army (November 19, 2004 – March 9, 2007), and Col. William E. Peacock, USMCR (Ret), Chairman, Wine Country Marines, serve as this year’s NAMIWalk SF Bay Area Veterans’ Co-chairs advocating for increased mental health services for Veterans. (Interviews available pre-walk by arrangement via Media Contact.)

WHAT:         10^h AnnualNAMIWalkSan FranciscoBay Area Fundraiser (5K & 2K walk routes)

WHEN:          Saturday, May 31, 2014
8:30 AM (Check-in & On-site Registration); 10:30 AM (Opening Ceremony); 11:00 AM (Walk Starts); Post-Walk to 2 PM: (Live music, info booth, food trucks. Picnic lunches and dogs on leashes are okay.)

WHERE:         Golden Gate Park Lindley Meadow (next to Speedway Meadow), 30^th Ave and John F Kennedy Drive, San Francisco, CA, 94121

COST:          FREE for NAMIWalkers (thanks to sponsor donations).

Go to www.NAMIWalkSFBay.org.for more details or to Pre-Register. (Register as an individual, join a team or become a team-captain. Children with adult guardians welcome.)

WHY:          The 10th Annual NAMIWalk SF Bay Area raises funds through corporate and sponsor donations and helps to educate the public to remove stigma associated with mental illness. In 2013, the walk raised over $470,000 which was shared among the nine affiliates participating last June 2nd to underwrite the free NAMI mental health programs most needed in their area. Programs include Family to Family, a multi-week support and education course for family members of people with mental illness, In Our Own Voice, an anti-stigma speaker’s bureau, Parents and Teachers as Allies, an in-service program helping school professionals better understand the early warning signs of mental illnesses in children, partnerships with multi-cultural agencies reaching out with classes and education materials in Spanish and Chinese. NAMI supports veterans and active duty personnel through its national Veteran’s Resource Center and locally through family support groups specifically for family members of service personnel dealing with mental health issues.  NAMI advocates politically for improved public policies addressing the needs of those with mental illness and their families on national and regional levels. For information, visit www.NAMIWalkSFBay.org.