May is National Mental Health Awareness month and NAMI Chattanooga in partnership with AIM Center will present Our Stories: families and friends caring for those living with mental illness to address challenges that face caregivers of adults with mental illness.
"This forum will provide an opportunity to hear compelling stories from four local caregivers and learn more about the important role that they and others like them have in the continuum of care for the mentally ill. The community is invited to attend Our Stories to learn more about how mental health issues affects the family from the unique perspective of a caregiver," officials said.
Our Stories is free, open to the public, and will be held at AIM Center on Tuesday at 7 p.m. AIM Center is located at 472 West M.L. King Blvd. in Chattanooga.
"Caregivers for mentally ill adult relatives or friends give significant time and financial support to help millions of Americans living with mental illness yet 50% of caregivers report feeling alone and say it is difficult to talk to others about their loved one’s mental illness. Approximately 8.4 million Americans spend 32 hours a week as mental health caregivers and on average are in this role for nine years which impacts their workplace, personal finances and physical health," officials said.
The evening will conclude with area mental health organizations providing brief overviews of the services they provide to the community: Johnson Mental Health Center, Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute, Crisis Intervention Team, Mental Health Cooperative, Helen Ross McNabb Center, and AIM Center.