TESTIMONIALS

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Tool Kit

I am excited about the opportunity for the Chicago Public Schools to utilize the “Breaking the Silence” (BTS) program. I introduced the program to the most senior levels of the Chicago school system. It has been received quite favorably and I am hoping to help them implement BTS for the school year 2004-2005. The class room lesson plans are terrific. Teachers and administrators are provided with a “turn-key” solution to implement this material right away. The accompanying toolkit for advocates and volunteers, like me, is extremely thorough. It provides step-by-step tools to introduce and engage school systems – complete with talking points, references, and ideas. This program should be introduced and implemented by every primary and secondary school in the world. The work that the BTS staff has done is terrific. As a business leader, I have shared the materials with my staff as an example of a quality program. Congratulations on the great work. I will look for every opportunity to present this material.
Peter

I am a training facilitator for the UCLA Center on Child Welfare. But, more important I'm also a NAMI Los Angeles affiliate with a teenage consumer daughter diagnosed with depression/ bipolar at age 14 and assist in teaching the family to family class for NAMI. I'm also working very hard to bring more early awareness to schools and communities about brain disorders and mental illness as it relates to children and adolescents.
Thank you for making this information available.
Karen P. Auther, Los Angeles, CA.

I am the pediatrician member of the school health advisory board. Our mission is to improve the health and well being of the students in the City of Alexandria. I plan on presenting this to the Board and advising that it be included in the curriculum.
I am a member of the AAP Committee on the Psychosocial aspects of Child and Family Health and the ADHD Physician Advisory Committee. I am sure they will be interested in your Tool Kit.
Thomas J. Sullivan, MD, Past President Virginia Chapter of the AAP

I was so excited to read about your mental illness curriculum. I am presently
Director of Special Services in the Teaneck Community Charter School in
Teaneck, New Jersey… I have been working as a school psychologist for almost eighteen years and have had students with serious mental illnesses that have often gone misdiagnosed…. If only these children had been given the tools and understanding to speak about their illness. If only interventions and treatments could have been introduced pre -- crisis.
I am very interested in information about your program. I know there are children in my present setting who would benefit from gaining knowledge about mental illness.
Linda Distler

Greetings from Syracuse, NY. What a Great Tool! I was hoping I could get two... my niece is student teaching and I would like her to have one also. Once Again, thank you NAMI for the help and support to get the word out!
Mary Jane O'Connor

I suffer from mental illness; I want to be a part of this program. As I become more and more well, I see the ignorance all around me: I think about how none of my friends did anything, how my brother didn't believe me, how my very own parents didn't believe me. I am now driven, through my experiences, to educate as many people as I can about mental illnesses. How can I become involved with this program -- beyond bringing it to my geographical area? How
can I help break the silence on a very large scale?
This is my life mission. I want to help people understand and not be afraid. I want to help the mentally ill cope. I'm only 16, but I'm educated well beyond my years -- both formally and experientially. I've noticed how things affect others when coming from me, a peer, as opposed to an instructor in front of the class. I'm not only a name and face for the illnesses, I'm also a functional person that some have known for many years. Again, let me know how I can help further your cause.
Elizabeth Massengale

Dear BTS Folks:
You've developed an AWESOME educational tool....
Thank you,
Deanna Bellinger, Chapter Coordinator, NAMI Southeastern Arizona

Thank you for your recent email announcement. This sounds like a wonderful and beneficial opportunity to educate our young about mental illness. I am interested in discussing this further with you.
Laura Terio, CSW