News for Family Programs - Teachers and Support Group Facilitators : Sharing your story

From: Emily Cepla [mailto:ecepla@nami.org]
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 5:41 AM
To: caac
Subject: MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES: Help Needed

MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES: Help Needed

NAMI has received several new requests from national reporters looking for personal stories. They want to talk with individuals or families about bad experiences with barriers or gaps in the mental health care system---and stories in which a person finally got help and what made the difference.

In general, requests involve:

· Families

· Children, teens or young adults

· Veterans

· Emergency rooms and hospitals

· Outpatient services

· Affordability, insurance or other funding issues

· Criminal justice issues—particularly jails

· Homelessness; housing

· Employment

If you are interested in possibly sharing a story, please send a short summary to yourstory@nami.org. Please include your age, city, and state and telephone contact information.

· NAMI may not be able to acknowledge every submission, but every story will be considered

· Submitting a story does not commit you to being interviewed by the news media

· Names and contact information will not be shared with any reporter until NAMI contacts you first and you give permission

· Ultimately, it’s a reporter’s decision whether to contact a person for an interview. If an interview does not result, NAMI will still keep your story for other opportunities.

Please let us know if you are interested in telling your story to the news media. Please also forward this appeal to anyone else who might be interested. Many thanks for your help!

Bob Carolla

Director of Media Relations

National Alliance on Mental Illness ( NAMI)

3803 North Fairfax Drive

Arlington, VA 22205

(703) 516-7963

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Emily Cepla, MPH

Program Manager, Child and Adolescent Action Center

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

3803 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100

Arlington, VA 22203