TESTIMONIALS

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Advocates

We have purchased and distributed the BTS lesson plans to local public schools as a memorial to our daughter. She took her life at 17 in December 2002 after struggling with mental illness for a number of years….In the year following Meredith’s death our home school district was in the process of adopting a new health curriculum. BTS was adopted as a component of this new curriculum…Thanks for the BTS lesson plans. They have opened the door to discussing mental illness and other brain disorders in our community.
Geri Johnson Fick, NAMI Clatsop, Astoria, Oregon

We already have 43 educators in 34 schools in Waterloo & Cedar Falls Iowa who have been using the "Breaking the Silence" lesson plans in their classrooms. During the lesson plan about the depressed mom, a 5th grader went to the school counselor and sought help. Before this, the teacher had not noticed the child was depressed. The teacher was thrilled to help this child.
Thanks for all you do!
Judy Meyer, NAMI Black Hawk County

Over the past 8 years, I’ve had the pleasure of developing outreach programs for ethnic minority families in the St. Louis area, as a staff member of the local affiliate office….after years of negotiating “red tape”, “school bureaucracy”, and “stigma”, we finally got approval from key school personnel [to provide mental health education to the high school staff and youth] ….Roosevelt High School is a predominantly African American high school in the inner city, with burgeoning numbers of Bosnian, Vietnamese, and African immigrants…. Sections of the “Breaking the Silence” curriculum were used for the mental health presentation and proved to be quite helpful…Given the success of the program…they have expressed an interest in using more of the “Breaking the Silence” curriculum. I am excited about their enthusiasm and welcome the opportunity. “Breaking the Silence” is an absolutely wonderful resource and I am grateful to your affiliate for all the hard work you have done in developing it and making it available to so many of us.
Ms. Kimberly A. Carter, M.S.W., Mental Health Educator/Consultant, Saint Louis, MO

I am working with a group of parents who are trying to begin a pilot training program in our district. This is a district that 5 years ago invited my bipolar son to leave because they couldn't meet his needs. He was a victim of horrid bullying and rather than address his tormentors they homebound him and the bullies went on to be student council leaders.
Carolie Collins, Advisory Board Member of the Minnesota Parent Leadership Network

My husband and I are members of NAMI Medina County, Medina, Ohio. He is president of our local chapter and I am Director of Education. We are very interested in your new programs for elementary-aged children regarding "understanding mental illness". How very important it is that we begin stamping out stigma with education at a very early age. Thank you for taking this step forward in the education of young children.
Richard Paterson, Brunswick, Ohio 44212

I just completed my Visions For Tomorrow teacher training today and was excited to get home and look up what Breaking the Silence was. I heard a mother and her son talk highly of how it was the "Greatest Educational Opportunity" they attended. I found your web site and would like to know more on how to get local schools to implement this program!
Rita Gallup

Just a note to tell you how pleased we are with your program. As you can see an award was given me from the Inter-Agency Council. It was all because of your program…..We have taught quite a few classes and the teachers really liked the program. This year every school in our county will have the program running. Thanks so much for this wonderful program.
Vriginia Saull, President, NAMI of Salem County, Pilesgrove, NJ