HOUSTON – It’s a day of awareness, community camaraderie, and remembrance; it’s Greater Houston’s largest and most well attended walks focused on people with mental illnesses—it’s NAMIWalks Your Way Greater Houston. This annual walk hosted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Greater Houston, now in its 17th year, expects to attract nearly 3,000 participants from Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties on Saturday, May 21, 2022, at 7:30 am at Sam Houston Park (1100 Bagby).
“I’m excited to have our annual walk, in person, and at our original location for one big reunion and welcome celebration for new as well as longtime walkers and attendees,” said Angelina Brown Hudson, MPA, Executive Director of NAMI Greater Houston. “We are grateful in advance for every walker and donor who supports our mission and our work. We appreciate that they have chosen us.”
“We fill in the gaps and are a vital connector for so many who are living with mental illness, who are depressed, fearful and hopeless,” said Brenda W. LaVar, PhD, NAMI Greater Houston board president. “So many people have experienced a dramatic change in their mental health especially over the past couple of years after being faced by multitude of life’s stressors sometimes all at once. We are here for anyone who struggles today.”
“NAMI Greater Houston and offerings like our Warmline, SEA Center, support groups and classes have become important to people from every walk of life, most evidently during the height of the pandemic when people were most fragile, and services and supports were at their lowest,” said Hudson.
In a recent report, NAMI Greater Houston shares that over the last year alone, the organization served more than 41,000 people in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties; and like every year, the generosity of individual donors, corporate and business sponsors of the organization’s programs and of NAMIWalks Greater Houston helps fund these services and programs making them available at no cost to everyone requesting them.
Hudson says, “providing services, and even one-on-one outreach is important to the wellbeing of a person living with a diagnosed or an undiagnosed mental illness and maintaining a connection with them is important to their recovery. We want them to know they are never alone.”
“Everybody has the potential to help somebody who has been touched by a mental health concern by participating in NAMIWalks Greater Houston becoming a walker, team captain, volunteer, or sponsor,” said Chris Johnson, NAMIWalks Greater Houston manager. “The goal for this year’s walk is $275,000. Proceeds will fund the organization’s programs including support, education, and advocacy for those dealing with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, severe anxiety disorders and other mental illnesses affecting adults and children.”
For more information on how to join or support NAMIWalks Greater Houston, visit https://www.namigreaterhouston.org/ or email walk@namigreaterhouston.org.
B-ROLL AVAILABLE (Video)-
https://youtu.be/UdB3F83d5ro
###