AN UPDATED HISTORY OF
NAMI MICHIGAN
by
Hubert C. Huebl, MD
May 15, 2006
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This history of the formation and actions of NAMI Michigan was compiled
from histories previously written by Hank Spitzig and Erma Barber, and resource
materials provided by: Carol Rees, Donald and Helen Hill, Hope and Fred
Cummins, Norma Prouty, Betty Smith, Clarence "Doc" and Jimmie Porter, and Tom
Coles. It also includes personal
communications with: Hank Spitzig, Arlie Kinnee, Lou Vescio, Bev Lewis, Ray
Gauthier, and David Sprey.
FORMATION
In 1974, a group of concerned parents of mentally ill persons in
Lansing, assisted by the local Community Mental Health Agency, founded a
support group named "Oasis Fellowship".
It was probably one of the first support groups for family members of
persons with mental illness in the United States. During the next few years, a few additional family support
groups formed as isolated, independent organizations located sporadically
throughout Michigan.
In the summer of 1979, 285 people representing mental illness self-help
support groups from around the country met in Madison, Wisconsin. As a result, the Alliance for the
Mentally Ill (AMI) was formed.
Over 30 people from Michigan attended the meeting in Madison. Following the Madison meeting, in 1980,
many of the Michigan people who had attended that meeting, met in Battle Creek
and founded a statewide organization, both of consumers and of families, called
"Citizens for Action in Mental Health" (CAMH). Because of disagreement with the use of the term "for the
Mentally Ill" in the title, they did not affiliate with AMI at that time.
Meanwhile, a few other family support groups had formed in Michigan and
did affiliate directly with AMI as independent organizations.
In the Fall of 1983, about a dozen parents of mentally ill persons
in Washtenaw County attended a ten week family education seminar conducted
by Community Mental Health staff people, Joanne Reuss and Carol Heydlauff. These families decided to form an
organization, and on January 9, 1984, six persons, including Helen and Don
Hill, and Carol Rees, met in Ann Arbor at the home of the Hills. (Jean and Victor Hawthorne were unable
to attend because of icy roads).
They formed an organization called "Friends for Mental Health". Seventeen other family members joined
them for monthly meetings at the Hawthornes' home.
In July, 1984, Tom Sovine, the Executive Director of the Mental Health
Association in Michigan scheduled a meeting to involve family and consumer
groups in a round-table discussion of issues pertinent to Michigan's mentally
ill. Prior to the meeting, sixteen
(16) surveys were returned identifying 58 issues for discussion. Forty three attended from various
Michigan family/consumer groups.
The first meeting was held at the Sheraton Oaks Hotel in Novi, Michigan
on September 22, 1984. Among those
represented were delegates from: AMI Oakland County, Citizens for Action in Mental
Health, Family Support for Mental Recovery-Genessee County, Oasis
Fellowship-Lansing, Residential Care Alternatives-Downtown Detroit, and
Suburban West-Wayne County. A
proposal was made at this meeting to establish some form of an umbrella
organization which would act as a vehicle for a broad, all-inclusive coalition
with by-laws, and a board of directors.
A suggestion was made to call this group the "Federation of Mental Heath
Groups". However, many were
opposed to forming this type of dictatorial structure.
On October 15, 1984, Carol Howe, Assistant Director of the Office
of Affiliate Relations of AMI National, responded to a letter from Erma
Barber, President of Family Support for Mental Recovery, Inc., Genessee
County, requesting information on rules and regulations on forming a State
AMI and working with coalitions. Carol
Howe, via phone and letter suggested information be sent to Michigan AMI
families to encourage them to stand true to AMI and organize under the umbrella
of AMI and she also sent each family group information from the national
office.
In December, 1984, the "Federation" ceased for various reasons. It did, however, provide a forum for
many of the independent AMI groups from around the State to meet and get to know
one another. Thus, a dialogue
began among AMI delegates that created a foundation for a statewide
organization. NAMI took the
position to have an informal working relationship with the Mental Health
Association in Michigan. The Open
Door Policy would be AMI's position.
On January 15, 1985, Hank Spitzig of the AMI Oakland County, invited
Beverly Young of AMI to come to Michigan and meet with the State AMI groups to
discuss a Michigan Statewide organization. On January 31, 1985, National AMI agreed to accept expenses
for her trip.
The meeting with Beverly Young took
place in Southfield on February 12, 1985, with many of the Michigan Affiliates
in attendance. Beverly explained
how the Wisconsin AMI was organized and what some of its functions were. She pointed out how essential a
statewide organization was for the purposes of advocacy in reaching legislators
and the governor with any kind of clout.
While the meeting succeeded in bringing together some of the state
affiliates, it did not immediately bring about a state organization.
On June 13, 1985, AMI Oakland County, the largest Michigan AMI
affiliate, and incorporated as AMI of Michigan, initiated a plan to encompass
their affiliate in the role of the State AMI organization. This plan was sent to National AMI
(hereafter referred to as NAMI),
along with a State AMI affiliate roster:
1)
AMI of Michigan Southwest (Oakland)-Ellen Hayes
2)
Family Support for Mental Recovery, Inc. (Genessee)-Erma
Barber
3)
Residential Care Alternatives Family Support (Wayne
County)-Rose Dilloway
4)
Suburban West (Wayne County)-Louise Skripp
5)
Dearborn Alliance for the Mentally Ill (Wayne County)-Agnes
Hagopian
6)
Oasis Fellowship (Ingham County)-Arlie Kinnee.
This plan was opposed openly by "Citizens for Action on Mental Health"
(CAMH), who felt that they were the State organization, yet opposed using the
term "Mentally Ill" in the title.
Over the next few weeks, attempts were made by the two groups to be certified
as the official State AMI group.
Calls, letters, and visits were made to the National AMI office to
clarify which group qualified as the Statewide AMI Chapter. Both "Citizens for Action in Mental
Health" and the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Michigan submitted
applications for certification that were held in abeyance by NAMI.
Jim Howe, President of NAMI, felt that, while both organizations might
qualify as the State organization, NAMI did not have "specific" and "stated"
criteria for certification as State AMI organizations. He also expressed the opinion that he
did not know enough about conditions in Michigan, and he believed that, in
keeping with the "grass roots" character of NAMI, a "choice should be made by
Michigan, not NAMI". In July,
1985, he took this matter of choosing applicants before the NAMI Board. They, also, would not choose. Instead the decision was:
1.
Both groups meet NAMI's requirements for eligibility assuming
that Citizens for Action in Mental Health is willing, as their representative
stated orally, to change their name to include the name "Alliance for the
Mentally Ill".
2.
The Board does not have enough local knowledge to choose
between the two groups and, in any event, believes that, in keeping with NAMI's
grass roots character, such a choice should be made by Michigan, not NAMI.
3.
Recognizing the difficulty this leaves for both groups, NAMI
is willing, if requested, to send a mediator to help work out terms for either
a merger of the two groups, or the creation of a new group to form a state
Alliance that is accepted by a concensus of Michigan NAMI members.
The problem Michigan was experiencing prompted NAMI to add clarification
to the National bylaws for State AMI's qualifications.
The first attempt at a Michigan
solution was made on July 25, 1985 by Erma Barber, President of Genessee County
Family Support for Mental Recovery AMI.
She sent a letter to Ellen Hayes, President of Michigan AMI, Oakland
County, with a copy to NAMI's President, Jim Howe. In the letter, she proposed that the Michigan AMI affiliates
meet in Flint to resolve their differences and to form an independent State
AMI. She offered to have Genessee
County AMI initiate and host this organizational meeting. This plan was accepted by NAMI. Oakland County AMI withdrew their proposal
to encompass their affiliate into a statewide organization and then helped to
organize the first Statewide AMI organizational meeting to be held in Flint,
Michigan.
On August 19, 1985, a letter was sent to the state AMI affiliates, over
the signatures of Hank Spitzig and Dorothy McQueen of Oakland County AMI with
reference to:
1)
rule for credentialing from NAMI
2)
list of paid affiliate memberships to NAMI
3)
a second reminder of the meeting date for the first State AMI
meeting in Flint, Genessee County on September 14, 1985
4)
a suggestion that each affiliate be allowed two delegates for
the first meeting.
This meeting was for the purpose of structuring a State Alliance.
On September 14, 1985, the first meeting was held at Community
Industries, G-1037, Coldwater Road, Flint, Michigan, hosted by AMI Genessee
County Family Support For
Mental Recovery, Inc., with representatives of eight
Michigan affiliates in attendance.
Their delegates were as follows:
AMI of Michigan-Oakland
County-Dorothy McQueen and Hank Spitzig
Guest:
Ellen Hayes
Dearborn
AMI-Wayne County-Jimmie Porter and Caroline Zolkowsky
Citizens
for Action in Mental Health (CAMH)-a statewide coalition
Lynn
Lasecki and Mark Paulson-Guest:Chris Vahn, Rosemarie Sperbeck
Family Support For Mental Recovery-Genessee County-Erma Barber and
Glenda
Zafiroff-Hosts: Elayne Cole, Myrtle Watkins, Jean Weaver
Friends
for Mental Health AMI-Washtenaw County-Victor Hawthorne and
Donald
Hill
Oasis
Fellowship-Ingham County-Bill Gamble and Betty Smith
Residential
Care Alternatives-Wayne County-Rose Dilloway and
Betty
McCardwell
Suburban
West Support Group-Wayne County-Peggy Spitzig
Bill Gamble, Lynn Lasecki, and another guest: Woody Sanford, had been at
the organizational meeting of NAMI in Madison, Wisconsin in 1979.
Rose Dilloway acted as temporary chair and Dorothy McQueen as temporary
secretary. The meeting was opened
with some apprehension because there had been some talk of a couple of the
affiliates walking out if they were not treated fairly. NAMI's refusal to choose between the
two prior applicants for state certification left the problem in the hands of
the delegates. An impasse seemed
to be developing, when a compromise was reached to allow CAMH three votes for
the purpose of the organizational meeting only. The motion was then made and amended to follow NAMI
guidelines to form a statewide group to be affiliated with NAMI. The vote was an overwhelming eleven yea
with one abstention. Thus the
State Alliance was born. A
steering committee was set up with Rose Dilloway as temporary chair to consider
organizational by-laws at the next meeting to be held in Lansing, Michigan. At that time, Hank Spitzig suggested
that the organization use the Wisconsin State Alliance by-laws as a model.
On October 17, 1985, Hank Spitzig sent a letter to Lynn Saunders of NAMI
advising her that eight Michigan affiliates formed a statewide organization in
Flint on September 14, 1985.
Delegates present:
Erma Barber, Jean Weaver, LynnLasecki, Peggy Spitzig, Dorothy McQueen,
Hank Spitzig, Ellen Hayes, Rosemarie Sperbeck, Chris Vahn, Mark Paulson, Betty
McCardwell, Caroline Zolkewsky, Jimmie Porter, Bill Gamble, Betty Smith, Donald
Hill, Victor Hawthorne, and Rose Dilloway.
On October 19, 1985, the second meeting was held in East Lansing at the
Unitarian Universalist Church, hosted by Oasis Fellowship. The meeting was chaired by Ernie
Curtis. Gini Neuville served as
temporary secretary. By-laws were
unanimously
proposed, approved, and adopted, using, as a model, the AMI
of Wisconsin and NAMI's by-laws.
NAMI's Preamble, with minor revisions, was adopted as the State
Preamble. The next meeting was
scheduled for November, 1985, in Southfield, Michigan to consider temporary
officers. Hank Spitzig agreed to
serve as temporary chair.
Erma Barber,
Dorothy McQueen, Betty Smith and Hank Spitzig were appointed to nominate
temporary officers.
On November 23, 1985, the third meeting was held in Southfield, at the
Mental Health Building. Hank
Spitzig served as temporary chairperson.
The slate of temporary officers was elected unanimously. They were as follows:
Hank
Spitzig-President
Arlie
Kinnee-Vice President
Elaine
Lepak-Recording Secretary
Dorothy
McQueen-Corresponding Secretary
Peggy
Spitzig-Treasurer
Five members were elected to serve on the Executive Committee with the
officers. Those members were: Erma Barber, Rose Dilloway, Victor
Hawthorne, Lynn Lasecki, Betty
Smith, and Carol Rees of Friends for Mental Health, Washtenaw County. The Board decided to have the President
solicit $25.00 from each affiliate for immediate expenses until a dues
structure could be established.
The Chair proposed a temporary name for the Group as "The State Alliance
for the Mentally Ill of Michigan".
Dorothy McQueen added that the group could become known as the Alliance
for the Mentally Ill of Michigan when the Birmingham group changed their name. It was proposed that incorporation,
NAMI certification, and a newsletter were the three priority issues that had to
be addressed.
In addition to the Board members, also attending the meeting were
Shirley Dyer and Angela Romano of PACE, Macomb County; Chris Kalen and Mark
Paulson of PATH, Saginaw County; Joanne Verbanic of Schizophrenic Anonymous,
Oakland County; and Janet Risse from AMI Eastside, Wayne County-all of whom had
been invited by Hank Spitzig.
Janet Risse pointed out that the Eastside group had mailed in their
application to NAMI. The Board
then voted to include the Eastside group as a member of the State
Alliance. At this point, there
were then nine affiliates in the State Alliance.
In December, 1985, application for certification by NAMI as the official
statewide organization was made.
Later in December, 1985, a letter of acceptance was received by the
State AMI, in care of Hank Spitzig, from NAMI, signed by Laurie Flynn,
Executive Director, and by Lynne Saunders, Director, Office of Affiliate
Relations.
On January 4, 1986, the first meeting of the Executive Committee of the
State Alliance for the Mentally Ill was held at the Michigan Union Building in
Ann Arbor. Victor Hawthorne
proposed having a Mental Health Symposium on May 31, 1986 at the Conference
Hall in the new School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, in
cooperation with the Washtenaw County Community Mental Health Service. Elaine Lepak was designated chairperson
for a newsletter. An informal
working relationship with the Mental Health Association was developed.
On January 10, 1986, Henry Spitzig, Arlie Kinnee, Peggy Spitzig, Erma
Barber, and Rose Dilloway met at the home of Arlie Kinnee in Lansing. While there, Rose Dilloway typed the
incorporation papers, and the group drove to the Commerce Department and filed
application documents to become incorporated using the name: "State Alliance
for the Mentally Ill of Michigan".
Application also was filed with the Internal Revenue Service for not-for-profit
501-c-3 corporation status.
On February 8, 1986, the
Executive Committee and Board met at the McPherson Community Memorial Hospital
in Howell. Bylaws were formally
adopted. A State AMI brochure was
presented. A post office box
number was acquired under the State AMI name and a letterhead was
designed. A bulk postage rate was
established. Joanne Verbanic of
Schizophrenics Anonymous was nominated as the first state delegate to the NAMI
Client Council. The first
statewide conference was proposed by Dr. Victor Hawthorne of the Ann Arbor
group for May, 1986. Support for
Protection and Advocacy Services was promoted.
Delegates present were:
AMI
Dearborn-Jimmie Porter
AMI
Detroit-Shirley Clarkson
AMI
Eastside-Janet Glenn
AMI
Michigan Oakland-Dorothy McQueen
CAMH-Lynn
Lasecki, Rosemarie Sperbeck
Family
Support for Mental Health-Erma Barber, Glenda Zaforoff
Friends
for Mental Health-Victor Hawthorne, Carol Rees
Oasis-Arlie
Kinnee, Betty Smith
Suburban
West-Peggy Spitzig
In February, 1986, notification from NAMI was received that the
organization had been accepted and certified as the official Michigan "State"
affiliate. Elaine Lepak, the
newsletter editor, produced the first newsletter in early February. Eight hundred copies were mailed.
The new State AMI organization was active immediately. State Alliance members: Rose Dilloway,
Evan Lasicki, Lynn Lasecki, Betty Smith, and Hank and Peggy Spitzig became
involved on the Services Development Board. They participated in acquiring a grant of $301,000.00 from
the Department of Mental Health to the Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service
(P&A) to implement protection and advocacy services for persons labeled
mentally ill.
On March 15, 1986 the Executive Committee met at the McPherson Community
Memorial Hospital in Howell. AMI
of Garden City was accepted into the organization as the tenth affiliate. The first newsletter was judged by the
NAMI screening committee as one of the top ten state affiliate newsletters in
the United States. A nominating
committee was elected to provide a slate of permanent officers to be elected at
the first annual membership meeting to be held on May 31, 1986.
On April 7, 1986, Alliance members testified at the Mental Health
Advisory Council meeting at Northville Hospital. Statements of concern were given by Rose Dilloway, Victor
Hawthorne, Dorothy McQueen, Carol Rees, and Hank Spitzig. A statement of priorities and
recommendations for the mentally ill was distributed by Hank Spitzig.
On April 19, 1986 the Executive Committee met at the St. Lawrence Mental
Health Center in Lansing.
Additional delegates were present from P.A.T.H., and SHARE of Grand
Rapids. Friends for Mental
Recovery changed their name to: Genessee County AMI. A Wayne County Coalition was formed with Rose Dilloway as
President. The Nominating
Committee proposed a slate for permanent officers for the meeting in May:
President-Hank
Spitzig
Vice
President-Arlie Kinnee
Corresponding
Secretary-Carol Rees
Recording
Secretary-Jimmie Porter
Treasurer-Peggy
Spitzig
In May, 1986, the State AMI was accepted as a non-profit organization by
the Federal Government. These
documents were filed by Hank and Peggy Spitzig.
In May, 1986,
October 5-11 was designated as Mental Health Awareness Week.
In 1986, Dearborn
AMI was founded by Agnes Hagopian, and started meeting in the evening of
the second Monday of each month at the First Presbyterian Church on Brady
Street.
On May 31, 1986,
the first statewide conference was held in Ann Arbor at the University of
Michigan, School of Public Health, hosted by Friends for Mental Health AMI,
Washtenaw County, in cooperation with the Washtenaw County Community Mental
Health Board. At
the first statewide general membership meeting the slate proposed by the
Nominating Committee, as noted previously, was elected as the first permanent
officers. A temporary office for the organization was set up in the President's
home with a new State Alliance telephone listing. It was agreed not to have meetings over the summer until
September.
HIGHLIGHTS OF ACTIONS
BY NAMI MICHIGAN
Over the summer months of 1986, five additional affiliates joined the
State Alliance: PACE-Macomb County, AMI Southwest Family Support Group-Wayne
County, Downriver AMI-Wayne County, AMI
of Antrim-Kalkaska Counties, and Schizophrenics Anonymous-Oakland
County. The State Alliance
newsletter was awarded third prize at the NAMI national convention. Circulation had increased to 1,000
copies. Aleta Skomski of CAMH was
nominated as an alternate delegate to the Clients Council of NAMI. A committee started work on position
papers for the State Alliance. The
pioneer site visitation committee of AMI members continued its work at Clinton
Valley Center in Pontiac, Michigan.
The Department of Mental Health invited the State Alliance to
participate on the Policy Advisory Group.
Erma Barber, membership Chair, was
invited by the Antrim-Kalkaska Community Mental Health to speak to the families
with mentally ill relatives about family support groups. Hank Spitzig testified before
Representative Joseph Young, Sr., and the House Appropriations Subcommittee
regarding proposed budget reductions in mental health for the fiscal year
1986-1987.
On September 20, 1986 Executive and Board meetings resumed at the Mental
Health Building in Southfield. It
was proposed to have future meetings in Howell.
On October 11, 1986, the State Alliance, as a part of Mental Illness Awareness
Week, sponsored a candlelight vigil on the steps of the Capitol Building in
Lansing, Michigan. There was
statewide participation by AMI members and affiliates. Two additional affiliates joined the
State Alliance: AMI of Clare County, and SHARE of Kent County. This brought the total number of
affiliates to 17. At the meeting
on October 18th in Howell, three new affiliates joined: Saginaw,
Lapeer, and Petoskey.
The site visitation committee of AMI members was lauded by Jack Kresnick
in a Detroit Free Press article.
Betty Smith was appointed by Governor Blanchard to the Citizens Advisory
Board of the Department of Mental Health.
Ernie Curtis was interviewed by Channel 50 "Morning Break" regarding the
aims and purpose of the AMI.
Throughout the year, efforts on the part of the Legislative Committee,
at the direction of NAMI, to involve AMI members in letter writing campaigns
proved to be decisive in the passing of legislation such as the Protection and
Advocacy organization for Mentally Ill Individuals Act of 1986, the Vocational
Rehabilitation Act of 1986, increased funding for research and the Community
Support Programs to name a few.
The statewide recognition of AMI was evident when an invitation was
received from the Copper County Community Mental Health Board which requested
an AMI member to present a three-hour workshop at their convention in Iron
Mountain, Michigan. The State
Alliance joined with other people and agencies from around the state in "Mental
Health Educational Exhibit, Inc.".
The exhibit was mobile and moved around the state from school to school
providing materials to dispel some of the myths about mental illness. Hank Spitzig was interviewed on the
J.P. McCarthy show about the State Alliance and the upcoming television
presentation of the "Promise", a movie on mental illness. Louise Skrip was interviewed about the
AMI by Sue Carter of WXYT-Detroit following the presentation of the movie,
"Promise". Hank Spitzig, as the
President of the
State Alliance, was invited to join a search committee for
new director of the Department of Mental Health.
The State Alliance, under the direction of Louise Skrip, was invited to
participate on April 13-16, 1987, in Health-O-Rama at the Livonia Mall, in
Livonia, providing information for the first time on mental illness. Agnes Hagopian also organized
presentations at Health-0-Rama.
The Alliance agreed to work with the Michigan Association of Autistic
Children in the area of vocational training to help the mentally ill. Following a request from the Department
of Mental Health, the President agreed to work with them in getting a grant
from the National Institute of Health.
The State Alliance, hence, would have a source of funds to aid in
financing the State Conference. Position papers were presented by Carol Rees and adopted by
the Board. The 19th
affiliate, Tri-County Alliance for the Mentally Ill-Bay City, Saginaw, and
Midland Counties joined the Alliance.
There were then approximately 1,000 family members in the State
Alliance. The newsletter editor,
Elaine Lepak, reported that 2,000 copies of the newsletter were being
printed.
On April 18, 1987 Joanne Verbanic started a chapter of Schizophrenics
Anonymous in Ann Arbor. In May,
1987 Schizophrenics Anonymous dropped their membership in NAMI.
On June 6, 1987, the second annual State Conference was held in Lansing
at the Midway Motor Lodge, hosted by Oasis and the Clinton-Eaton-Ingham CMH
Board. A Board meeting also was
held. Revised bylaws were approved. The Nominating Committee presented the
following slate of officers at the general membership meeting:
President-Erma Barber-AMI, Genessee County
Vice
President-Carol Rees-AMI Washtenaw County
Corresponding
Secretary-Norma Prouty-Oasis Fellowship-Lansing
Recording
Secretary-Hope Cummins-AMI, Oakland County
Treasurer-Peggy
Spitzig-AMI Suburban West-Livonia
The slate of officers was elected unanimously by the delegates, since
there were no new nominations from the floor.
During the next year, membership in NAMI continued to grow, and the
number of affiliates increased. By
the time of the 1988 Annual Meeting in Flint, there were 31 affiliates, and
1,078 families. During that year,
Carol Rees started work on a Family Resource Guide booklet.
Regular periodic meetings between AMI representatives and members of the
Department of Mental Health were arranged by Tom Watkins, Director of the
Michigan Department of Mental Health.
He also began investigating conditions at the State Mental
Hospitals.
Fr. Robert Hartigan, a clinical psychologist, affiliated with the Social
Justice Apostolate of the Detroit Province of Jesuits, joined the State
AMI. In May, 1988 he rented the
first office space for the State AMI at:
24133
Northwestern Highway, Suite 103
Southfield,
Michigan
Mr. Norman Wesley became a full time staff person, paid by a
grant from Chrysler Corporation, arranged by Fr. Hartigan.
At the 1988 Annual Meeting, Carol Rees was elected President.
In the Fall of 1988, Hope Cummins became the new editor of the NAMI
State Newsletter.
By 1989 a Forensic Committee had formed, consisting of: Arlie Kinnee,
Betty Smith, Judy Hood, and Elaine Miller. Its purpose was to work with the Forensic Center in
Ypsilanti to help improve conditions for persons with mental illness who were
incarcerated there. They comprised
a Citizens' Advisory Committee for the Forensic Center.
On February 14, 1989, the NAMI Family Resource Guide, written by Carol
Rees, and funded and printed by a grant from the Department of Mental Health,
was published.
In 1988/1989, a class action lawsuit was filed by AMI of
Michigan-Oakland vs. Oakland County Community Health, the Department of Community
Health, Oakland County Commissioners, Tom Watkins, Dr. James Groves, Mr.
Anthony Drabek, and Dr. Fulvio Ferrari.
The litigation committee consisted of: Fred Cummins, Hope Cummins, Ellen
Hayes, and Hoyt Anderson. The law
firm of Columbo and Columbo was retained, and also Gilbert Donohue, Director
of the University of Detroit Urban Law Clinic. The lawsuit ultimately was dismissed after several
years.
In 1990, State Board meetings started being held at the Ingham Regional
Medical Center in Lansing.
In 1990 work was started on the development of Rose Hill Center in
Holly.
In 1990, Carol Rees was nominated for the National NAMI Board at the
National Convention, by Lou Vescio.
Carol won a position on the NAMI Board, and provided distinguished
service for three years.
Also in about l990, the AMI affiliates of Wayne County, Oakland and
Macomb Counties formed the Southeast Michigan Council of AMI Affiliates, which
obtained a 501-c-3 designation.
This was done for purposes of dealing better with the corresponding
Community Mental Health Agencies in those counties, which previously had formed
an association. The Council had
periodic meetings as the need arose.
In January/February, 1991, Wayne County NAMI Affiliates formed a Wayne
County NAMI Coalition
In 1991, Arlie Kinnee was serving as Chairman of the Forensic Committee,
with Betty Powelson and Norma Prouty serving as Co-Chairs. The Committee developed a Police
Training Program entitled "Managing Persons with Mental Disabilities". This program used, as its foundation, a
curriculum developed by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), and was
accredited by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES). The first Michigan seminar was held at
the Kellogg Center on the Michigan State University Campus on October 9-10,
1991. Dr. David Kalinich, PhD, and
Dr. Jerome Gallagher PhD served as faculty. Following this initial seminar, training programs were
conducted by the NAMI Forensic Committee in many locations throughout Michigan
for a number of years.
Beginning around 1990, under Governor Engler and James Haveman, Director
of the Department of Mental
Health, the State began closing many of the State-operated mental health
hospitals and facilities. In 1992,
one of the facilities targeted for closure was the Lafayette Clinic, a research
institution in Detroit affiliated with Wayne State University. A lawsuit in opposition was brought by
"Doc" and Jimmie Porter and Chet and Joan Huntley of Wayne County AMI. The attorney was Susan McParland. After initial temporary success, the
litigation ultimately failed to prevail in the courts. On October 16, 1992, the Lafayette
Clinic was closed.
At a Board meeting near the end of 1992, the NAMI Michigan Board
approved, in principle, the hiring of an executive director, per verbal
communication of Arlie Kinnee.
In 1993, at the Annual Meeting in
Grand Rapids, the NAMI Michigan bylaws were revised.
In 1993, the Detroit-Wayne County
Community Mental Health Agency, in collaboration with NAMI, developed separate
Police Training specifically for Wayne County. Clarence "Doc" Porter headed this training program for NAMI. The first Police Training
Workshop was held on October 4-5, 1993, and also involved David Kalinich, PhD,
Jerome Gallagher, PhD, Colleen Conklin, Michele Reid, MD, and Ed Mischel. Police training then continued with
regular workshop meetings for many years.
Later, a group called Community And Police Partnership Advocacy (CAPPA)
was formed and continued these activities.
In 1994, NAMI
Michigan left the office on Northwestern Highway and moved to a new office
in the Mental Health Building at: 15920 West Twelve Mile Road, Suite 207,
Southfield, MI 48076
Another office also was opened at:
921 North Washington Avenue, Lansing, MI 48906
At the Annual Meeting in 1994 at Midland, two Vice Presidents were elected
for the first time. In 1994, the
Family Resource Guide was revised.
At the time of the Annual Meeting in 1994, there were 48 Affiliates. A history of NAMI Michigan was written
by Hank Spitzig and also by Erma Barber, considered to be the occasion of the
10th Anniversary of the development of NAMI Michigan.
In 1995, the NAMI office in Southfield was closed, leaving the office in
Lansing as the sole office for the State NAMI organization. Polly Neil began working as a part-time
secretary in the Lansing office.
In 1995, a revised version of the Family Resource Guide was published by
Carol Rees.
On March 27, 1996, a revision of the Michigan Mental Health Code took
effect.
At the 1996 Annual Meeting at the Holiday Inn South in Lansing, Tom
Johnson was nominated for President by the Nominating Committee. However, Ray Gauthier was nominated
from the floor, and won the election.
Under the leadership and through the efforts of Ray Gauthier, grants
were obtained from the Kellogg Foundation, Pharmacea, and Upjohn to create the
ten week Families-in-Action Course, a "home-grown" course patterned after the
National NAMI Family-to-Family course.
This was written by Michael Gieszer and George Kaufmann, supported
by: Kalamazoo AMI-SHARE, ACT of
Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County Community Mental Health, Gryphon Place, and the
Sociology Department of Kalamazoo College.
It was presented at the Gaylord Conference, Treetops Sylvan
Resort, in October, 1997, under the leadership of President David Sprey.
At the Annual Meeting in December, 1998, the NAMI Michigan bylaws were
revised again under the leadership of Fred Cummins.
In 2001, Polly Neil resigned as secretary. In January, 2002, Kristina Zwick was hired as part time
secretary.
In January, 2002, HUGS (Help Us Grow Safely), a course for families of
children with serious emotional disorders, was developed by Marty Raaymakers
and Ray Gauthier, funded by a grant from Lilly.
In October, 2002, managed care as an administration of the State Mental
Health and Developmental Disabilities programs was instituted throughout the
State by Governor Engler and James Haveman. This had required a waiver from the Federal Government, and
involved considerable change in the way contracts were developed between the
Department of Community Health and the Community Mental Health Agencies, and
between the Agencies and the Provider Networks.
In 2003, NAMI Michigan received a grant from National NAMI for the
purpose of developing a strategic plan.
Leon Judd, of Oakland NAMI agreed to be the facilitator, and support was
provided by Richard Stevenson, the National NAMI Regional Director for Region
III. A series of regional meetings
was held throughout 2003 as follows:
March
22 in Grand Rapids
June
14 in Escanaba
June
15 in Mt. Pleasant
August
2 in Livonia.
On September 13, 2003, a summary meeting was held at the
MacMullan Center near Roscommon. A
strategic plan was developed which had seven main goals as follows:
1)
Strengthen Affiliates
2)
Recruit Membership
3)
Fundraising
4)
Enhance Communications
5)
Increase Staffing
6)
Improve Advocacy
7)
Improve Governance
In early May, 2003, despite advocacy against it by NAMI and other
groups, the State Psychiatric Hospital in Northville was closed. Patients who could not be transitioned
safely to community settings were transferred to State facilities at Walter
Reuther in Wayne County, Kalamazoo, Caro, and Mt. Pleasant. These were the only remaining State
public adult mental health facilities.
The only remaining public children's mental health facility was the
Hawthorn Center in Northville.
In July, 2003, based partly on interviews with NAMI members, the Mental
Health Association and others, investigative reporter Gregg Krupa wrote a
series of articles in the Detroit News pointing out problems with the delivery
of mental health care in Michigan.
Later in 2003, Governor Granholm appointed a Commission on Mental Health
chaired by Pat Babcock, with Waltrud Prechter serving as co-chair.
In the Fall of 2003, aided by funding from National NAMI, equipment was
purchased, and teleconferencing of NAMI Michigan Board meetings, Public Policy
meetings and others was begun.
In 2003, application was approved by National NAMI for Michigan to
participate in an annual NAMIWALK, a walkathon for fund raising and for
decreasing stigma and obtaining publicity for NAMI causes. The first WALK was held on Belle Isle
in Detroit on Sunday, May23, 2004, with David Ballenberger of Rose Hill Center
as WALK manager. It was very
successful, and became an annual event.
The Governor's Commission convened in January, 2004, and met for several
months through September, 2004.
Members of NAMI Michigan served on several workgroups of the Commission. NAMI Michigan also conducted a
State-wide questionnaire survey of its membership regarding mental health
services. This document was
presented to the Commission and contributed to its deliberations. The Governor's Commission issued its
report in October, 2004.
In December, 2004, Kristina Zwick
resigned. In February, 2005,
Charlene Miller was hired, but became ill and also later resigned. Since the summer of 2005, a temporary
agency has been utilized for provision of part time secretarial services.
In 2005, as a result of funds obtained from the 2004 NAMIWALK, In Our
Own Voice (IOOV), a signature National NAMI program presented by Persons with
mental illness in Recovery, was brought into Michigan. The first training session was held in
Ann Arbor on March 5-6, 2005, with Marty Raaymakers as trainer. This was presented under the direction
of Susan LaBatt, Chairperson of the NAMI Michigan Education Committee, with the
collaboration of Leon and Mary Ellen Judd of Oakland AMI.
On April 22-24, 2005, at the Annual
Meeting at the Radisson Plaza Hotel, in Kalamazoo, Judy Hutchins of Alpena was
elected the 10th President of NAMI Michigan.
It is my intention and hope that this may become a document continued
by additions in the future, possibly by means of summary reports by succeeding
Presidents or other interested persons.
Hubert
C. Huebl, MD
May
15, 2006
Presidents of NAMI Michigan-Their Affiliates-Annual
Meeting Sites
1985-Hank Spitzig-Oakland and Suburban West-(Temporary
President)
Southfield,
Mental Health Association Building
1986-Hank Spitzig-Oakland-U. of M. School of Public Health,
May 31
1987-Erma Barber-Genessee-Lansing-June 6
1988-Carol Rees-Washtenaw-Flint, Sheraton Inn, June17, 18
1989-Carol Rees-Washtenaw-Muskegon, Harbor Hilton, June 23,
24
1990-Lou Vescio-Saginaw-Southfield, Sheraton Hotel, May 4-6
1991-Lou Vescio-Saginaw-Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Center Hotel,
May 3-5
1992-Fred Cummins-Oakland-Lansing, Holiday Inn South, June
17-19
1993-Fred Cummins-Oakland-Grand Rapids, Amway Grand Plaza,
May 21-23
1994-Bev Lewis-Kalamazoo-Midland, Valley Plaza Inn, May
20-22
1995-Bev Lewis-Kalamazoo-Novi, Southeastern Hilton Hotel,
May 5
1996-Ray Gauthier-Port Huron-Lansing, Holiday Inn South, May
16-18
1997-David Sprey-Grand Ledge-Lansing, Holiday Inn South, May
17, with Mental
Health
Association. Joint Conference with
IASPRS, Gaylord, October 19-21
1998-Fred Cummins-Oakland-Ypsilanti, Eagle Crest, December
6,7and 8
1999-Fred Cummins-Oakland-East Lansing, Kellogg Center,
Michigan StateUniversity,
May 27
2000-Fred Cummins-Oakland-Ann Arbor, University of Michigan
East Hall, June 3
2001-Fred Cummins-Oakland-Lansing, Holiday Inn West, May 6,
7
2002-Hubert Huebl-Dearborn-Muskegon, Holiday Inn, May 5, 6
2003-Hubert Huebl-Dearborn-Flint, Gateway Holiday Inn, and
Rose Hill Center, Holly,
May 4,5
2004-Hubert Huebl-Dearborn-Traverse City-Waterfront Inn,
April 25, 26
2005-Judy Hutchins-Alpena-Kalamazoo, Raddison Hotel, April
22-24