You Are Not Alone
There's a small painted heart on the cover of NAMI Chester County's most recent annual report. It sits on a moss-spotted brick walkway. Four words are written across it: you are not alone.
NAMI Chester County PA runs free support groups, free education, and free advocacy out of an office at 317 Exton Commons in Exton. Every program comes at no cost to the families who need it. Last year, 200 community members reached out for help. Their peer support group, NAMI Connection, met 24 times and brought 90 attendees through the door. The Family Support Group ran monthly and saw 102. They graduated 32 people from Family-to-Family, the eight-session course built for parents, siblings, and partners trying to understand what their person is going through.
That's a lot of work for a small staff.
They also host the Chester County Suicide Prevention Partnership's Survivors of Loss Support Group. They launched NAMI Sharing Hope with the Coatesville Area Branch of the NAACP and held 24 community conversations centered on Black mental health in Chester County, serving 242 participants. They produce a weekly radio segment called "Let's Talk About It" on 95.3FM WCHE. They went to D.C. for NAMI Hill Day. They sit on the Chester County Partnership to End Homelessness, the Medicaid Workgroup, and the Mental Health/IDD Advisory Board.
The work is led by Executive Director Sara Wein, MSS, MLSP, LSW; Education and Support Coordinator Corinne Yost; and Advisory Board Chair Sharon Hardin, MSN, RN. They run on volunteers, grants, and gifts from the community.
In March we gave them $13,000. Pictured at the check presentation: Sharon Hardin, Advisory Board Chair; Corinne Yost, Education and Support Coordinator; Sara Wein, Executive Director; and Jo Painter from our team.
This one means more for us than the dollar amount suggests.
On June 24, 2022, we lost Nathan Foreman. Nathan was one of ours. We lost him to suicide.
Every new hire who joins our team walks out of orientation with a hard hat. On every one of those hats is a 988 sticker with Nathan's information. We do that on purpose. We tell people who he was. Not in a once-a-year speech. In the moment a new person joins the crew. Because we want everyone who works here to know two things: Nathan was loved, and if you are struggling, you can call 988 and there is a person on the other end.
The stigma around mental health on a construction site is real. A lot of guys grew up being told to suck it up. Some still are. But the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential, and answered 24/7, and the more people who know that, the more lives stay in the world.
NAMI Chester County is one of the organizations doing the actual ground-level work to make calls like that less stigmatized. Their classes give families language. Their peer groups give people who feel isolated a room to walk into. Their advocacy keeps Medicaid and 988 funded at the federal level.
If you want to help them keep doing this work, the easiest place to start is namichescopa.org. They train new volunteers throughout the year, including a virtual information session anyone can attend. Donations are tax-deductible and go directly to free programming for Chester County families. And if you or someone you love needs a support group, go. They are free, confidential, and they don't ask you to prove anything.
Their phone is 610-871-1405. Their email is info@namichescopa.org.
If you are in crisis right now, call or text 988. Someone will answer.
Nathan's story is one we carry. NAMI Chester County is one of the reasons fewer families have to carry one like it.