Scouts and leaders from Archbold Boy Scout Troop 63 again helped serve at our 5th annual Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser held November 7 at the Buffalo Road Banquet Hall in Bryan.  In addition to NAMI members, two other groups volunteered at the dinner as well -- Kohl's department store associates (who volunteer for NAMI projects throughout the year) and First Federal Bank's wealth management group.  A slide show of photos from the dinner is posted at the end of the list of sponsors.  

Thank-you to all who attended and helped make the event a success!

Thanks to our spaghetti dinner sponsors
Presenting Sponsors
C & C Fabricating LLC
First Federal Bank of the Midwest
Fulton County Health Center
Jade Shank Trucking
Newcomer, Shaffer, Spangler & Breininger
Shank Concrete
Team Green LLC
Gold Level Sponsors
Bryan Dental Group
Henry County Hospital
​Midwest Community Federal Credit Union
Office Partners, Cookie Lehman
Parkview Physicians Group
Spangler Candy Company
Thrivent Financial
Valko & Associates 
Silver Level Sponsors
Bard Manufacturing
Christy Chevrolet Buick, Inc.
Jim Schmidt Family of Dealerships
Ken’s Furniture
Lori & Rex Robison
Local 211 UAW
Bronze Level Sponsors
Hill Top Printing
Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales, Inc.
Lonnie and Carol Short
Northwest Ohio Vision Center

​NAMI's annual Spaghetti Dinner is more than just a fundraiser.  With all of the food donated, all left-overs are taken to The PATH Center in Defiance where it is used to provide meals for the area's homeless as well as provide a daily lunch at The PATH drop-in center on East Second Street that also provides people who otherwise have no one to eat with and opportunity to eat and fellowship with others.  PATH Center staff also offer case management services for clients and guests.  Here, PATH Center staff and volunteers gather round some of the food, which included spaghetti sauce, pasta, parmesan cheese, bags of salad, salad dressings and desserts.

​NAMI Four County partnered with the Defiance College Hench Autism Studies Program and its director Clarissa Barnes to offer a 3-hour Saturday morning training to provide parents and adults who work with youth practical strategies to eliminate challenging behaviors and promote positive behaviors in children and adolescents.  Eleven persons participated in the fall training and registration in the spring training closed within eight days of the class being announced.

NAMI Four County held its 20th annual Candlelight Vigil for Mental Health Sunday, October 6 at St. John United Church of Christ, Defiance, as a kick-off to Mental Health Awareness Week.  With a theme of “Never Lose Hope,” four speakers who included a family member, a person with a mental illness, an area pastor and a mental health professional shared the importance of maintaining hope through their journey with mental illness.  From left:  Ron Hofacker, who has served as the vigil emcee and coordinator for nearly all 20 years; Tracy Plouck, former director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and current NAMI board member; Wendy Jennings, a family member; Rev. Ann Wasson, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Defiance; and Katie Beck, past president of NAMI Four County.  The program was taped and will be broadcast throughout October on WNHO TV26.

To watch a one hour, edited version of the program from our website, please click on the following link:  https://youtu.be/CSh8x7PZoi0.

Eleven law enforcement and probation officers and other staff completed a week-long Crisis Intervention Team training last month that was sponsored by the Four County ADAMhs Board and NAMI Four County.  Participants and instructors were (front row from left):  Bethany Shirkey, instructor, ADAMhs Board; Officer Bradley Cash, Swanton police department; Justin McCall, chaplain Montpelier police department; Officer Madelyn Griffin, Wauseon police department; Probation Officer Ashley Bowen, Napoleon municipal court; Probation Officer Kelly Tietje, Bryan municipal court; and Drena Teague, CIT coordinator.  Back row from left:  Napoleon Police Chief Dave Mack, instructor; Deputy Tim Dennie and Lt. Clifton Vandemark, Defiance County sheriff department; Sgt. Steven Waxler Jr., Fulton County sheriff department; Randy Luke and Kim Shaffer, Community Hospitals and Wellness Center security officers; and Napoleon police department Detective Jamie Mendez, instructor.  David Riker, superintendent of the Northwest Ohio Juvenile Detention Center, participated in the class but is not pictured.

Our spring Youth Mental Health First Aid training had 32 participants representing a wide range of backgrounds with one thing in common -- their jobs or volunteer work frequently brings them in contact with families and youth who struggle with emotional, behavioral and mental health problems. They spent all day on Tuesday, May 7 with training leaders B. J. Horner (above) and Bethany Shirkey learning how to recognize and assess the signs that a young person may be experiencing a mental health crisis, how to listen nonjudgmentally and how to help and encourage the youngster and family to seek appropriate professional help.

Participants came from the faith community, schools, jobs and family service agencies, health departments, area court appointed special advocates, family violence agencies and other youth-serving organizations.

NAMI Four County sponsors two Mental Health First Aid trainings every year -- one in the spring that focuses on youth and one in the fall that focuses on adults.  The last two trainings were underwritten in part by a grant from the Promedica Defiance Hospital Foundation and the trainers are funded by the Four County ADAMhs Board.

More photos from the May 7th Youth Mental Health First Aid training are part of a slide show that you can find in the "Photo and Video Gallery" tab.

NAMI Four County once again partnered with Dr. Clarissa Barnes, director of the Defiance College Hench Autism Studies Program, to offer a 3-hour training on practical ways to discourage challenging behaviors and promote positive behavior among youth.  Some 22 participants from area school systems, churches, Jobs and Family Service offices, Northwest Ohio Community Action Commission, the area's Court-Appointed Special Advocates program as well as parents and grandparents of children who have challenging behaviors attended the training on the Defiance College campus.

Dr. Barnes, pictured walking among some of the participants, focuses on identifying specific challenging behaviors, the consequence that follows that behavior and what occurred before the behavior to help participants determine how specific changes in the environment could lead to the elimination of the disruptive behavior. By end of the three-hour training, participants have an action plan that they can then use with the children that they are involved with.

This was the fifth year that NAMI and Dr. Barnes have partnered to offer the training, which was so popular that nearly 15 people who had hoped to attend were placed on a waiting list.

We hope to offer the training again in the fall.

Several of the participants gave the following comments about the training.
"Great class.  I left with a better understanding of some behaviors."
"Very well done -- would like to know if anything like this is offered again.  Will be referring families."

For more photos from the training held Saturday morning, March 2, please visit the Photo and Video Gallery.