Families, educators, mental health professionals and advocates are set to converge on Sacramento next week with the common goal of reducing the stigma of mental illness.
The 2025 NAMI California Annual Conference will be held Thursday and Friday, Oct. 16-17, at the Sheraton Grand Hotel and provides an opportunity for listening, learning and networking.
NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
The keynote speaker for the conference’s first day is former Major League Baseball player Drew Robinson. Robinson became a mental health advocate after surviving a suicide attempt in 2020 and now works with the San Francisco Giants, sharing his journey and promoting mental health care.
Day two’s keynote speaker is former Rhode Island Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, who was the lead sponsor of the landmark Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (Federal Parity Law), which was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2008. Kennedy will discuss mental health equity.
“Our goal with this conference, first and foremost, is to provide hope and community,” said Marshea Pratt, NAMI California’s vice president of workforce and community engagement.
“Many who are struggling with their mental health feel hopeless and alone. We want to let people know that they are not alone and reduce the stigma around asking for and receiving help.”
Conference hosts are making a concerted effort to address Black mental health during the event, with several speakers and topics.
“We want to partner with the Black individuals and organizations in the community who are already doing great work and amplify their voices and offer any additional support to enhance their efforts to normalize conversations about mental health and lower the barriers to accessing life-saving resources to those who need it,” Pratt said.
On day one, Sinclair Ceasar III of Sinclairity Consulting leads a workshop titled “Healing Fathers”; Dr. George Woods, chair of the Felton Institute’s board of directors, leads an “Ask a Doctor” session on schizophrenia; and another “Ask a Doctor” session on mood disorders will be led by Dr. Jaseon Outlaw, clinical director of Journey of Life Psychological Inc.
One day two, NAMI Sacramento volunteer and SouthSac Wellness founder Mykel Gayent will be joined by Ronnie Cobb and Mia’sha Helton, facilitators of the Greater Sacramento Urban League’s mental health initiatives Cut to the Chase and Cut to the Chase Crown Edition for a discussion on normalizing mental health conversations in Black communities.
Gigi Crowder, CEO of NAMI Contra Costa, leads a session titled “Lifting Up the Voice of Those Most Harmed, the Black Male”; NAMI Western Riverside Board President Dr. Vernita Black, a military veteran, leads a session titled, “The Invisible Wounds of Stress.”
To register, visit namica.org/conference or contact NAMI California at 916-567-0163.
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