GUADALUPE COUNTY – A family in Guadalupe County is hoping to bring awareness to mental health by creating a program for people in the community.
The Vinson family is launching a branch of the organization National Alliance on Mental Illness also known as NAMI.
Barbara Vinson said NAMI helped her family move forward.
"When we got to NAMI, bingo, the world opened up," Vinson said.
NAMI is a mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for people affected by mental illness. They offer education programs to make sure people get the support and information they need. There are classes for parents and caregivers of children and adolescents who have either been diagnosed with a mental health condition or who are experiencing symptoms. Other programs are for families, partners and friends.
When Vinsons' son was diagnosed with bipolar disorder she and her husband began going to the Austin NAMI chapter.
"We were learning about him. How to communicate with him. What was going on. And help ourselves," Vinson said.
When she moved to Guadalupe County her life changed, but she wanted to continue changing lives.
She became very involved in the organization by teaching others and has decided to create NAMI Guadalupe County.
Vinson is in the process of creating the Guadalupe County chapter and has almost finished all the applications needed to make it official.
Her son is now 30 years old and living in another state. Vinson said NAMI has helped her family learn more about him and others dealing with the same condition.
According to NAMI, more than 43 million people suffer from some sort of mental illness. You can visit NAMI for more information by clicking here.