Meetings/Speakers

NAMI  HUNTINGTON welcomes 
Tom O’Clair from  
the NYS Office of Mental Health,
Family Affairs Specialist
Wednesday, January 30th, 2013 at 6:30 pm.

He will speak about 
the Recipient & Family Bureau of OMH. 
Also about  individuals with mental illness and their 
being able to work and still keep benefits.
The meeting is open to all.

The meeting will be at the Pederson-Krag Center, 
55 Horizon Drive, Huntington, NY
(Behind Home Depot) Conference Room B

Timothy’s Law was passed in 2006.
The bill is named after Tom O’Clair’s son. 
The law prevents discrimination by prohibiting
insurance companies from limiting coverage 
for mental illness. In 2001, health insurance 
coverage was denied for Timothy to continue 
receiving treatment for his multiple mental
illnesses. At the age of 12 Timothy completed 
a suicide. Following his death Tom O’Clair 
led the fight for new health coverage in NYS.

Just Come or Call (631-424-4528)

NAMI Huntington holds two meetings each month. One meeting is primarily a support meeting for family members. The other meeting is primarily the business meeting for the group. All meetings are held in Classroom B of the Pederson Krag Center on 55 Horizon Drive in Huntington. The meetings are held on Wednesdays and they start at 6:30 P.M. All meetings have time set aside for socializing and for enjoying refreshments provided by the group.

The support group meeting is held on the second Wednesday of the month. It will be dedicated to both support and therapy. The facilitator of this meeting is Julie Beatrice. Julie is very qualified as a therapist. She has a Master’s degree in Social Work and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

The business meeting is held on the last Wednesday of the month. The first part of the meeting is a support group session wherein members up date each other on changes in the condition of their loved one(s). In this session we also teach newcomers about mental illnesses and the resources available for treating them. This part of the meeting is presided over by Jayette Lansbury who has NAMI training as a facilitator. If there is a speaker, he/she uses this time for the speaker’s presentation and to answer questions.

The business part of the meeting is for discussing advocacy work that has been done or that must be done. We often use this time for writing letters to Senators, Assemblymen and Committee Chairpersons. Finally, the business of operating the Affiliate is discussed and acted on in the business meeting.