PENNSYLVANIA, USA — NAMI is a grassroots, nonprofit organization that provides support, education, and advocacy to individuals and families affected by mental illness, and its P.A.U.S.E. program specifically reaches out to young people.
It is also one of the local organizations participating in Give Local York on May 6.
P.A.U.S.E., or "Peers Advocating for Ur Success Everyday," was created to support the mental health of students and their families in our area. It provides young people with "a safe place where students can share their struggles, learn coping skills, and learn more about the different aspects of mental health, empower them to take charge of their own mental health, know they are not alone, find hope, and equip them to help their peers who may also be struggling," according to the NAMI York-Adams Counties website.
Ken Kisselman is the "Pause Program" coordinator for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of York and Adams counties; he joined FOX43 on May 4 to discuss the program.
According to Kisselman, the program offers support groups and educational workshops for the adults in students’ lives.
"For these young people the world is defined by school and home," he said. "The P.A.U.S.E. Program hopes that working with these adult stakeholders will create a more supportive environment for students’ mental health journeys."
The program launched last fall in the Spring Grove and West York school systems. The Northeastern school system joined the program just this spring, and meeting participation has grown steadily, Kisselman says.
"As we finish our first school year, we have several other school systems waiting to join the program in the fall," he went on. "NAMI-YA’s goal is to have the P.A.U.S.E. Program in all York County school systems."
If you decide to donate to NAMI and the P.A.U.S.E. Program, you will be helping to ensure that these programs can continue to be offered to those in need free of charge.
On May 6, from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., donors can visit this link to support local nonprofits in and around York County.
NAMI offers programs to support people at all stages of mental illness. You can learn more about their services here.
To watch the whole interview with Kisselman, check out the clip above.