Professor Sara Schotland who teaches an Honors Class on Social Disabilities at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD, has invited Dottie to return again this year and speak to her class. On October 30, Dottie will talk about her book and her family’s experience with bipolar disorder as an introduction to the topic of mental illness.

The following Book Review was recently posted on the United Methodist Women’s Reading Program website.

When an author lives a story and then writes about it, she likely leaves part of herself among her words and between the lines of her book. She becomes a part of the book as it becomes a part of her. In this case, the story relives a journey. This book is an act of love … a mission of mercy and determination to help others who may be impacted by bipolar disorder … or mental illness.

In Mind on the Run, Dottie traverses her son Scotty’s life through his journeys as she did in his life … all of them! You’ll come to know Scotty as a bright and enterprising boy, a colorful part of his family, as a promising and successful man … as a whole person. Only his last journey with bipolar disorder depleted him of his wholeness.

Dottie has dedicated herself to helping families and others impacted by this tragic mental illness so that they can better understand some of what happens to a loved one faced with this illness. Her hope is that medical professionals … hospitals … and state legislators with the power to change this country’s laws governing the treatment of mental illness will make it a mission … like hers … to see early on what needs to be done to help people like Scotty. I invite you to walk with Dottie along Scotty’s journey and share this book with others who may need help in like experiences.

Zimmie Goings
St. John’s United Methodist Church
Springfield, Virginia

Dottie will be the featured speaker at the 2013 Clinical Update and Psychopharmacology Review on March 21, 2013, in Fayetteville, NC. This annual conference is jointly sponsored by Southern Regional Area Health Education Center, Duke Department of Psychiatry, UNC Department of Psychiatry, the NC Psychiatric Association, the NC Psychological Association and the National Association of Social Workers – NC. The conference brings together approximately 300 mental health professionals working in the public mental health sector across North Carolina.

Keynote speaker will be Ms. Dottie Pacharis, nationally recognized author and advocate who became an outspoken suicide prevention activist after trying to help her bipolar son during his 13-year struggle with this illness. Her book, Mind on the Run, is the story of her son’s suicide that with proper treatment could have prevented. Her book describes the roadblocks she encountered as she frantically sought help within the mental health system.

Read about the event in the Health Journal:http://www.thehealthjournals.com/2012/08/sept-11-suicide-prevention-forum-to-be-held-in-virginia-beach/

End the Stigma. Heal the Hurt. Save lives.        Educational Forum on Suicide Prevention to be Held in Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach, VA –On September 11, 2012, from 5:30 – 8:30 P.M. the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Virginia Beach (NAMI, VB), I Need A Lighthouse, and the Kempsville Center for Behavioral Health will partner to invite community members and leaders to get involved in ending the stigma against mental illness, helping individuals with mental illness to heal, and saving lives. The evening will include dinner from 5:30 – 6:30, a keynote address from Dottie Pacharis, nationally recognized author and suicide prevention advocate and a panel discussion about current responses to mental illness and suicide and what is still desperately needed. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available.

According the the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) , one in four adults and one in 10 children experience mental health disorders. The cost of untreated mental illness to the individual and our society is “staggering” and includes unnecessary unemployment, reliance on disability services, incarceration and suicide. Mental illness is treatable. Suicide is preventable. 

In her book, Mind on the Run, keynote speaker, Dottie Pacharis shares the story of her son’s 13 year struggle with bipolar disorder and eventual suicide. She will highlight her journey for participants and shed light on what was a very preventable outcome for her son. Other members of the panel for the evening include Calvin Nunnally, founder of Know More Bullying; Carolyn Wood, MS, of the Office of Consumer and Family Affairs, Virginia Beach Mental Health and Substance Abuse Division; Robert Jamison, MS, Guidance Director at Cox High School; Albie Viola, suicide survivor; as well as a police officer from the Virginia Beach Crisis Intervention Team.

The event host, Kempsville Center for Behavioral Health, is a dedicated community partner in treating mental illness and preventing suicide. Kempsville Center’s parent company is the National Clinical Affiliate of the Jason Foundation and a national sponsor of NAMI. Kempsville Center for Behavioral Health has certified Jason Foundation staff that provide free youth suicide awareness/prevention inservices to educators, youth leaders and other community groups.Register for this event by going to www.kempsvillecbh.com or call (757)461-4565. For information about getting involved with NAMI – Virginia Beach, visit their website at www.namivirginiabeach.org or call (757) 499-2041.