KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. — There are few affiliates of the National Alliance on Mental Illness or NAMI in Eastern North Carolina and until this week that included the Outer Banks. Organizers are hosting the first of a series of community meetings in Kitty Hawk on Wednesday evening as they launch NAMI OBX.
“We help the families of those that have a loved one that suffering from mental illness,” said Phil Cooper, co-chair of the NAMI OBX steering committee. “And we wanted to bring that to the Outer Banks because we know there’s a need and we just wanted to fill that need.”
Phil and Kathy Cooper moved to the Outer Banks from the Greensboro area a few years ago. They said NAMI was invaluable in helping them deal with their son’s mental illness.
"We found so many people who understood what we were going through helped us out with resources, helped us out with options ... and it was just a lifesaver for us," Kathy Cooper said.
They were surprised to discover the Outer Banks lacked a NAMI affiliate. The closest ones in North Carolina are in Pitt and Beaufort counties.
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They helped organize a grassroots effort to launch one here. Dare County commissioners presented the group with a proclamation earlier this month.
Access to mental health resources on the Outer Banks can be tight. News 3 has been following the efforts of the Manteo Healthcare Task Force, which has worked to improve healthcare access. Its chair said access to care for mental health and substance abuse is going to be their next major focus.
Kathy Cooper pointed out there is not an inpatient psychiatric facility on the Outer Banks.
“That’s something that’s definitely needed out here is inpatient care, more psychiatrists, more youth programs. And that’s one thing that we hope once we get things up is incorporating youth programs,” she said.
The Coopers stress NAMI can not provide counseling or psychiatric services. However the group can connect people with those resources, and they offer a range of support groups.
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“Because as a parent when you’re dealing with that situation for the first time, or even it’s a relapse time, you don’t have the energy to go searching for all these things,” Kathy Cooper said. “You’d like to be able to click a button on a website and that’s one thing we’re definitely hoping to get in there.”
The community meetings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and are being held at these locations:
- April 24 at Holy Redeemer by the Sea Catholic Parish in Kitty Hawk
- May 1 at the Fessenden Community Center in Buxton
- May 6 at the College of the Albemarle, Dare County campus in Manteo
- May 7 at the Ocracoke Community Center in Hyde County
- May 9 at St. Andrews by the Sea in Nags Head.
NAMI OBX is also hosting the inaugural NAMIwalk OBX on May 18 in Kill Devil Hills. You can contact the group at namiobx@gmail.com.
