Advocacy Committee (NDAC)
Purpose/Goals/Initiatives/Events to Attend:
➢ NDAC Purpose— Provide public support and make mental health recommendations for DeKalb County residents.
➢ NDAC Goals:
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Raise mental health awareness.
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Decriminalize mental health.
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Enhance the relationship between police and community members.
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Create positive change in the mental health community.
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Encourage others to share their lived experiences.
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Improve the lives of those impacted by mental illness.
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Change hearts and minds of policy makers with personal stories and lived experience.
➢ NDAC Initiatives:
▪ Mental Health Social Justice
▪ Liaise with DeKalb County’s faith-based community and Mental Health Ambassadors.
▪ NAMI DeKalb Civic Engagement Event - TBA
Community Events:
2023 Georgia Mental Health Day at the Capitol
The 2023 Georgia Mental Health Day at the Capitol was a great experience filled with excitement, and enthusiasm. During the press conference, we honored the late Representative David Ralston, who passed away this past November. He was very instrumental in ensuring the passage of HB1013. It was a special project of his having a loved one with mental illness. God bless Representative Ralston, and may he rest in peace. Now, it's up to us to treat HB1013 like a new baby bill that gets more "Teeth" each year during Legislative Sessions.
Legislators proclaimed 2023 as, "The Year of the Peer". Georgia plans to live up to that by ensuring that Peer Leaders play a larger role in assisting with our epidemic of mental health crises.
#TogetherForMentalHealth
For more information: mhageorgia.org/advocacy-public-policy/mental-health-day-at-the-capitol/
Finding Answers in the Home (FAITH)
Mental Health Forum
Sat. 04/15/22 - Stonecrest Library
findingans.com
NDAC participates in NAMI Northside Atlanta and Clubhouse Atlanta's annual Mental Health Fair
Upsilon Alpha Omega Chapter or Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Wellbeing Health Fair
Sat., 05/13/23
Cynthia Moorer was the President of The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in DeKalb County for the past five years and has now taken on a new role as Chairperson of the NAMI DeKalb Advocacy Committee (NDAC). She was led to educate and advocate for individuals, caregivers, and communities across Dekalb County, GA. Cynthia served as a teacher of one of NAMI’s signature programs, Family-to-Family (F-T-F) and has chaired a multitude of community events.
Her volunteerism and advocacy all stem from her young adult son currently living with a mental health condition. As a mother with one son that has a mental illness, a daughter who is a breast cancer survivor, and another that had Sickle-Cell Anemia, she’s familiar with the struggles of youth and young adults experiencing health challenges as well as mental illness.
Cynthia is a Visionary and a servant leader who moves toward solutions. Her forward-thinking lines up with the innovative culture of health technology. Cynthia believes that building community-based partnerships (CBP) is the first step to address critical health disparities we face around mental illness. She believes in leading by example, educating the community, identifying early signs of illness/disease, and implementing preventive measures, to produce healthier outcomes. Cynthia spent her entire career as a nurse and is a candidate for a Master’s in Public Health, all while continuing to work on educating the community. Her passion and purpose include influencing policy for positive change in minority health and healthcare practices, while eradicating stigma and creating health equity for all. She will continue her efforts as a leader in DeKalb County.
Contact at: 770.316.0856 -or- namidekalbadvocacy@gmail.com