NAMI’s 40th Anniversary, Vivian Henry’s Personal NAMI Journey, ep. 19

Mental Health In Minnesota

Vivian Henry Here's another personal story of hope to help celebrate NAMI Minnesota's 40th anniversary. Vivian Henry is a NAMI "In Our Own Voice" volunteer presenter and a long-time NAMI member and supporter. Vivian enjoys photographing all of NAMI Minnesota's events and producing photo/video slide shows. Vivian is team captain of NAMIWalks 2018 team "SurVIVin the Journey!" (click for team info) You may donate to her team and/or register to join her team (you can help fund-raise even if you can't attend the walk!) at 1 of 2 links: 1. NAMIWalks-MN 9/24/17:Team Captain Viv Henry http://www.namiwalks.org/participant/VivHenry 2. Team “SurVIVin The Journey” http://www.namiwalks.org/team/SurvivinTheJourney 2012 National NAMI's "You Are Not Alone" (click)campaign video submission via NAMI "You Are Not Alone In This Fight" campaign(2012): Vivian's Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixEhpfBYAdw&feature=youtu.be Thank you Vivian for sharing your story with us! CONTACT US: NAMI Minnesota, www.namihelps.org, phone: [phone], toll free: 1-888-NAMI-Helps (1-888-626-4435). fax: [phone]. email: [e-mail] Recorded 05/22/2017. ********** ********** ********** From Vivian...Vivian Henry's personal bio: Bio info: I'm a "small-town girl" from Xenia,OH. I survived the 1974 Xenia (F5) Tornado! My grandparents had 12 kids, and later raised me as my legal guardians. My mother Josephine battled severe BiPolar Disorder along w/other Mental Health Challenges! My Grandma Vivian was a musical prodigy! She could play piano + organ by ear! Got my love of music from her! My Grandpa James, was the 1st Black City Commissioner of Xenia, OH, and the 1st Black Mayor! My activism + humor come from him! After graduating college in 1993, I moved to MN to each elementary school. Lasted approx 7 months before my 1st severe depressive episode ended teaching career. My main work experience has been in the customer service industry, including almost 13 years as a part-time professional mobile Disc Jockey! As of 2015, I have not worked for 2 years. This is due to many of my pre-existing conditions, including Major Depression, Anxiety, Borderline Personality Disorder + recently diagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder. I'm in the midst of battling for Social Security Disability...again! Volunteered w/NAMI-MN since 2008, when I took part in my first NAMIWalks-MN! I became an "In Our Own Voice" speaker in 2014. I've done many IOOV presentations for Crisis Intervention Training, and I like working with law enforcement! Also, I'm like the unofficial amateur photographer for NAMI-MN! Love photography (massive "shutterbug"), crafts + scrapbooking, music, movies, cats, etc. Also, after I had to put my 19yr old cat to sleep on 10/10/10, I became a foster cat mom. This is how I came to adopt my amazing furbaby cat MacTavish! Unfortunately, I had to have him euthanized in November 2016. Fortunately, I do have a new cat named Precious,who is 12 years old! Love her, and no cat will ever be able to take the place of MacTavish. Finally, I've been a diehard JOURNEY fan for approximately 34 years! Have seen them in concert approximately 17x! Even flew to California in 2005, to see them receive their Hollywook Walk of Fame Star! Have had the blessings + miracles of meeting all of classic Journey (Neal Schon, Steve Perry, Steve Smith, Ross Valory + Jonathan Cain), and also Steve Augeri, Deen Castronovo, Jeff Scott Soto, and Arnel Pineda! I do believe these Journey blessings/miracles help counterbalance (a bit) my continued battles w/Mental Health Challenges! IF I won the lottery, I would become a permanent Journey concert goer, as their music brings that much joy + happiness into my life! Don't Stop Believin'! 1. YouTube Channel: luvjrny4ever 2012 National NAMI's "You Are Not Alone" campaign video submission via NAMI "You Are Not Alone In This Fight" campaign(2012): Vivian's Story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?