Please meet members of the Brookings Empowerment Project Executive Committee, pictured above (L-R) Mary Oneill, Vice President; Lowell Haag , Treasurer; Judy Karen, Secretary; Craig Pahl, President; and Kathleen Hollemann, Past President. The current officers were elected at the 2017 Annual Membership meeting by the entire membership of the organization.
The Executive Committee meets monthly to work on “The Project,” which strives to empower caregivers and individuals with persistent mental illness in our community by providing them with resources and support: Empower them while they traverse the highly fragmented and poorly resourced mental health care system in our community; Empower them to re-integrate themselves back into our community when their time is right; Empower them to not suffer or experience the stigma of mental illness.
Our volunteer group focuses on closing gaps in three areas: 1) Caregiver and Individual Support; 2) Transitional Housing with Supportive Care; and 3) Community Education.
The story of BEP is that we are a Non-profit Action Advocacy Group that grew out of Brookings NAMI, an affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, but our story is more complex than that; it is a collage made from the individual stories of people and families who face the challenge of Mental Illness. Our friends and neighbors, willing to share their names and stories, giving a face to mental illness so that our community might better understand the need, and then work together to break down the stigma of mental illness.
Join us, Join a committee. Become involved. Make a difference. Bring your friends. Share your passion. Checkout our Membership Open House the second Monday of each month from 6-7 p.m., 2nd floor of MetaBank, 600 Main Ave., Brookings, SD.