NAMIWalks Oxford was held on October 21 in the Circle on the University of Mississippi Campus in partnership with the William Magee Center for AOD and Wellness Education. The Oxford chapter of NAMI raised more than $8,000, with 100 percent going to help provide mental health care. The walk brought together local businesses, campus organizations, and local residents to help support the “Mental Health for All” goal.

“This is a new, uncharted time for mental health care. We must recognize the significant impact that current events are placing on our mental wellness,” said Hal Ferguson, president of NAMI Oxford. “Our friends, family, and neighbors can afford nothing less than Mental Health for All. NAMIWalks is a force because we have to be.”

NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the largest grassroots mental health association dedicated to providing free education, support, and advocacy for mental health. One in five people experience mental health symptoms at any given time.

The annual fundraiser, NAMIWalks, attracted residents to walk to celebrate mental health recovery, to let community members know they are not alone, and to honor the memory of loved ones lost to mental illness.  The NAMI Oxford Affiliate covers Calhoun, Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Tate, Yalobusha, Benton, Chickasaw, Itawamba, Lee, Monroe, Pontotoc and Union counties.

NAMIWalks Oxford event sponsors included  gold sponsor, Communicare, bronze sponsors, Coldwell Banker Signature, Lisa Hankamer and Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi. Other sponsors included Edward Jones of Oxford, Tannehill Carmean Attorneys, The Wellness Center of Oxford, McKenzie Little PLLC, and Renasant Bank, In-kind sponsors included the William Magee Center for AOD and Wellness Education, Chick-Fil-A on Jackson Ave and Sleepy Cactus.

For more information about NAMI-Oxford, go to https//www.namims.org/affiliates/nami-oxford or call Hanne at 662.801.6530 or Clarice at 662.816.0469