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SAMHAJ Self-Help Group
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SAMHAJ has launched the very first self-help group for South
Asians in New Jersey. This is a group of families and individuals
coping with serious mental illness that meets once a month
for support and information. The group meets on the 1st
Thursday of the month at the NAMI NEW JERSEY office, 1562
Route 130, North Brunswick, NJ 08902.
To
learn more about the group, call Anu Singh or Aruna Rao at
(732) 940-0991 or e-mail samhaj@naminj.org
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South Asian
Community and Disabilities Conference: Raising Awareness, Facing Challenges,
Accessing Resources
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On June 15, 2007, SAMHAJ(South Asian Mental Health Awareness
in Jersey) and the South Asian Health Project (SAH Project)
and was pleased to support the first conference, South
Asian Community and Disabilities: Raising Awareness, Facing
Challenges, Accessing Resources, in partnership with five
leading disability advocacy groups, the Elizabeth M. Boggs
Centre on Developmental Disabilities, New Jersey Protection
and Advocacy, Inc, Statewide Parent Advocacy Network, the
New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities, and UMDNJ-Office
of Academic and Clinical Initiatives.
Held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Brunswick, NJ, the
conference was well attended, with over 150 participants,
from a wide range of backgrounds-members of the South Asian
community, individuals living with disabilities and their
families, community leaders, and providers of disability and
social services.
An important aspect of the conference was the presence of
family members, caregivers, and individuals living with disabilities
who spoke on the morning panel, sharing their success stories
with courage. Ms. Aruna Rao, Director of Educational Programs
at National Alliance on Mental Illness of New Jersey, and
founder of SAMHAJ, said, "The families panel underscored
the importance of noting that disabilities include various
challenges and can be related to physical, developmental,
and mental illnesses. It's not always visible."
Click here to read the press
release from The South Asian Health Project.
 
Family
Panel Aruna
Rao, NAMI NJ Director of Education Programs
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2006 SAMHAJ Celebration
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Click
here to view pictures of the 2006 SAMHAJ Celebration on December
7, 2006.
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Immigrant Rights Informational Session for South Asian Residents in New Jersey
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An informational session was held on Tuesday, September 26,
2006 at the Woodbridge Public Library (Iselin Branch) to discuss
the following issues:
• Recent incidents in Edison and impact on South Asian
community
• Exercising your civil rights and accessing benefits
as an immigrant
• Policies and laws affecting immigrants locally and
nationally
• Legal resources and services available to immigrants
in New Jersey
Organizational Partners:
NAMI-NJ/SAMHAJ; Asian American Legal Defense and Education
Fund; International Human Rights / Rule of Law Project;
Center for Social Justice; Seton Hall University School of
Law; Manavi; Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund;
Sikh Coalition; South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT);
South Asian Bar Association (New Jersey); South Asian Health
Project (SAHP); United CDC; United Sikhs.
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SAMHAJ Film Discussion Series
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On Friday, April 21, 2006, the first film featured
in the SAMHAJ Film Discussion Series was "15 Park Avenue",
directed by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi. The SAMHAJ
Film Discussion series will show films relating to mental
illness several times during the year in Central New Jersey,
and feature an expert speaker to discuss issues raised by
the film. Read
more...
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2005 SAMHAJ Celebration
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Click
here to view pictures of the 2005 SAMHAJ Celebration on December
1, 2005 at the NAMI NJ office.
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Celestial Motions - An intercultural comedy
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Leela's parents made a mistake with her astrological chart.
When it's redrawn, Leela finds herself on a journey of arranged
dating and cyber romance, unaware that her destiny is closer
than she can imagine...
The SAMHAJ program recently partnered with the Indian American
Civic Forum to stage “Celestial Motions” an intercultural
comedy on September 26, 2005. The performance was enthusiastically
received by attendees. Plans to stage the play at other venues
to support its message of intercultural and intergenerational
understanding are in development. Click
here to view pictures.
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Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega Woh Gaana
Gayega - Emotion in Indian Film Songs
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South Brunswick Senior Center - July 7, 2005
Sadhu Vaswani Center - July 17, 2005
South Amboy Senior Center - October 3, 2005
These entertaining as well as informative lectures sponsored
by SAMHAJ were intended to help South Asian seniors gain some
insight into the mental health issues that they are facing
as recent immigrants in the US. The lectures were facilitated
by Dr. Jagdish Dang, a geriatric psychiatrist, medical director
and chairman of Department of Psychiatry at Barnert hospital
in Paterson, NJ. Approximately 65 seniors participated at
the South Brunswick Senior center. At the Sadhu Vaswani center
(a South Asian faith based organization) the participants
were of a mixed age group. The workshop at the South Amboy
Senior center was attended by 90 seniors. By discussing verses
from an old Hindi film song Dr. Dang talked about how South
Asian cultural values are reflected in the Indian Cinema.
From there on he skillfully led the discussion to the immense
shame and stigma attached to mental health problems in these
communities. The aspect of denial of mental illness was also
brought up. Dr. Dang specifically talked about the issue of
depression in the elderly and urged the participants to seek
help and emphasized the effectiveness of psychotropic medications
available today. All the lectures were very well received
and the participants voiced the need for more informative
discussions like these.
   
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SAMHAJ Highlighted in Article in
the India Abroad Magazine
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An article in the recent edition of India Abroad Magazine
titled "The stubborn shadow - Desis and depression: Do
we ignore it?" highlighted the SAMHAJ program and heavily
quoted Ms. Aruna Rao, NAMI NJ Director of Education Programs
and SAMHAJ ex-Coordinator. Please
click here to read the article.
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2004 SAMHAJ Holiday Celebration
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SAMHAJ (South Asian Mental Health Awareness in Jersey),
a program by NAMI New Jersey celebrated a year of accomplishments
in a festive manner at the Tanjore restaurant on December
2. Please click
here to read more.
   
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SAMHAJ Team Walks for Freedom from Stigma
against Mental Illness in 2004
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SAMHAJ self-help group members participated in the
NAMI NEW JERSEY Walk for Freedom from Stigma at the Liberty
State Park on October 10, 2004. This unprecedented effort
to raise awareness about mental illness attracted over 3000
walkers, and raised money for NAMI NJ's work in supporting
families and individuals coping with mental illness.
Photo
Album of SAMHAJ Team in 2004 NAMI NJ Walk
To view a photo gallery of the SAMHAJ team in NAMI
NJ Walk in 2003, click
here.
To order prints of the team, click
here.
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Adjusting to Life in America, an educational
workshop for Asian Seniors
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This workshop, held on August 6, 2004, helped to explore
the challenges that Asian senior citizens face in adjusting
to American culture. Dr. McLean and Aruna Rao discussed several
issues like language barriers, loneliness, immigrant stress
that are often not acknowledged or understood.
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Bridging the Gap: Raising Indian Children
in America
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This workshop aimed to help the South Asian parents gain
some insights into bridging the cultural divide that rises
between them and their American born children. This workshop
was the second in a series of three in 2004, sponsored by
NAMI NEW JERSEY's SAMHAJ program and the Indian American Civic
Forum. These workshops are intended to increase awareness
about mental health and well being among South Asian immigrants.
Click here to
read more.
This SAMHAJ event was covered in the Trenton Times. To see
full article click here,
pictures click here.
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The Other Side of the Bed: Lessons on Enhancing
our Relationships
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On a sunny afternoon on Saturday, April 10, a group of South
Asians in West Windsor township in New Jersey laughed and
sighed their way through an entertaining and informative workshop
......... Click here
to read more.
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SAMHAJ Advisory Committee Formed
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The The SAMHAJ Advisory Committee met for the first time
on 2/25/03. This dynamic group of professionals and families
guided the implementation of SAMHAJ goals in 2003. If you
are a mental health professional. family member or consumer
interested in serving on this committee, please contact Aruna
Rao at the NAMI NJ office.
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Program Contacts
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Anu Singh, Program
Coordinator
732-940-0991,
or E-mail samhaj@naminj.org
Aruna Rao, Director
of Education Programs
732-940-0991,
or E-mail arao@naminj.org
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