From Executive Director: “Letter to memorialize our history and future opportunities.”
“NEABPD was a supporter of all the work that was done to get NAMI’s attention to BPD.December 20, 2013
Perry Hoffman, Ph.D., President
Members of the Board
National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder
11 Norman Drive
Rye, New York 10580
Dear Perry and team:
As I near the end of my term as Executive Director for NAMI, I would like to commend the productive partnership between NAMI and the National Education Alliance on Borderline Personality Disorder (NEA). We share deep commitments to helping persons with borderline personality disorder, family members and professionals through support, education, advocacy and research.
NEA has been a reliable and highly credible partner for many years. NEA was a steady guide when NAMI adopted borderline personality disorder (BPD) as a priority population in 2006. Later that year, our NAMI/NEA BPD Expert Focus Group, co-moderated by Dr. Ken Duckworth and Lynn Borton, brought together persons who have this disorder, family members and professionals to advise on potential next steps in this area. A key result was increased development of NAMI educational materials, brochures, webpages, and conference presentations, with many thanks to Diane and Jim Hall. And you wrote a compelling article in the NAMI Advocate.
Another outgrowth of our BPD Expert Focus Group was raising awareness through obtaining Congressional passage in 2008 of House Resolution 1005. The Resolution noted the relatively recent official recognition of borderline personality disorder, and concluded that “it is essential to increase awareness of BPD among people suffering from this disorder, their families, mental health professionals, and the general public by promoting education, research, funding, early detection, and effective treatments.” House Resolution 1005 favorably referred to NEA and NAMI’s partnership, and declared support for the month of May as “Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month as a means of educating our Nation about this disorder, the needs of those suffering from it, and its consequences.”
NAMI looks forward to exciting ways to continue our partnership with NEA in the future so that the nation continues to hear our collective voice for borderline personality disorder. Our shared commitment to increasing support, education, advocacy and research is vital. More awareness and education is needed, including on the importance of early intervention and clarifying differences with bipolar disorder.
Best wishes and thank you to the NEA team, and I look forward to seeing many more exciting gains from the partnership!
Sincerely,
Michael J. Fitzpatrick, M.S.W.
Executive Director
House Resolution 1005
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/110/hres1005/text
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