Masquerade gala to support mental illness recovery

A dinner gala to support individuals suffering form mental illness and their families is planned on Oct. 8 at Thunder Canyon Gold Club.

Unmasked: A Masquerade Soiree to Support Mental Illness Recovery, sponsored by National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI, will feature professional hockey goalie and author Clint Malarchuk as the keynote speaker.

Malarchuk is famous for surviving a skate blade slicing openening in his neck in 1989; he says the pain of the mental illness he suffered is incomparably worse. Malarchuk will share his story about hiding his mental illness behind a goalie’s mask and his commitment to recovery. He will be available to autograph copies of his memoir, “A Matter of Inches: How I Survived in the Crease and Beyond.”

Entertainment for the gala will be provided by Dave and Friends, a jazz trio featuring Rocky Tatarelli on saxophone and La Cirque Vagabond. The dinner and silent auction event begins at 6 p.m.; tickets are $80 for an individual or $150 for two. Sponsorship levels are also available.

The NAMI Western Nevada chapter of the national NAMI organization was formed in 2014 to address the vast need for education and support surrounding a wide range of mental illnesses that afflict individuals and their families throughout western Nevada. The chapter won the Affiliate of the Year award at NAMI’s national convention for the effectiveness of its start up procedure and the depth of classes and support groups it offers. Since forming, the chapter has extended its outreach, programs and services to the nation’s veterans through the NAMI Homefront program, to the Latino and Native American communities, and to peers (individuals affected by mental illness) by hosting monthly Recovery Dinners.

An all-volunteer organization, all NAMI Western Nevada classes and support groups are led by intensively trained volunteer instructors and facilitators with lived experience in the subject area of the course.

Proceeds from the gala will be used by NAMI Western Nevada to support the costs of the 13-week class and two bimonthly support groups the group offers as well as to expand services to rural areas and monthly Recovery Dinners for peers in the recovery process.

For tickets, go to http://namiwesternnevada.org/event-registration/?ee=1411, or call Sarah Adler at 775-267-0203. For information about NAMI Western Nevada classes and support groups, go to www.namiwesternnevada.org or contact Linda Porzig, education coordinator, at 775-440-1626.