BY KAREN BOSSICK

Biking for Mental Wellness, a StigmaFree Ride, has gone virtual this year. And those taking part will be able to do it at their leisure throughout the month of May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month.

The ride, which involves prizes, helps raise money for NAMI-WRV, which has expanded its support groups to deal with heightened anxiety and depression amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can sign up for the Biking for Mental Wellness at https://nami-wrv.org/bike/ through May 31. Those who wish may take that opportunity to donate $25 for an individual, $100 per family, 25 cents per mile if they’re biking or $1 per mile if hiking.

Those who wish can also avail themselves of the Travels on Gravel Map, which is available for download on the city of Hailey’s website at www.haileycityhall.org. A limited number of printed copies are available by calling NAMI at 208-481-0686.

Participants are encouraged to report on trail problems that need to be addressed as they hike or ride the trails so the wood River Trails Association may deploy volunteers to do the necessary maintenance.

They’re also encouraged to share on social media how getting out and exercise and reaping the benefits of corresponding serotonin are helping their overall mental wellness.

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

NAMI-WRV’s former executive director, Wendy Norbom, is heading up a new Recovery and Wellness group, which will meet online at 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays via Zoom.

The program will be peer-led and, with the online format, peers will be able to connect with individuals who share their diagnoses throughout the nation via affiliates and referrals.

“I am excited to help expand upon the NAMI Connections program brought to the valley 10 years ago,” said Norbom. The online program will be of benefit to those who cannot find transportation to meetings, who are not comfortable leaving their residence, as well as to those living in isolation or that reside in remote or rural communities. The shared experiences of living with a mental illness, as in any chronic health diagnosis, is the key to finding balance in recovery and offers NAMI’s messages of hope and community.”

• NAMI WRV will continue with weekly Survivor of Suicide support group at 6 p.m. every Monday. The weekly Spanish family support group will run at 6 p.m. Thursdays; the English Family Support group at 6 p.m. the first and third Wednesdays of the month.

  All are on Zoom. To learn more visit www.namiwrv.org/support.

• NAMI-WRV is hosting a Human Resources presentation titled “Mental Health in the Workplace 101” in partnership with The Chamber at noon Friday, May 29. The presentation will look at challenges in the workplace, what managers and supervisors can do, the five signs of mental distress and the resources that are available. For more information, visit https://nami-wrv.org/stigmafreewrv/.

  The Meeting ID is 892-9536-9563. The meeting password is fun.

• NAMI-WRV is asking faith leaders to share informational FaithNet resources in their virtual bulletins and homilies during Mental Health Awareness Month.

  “In a season when the connections between spiritual and mental health and wellness are being explored in fresh ways, it is all the more important in light of our global pandemic to lean in and pay attention,” said Mike Higgs, a member of the Blaine county Chaplaincy. “NAMI’s FaithNet is doing precisely this.”

• Blaine County and the cities of Ketchum Sun Valley, Hailey and Bellevue will issue proclamations supporting mental health awareness between May 5 and May 11.

NAMI-WRV Board Chairwoman Page Klune said that the Wood River Valley’s progressive approach to improving well-being, expanding its online reach due to COVID-19 and making its programs is inspiring.

“We’ve offered community programs for mental health for a long time, and we continue to find an ever-increasing need from people of all ages,” she said. “One in five individuals in the valley has mental health challenges. These often go undiagnosed and untreated. It is vitally important to stress a StigmaFree environment, opening more doors for more people who are faced with mental challenges. And in our present mode of life, the numbers continue to escalate more rapidly than normal.”

To that end, Klune added, NAMI-WRV will continue to preach: “It’s okay to not be okay. It affects us all. There is help and no shame in seeking it. Treatment is effective and this community supports you.”