Floyd retires as longtime NAMI president, installs new leader
A local leader who helped countless individuals by offering a light in the darkness and encouragement during potentially life-altering situations retired from his role as president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness for Logan and Champaign Counties Friday, Sept. 6, installing a new leader who also has a deep-felt passion for serving in this role.
Pete Floyd was honored by the Mental Health Drug and Alcohol Services Board of Logan and Champaign Counties for his 18 years of service during an open house at the MHDAS’s West Liberty office.
He conducted a candle lighting ceremony to install the new NAMI president, DeGraff resident Robin Barton, who has advocated for mental illness, addiction and recovery awareness and prevention on the local and national levels, including being involved with the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) that was passed by U.S. Congress in 2016.
“Pete has dedicated so much of his time to this. He leaves big shoes to fill,” said Barton, who was joined at the ceremony by her daughter, Bianca Dinovo, who has been inspirational in her recovery journey.
Floyd said he was thrilled that someone with Barton’s advocacy and personal experience was willing to take the position.
“What an important job we have, to advocate for those with mental illness and their loved ones, and to help them to find recovery and hope,” he said. “It often can be life or death. What we’re doing matters.”
Floyd said mental illness has made a large impact on his family, with his mother suffering from major depressive illness and depression affecting other members of his family as well. While he said there is still work to be done to eliminate the stigma of mental illness, he is grateful for the progress that has been made to bring the issue to the public eye so that individuals and their families can receive help and support.
“My great-grandfather died at a young age, and while we don’t know the official cause of his death, I have a suspicion that he might have succumbed to suicide,” Floyd said. “In those days, people didn’t talk about suicide and mental illness.
“It’s important that we talk about these issues, so that we understand that no one is alone. We’re in alliance here, where we work together.”
NAMI reports that one in five U.S. adults experience mental illness each year, and that one in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year.
One in six U.S. youth between the ages of 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year as well. Fifty-percent of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75 percent by age 24.
Barton shared her story relating to her daughter’s addiction recovery and mental health struggles during the ceremony. She said a family trip during 2010 to North Carolina brought to light the addiction issues that her daughter was wrestling with.
“We were on a trip to Myrtle Beach, where we met up with my daughter. I knew she had been drinking a lot, but I had no idea she was in that deep of trouble.”
One night while on vacation, Barton said she woke up to Dinovo withdrawing from suboxone.
“She was thrashing around and in the fetal position. I was terrified of the strength of whatever it was that was happening to my child.”
Following their trip, Barton and her husband, Greg, began researching recovery facilities for their daughter. They were very discouraged to find out the overwhelming cost of these facilities, with many families taking out second mortgages on their home to afford the specialized care.
The new NAMI president said those findings spurred her to begin a letter writing campaign, including writing to the CDC, the FDA and to the president about the need for more affordable and widely available treatment services.
She received a surprise phone call one day from Washington, D.C., from a representative from President Barack Obama’s office, informing her that her letter had “moved the president.”
Obama soon signed the CARA Act of 2016 into law. Barton and Dinovo were interviewed by a national news outlet about their story and the importance of these affordable supports for addiction recovery.
“These are beautiful souls, crying out for help,” Barton said of those struggling with mental health and addiction issues. “I want to be the voice for those who are too scared or too tired.”
For the national suicide and crisis hotline, dial or text 988. The 24/7 crisis hotline is (800) 224-0422, or text “4HOPE” to 741 741.