Farmington Hills Nonprofit Wants to Help People With Mental Illness Live Longer

Farmington Hills-based Community Network Services (CNS) will host its first annual Journey to Wellness Fundraising Breakfast Oct. 24 to endow a program that will help people with mental illness live longer.  

Held at the Auburn Hills Marriott Pontiac Centerpoint in Pontiac, the event's goal is to raise $50,000 for a CNS Wellness Program fund that will bring chronic disease management, fitness, nutrition, and smoking cessation resources to adults with severe mental illnesses who receive behavioral health services at CNS.

According to a CNS press release, people with severe mental illness die 25 years younger than their peers without mental illness. The creation of an integrated behavioral health/ primary care clinic in partnership with the Oakland Integrated Healthcare Network (OIHN) in Waterford this past March will allow for the resources to better manage chronic diseases and offer preventative solutions.

The breakfast event, will be just one hour long and is free to attend, with no obligation to donate. It takes place on the 50th anniversary of the initial legislation signed by President Kennedy creating the community mental health structure.

For more information about the CNS Journey to Wellness Fundraising Breakfast, including sponsorship and volunteer roles, contact Mary Madigan, Manager of Development & Community Relations, at 248-871-1488 or at mmadigan@cnsmi.org.