News release
Hays resident Ken Windholz has been elected to serve a two-year term as president of the NAMI Kansas board of directors.
Windholz is a licensed psychotherapist and a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Fort Hays State University. He also currently serves as the president of the Kansas Association of Master's in Psychology and as a faculty adviser for the NAMI On Campus organization at Fort Hays State University, the only student-run NAMI organization in Kansas.
Windholz may be better known as the public address announcer for Fort Hays State University athletic events and the Hays Larks Collegiate summer baseball program.
NAMI Kansas is a state-wide organization of the National Alliance on Mental Illness – a self-help, membership association of individuals living with mental illness, their family members and friends, and is dedicated to improving the lives of those affected by mental illnesses. NAMI provides leadership and works in partnership with local affiliates to ensure peer support, family support, advocacy and education.
The local NAMI Hays affiliate has recently expanded to include outreach, education and support to surrounding counties and is now known as NAMI Golden Plains.
Windholz has served on the NAMI Kansas Board of Directors since 2022 and has been involved with the local organization since 2014.
“Over the years, I’ve learned so much about the incredible work that the NAMI National organization and NAMI Kansas does by working through their network of local affiliates to serve the mental health needs for those whose voices are least likely to be heard. I’ve become very passionate about representing the NAMI mission and its goals,” Windholz said.
“It’s humbling and deeply gratifying to serve the mental health needs of so many folks through this incredible grassroots organization,” he added.
NAMI advocates at the county, state and national levels for non-discriminatory access to quality healthcare, housing, education and employment for people with mental illness.
“Even though our research-based understanding of mental illness and its causes has grown by leaps and bounds over the past couple of decades, there’s still the lingering stigma in much of the public eye about even the most basic facts regarding mental health conditions. People with mental illness are often feared, misunderstood and even victimized. NAMI seeks to eliminate the stigma of mental illness by educating the public and to support those who are suffering or in crisis,” Windholz said.
Historically, NAMI has been at the forefront of advocacy efforts for increased funding for research into the causes and treatment of mental illness.
“Like so many other health related conditions, the key to effective mental illness treatment lies in making an early and accurate diagnosis and providing effective evidence based interventions that include psychotherapy, targeted medications, and wide ranging support services for individuals and families. Everyone deserves those opportunities to lead a life worth living,” Windholz said.
Ultimately, NAMI envisions a day when mental illness prevention or a cure is found.
NAMI Golden Plains, the local NAMI affiliate, is located at Oak Plaza, 103C E. 27th St. in Hays and serves Ellis, Graham, Lane, Ness, Rooks, Rush and Trego counties.
Groups include a NAMI Connection Support Group and NAMI Family Support Group. Each group meets two times per month.
Information about NAMI Golden Plains and the support services that are offered is available by email at [email protected] or by calling Laura Allen, the affiliate chair at 785-259-6859.