NAMI Southwestern Illinois

In Time is On Time, ...
or How St. Louis Cardinals Care is Helping Families! Mark Rudolph, mrudolph@namiswi.org

"In Time is On Time" was first coined in the Japanese auto manufacturing industry and referred to the practice of having the components of a car present and ready for assembly only when needed. Previously and traditionally manufacturers would stockpile large amounts of parts and maintain a huge inventory based on the number of cars they expected to produce. What this lead to was over production of some items, inefficient use of capital, and a decrease in the potential to minimize problems that were only discovered on the production floor once the part was in use. If a part proved over time to be defective or if a minor change were discovered that could substantially improve how it worked neither would occur because there was already an inventory built up. Not very efficient nor did it help quality to be continuously improved. The world learned and what quickly became the new norm was to only produce parts to meet the immediate need which revolutionized the supply chain. Today "In Time is On Time" is the standard in all manufacturing and cars have never been better!

By now you are probably asking "What the heck does that esoteric history lesson have to do with NAMI and the St. Louis Cardinals?"

The answer is that our friends at the St. Louis Cardinal‘s Care Foundation have granted funds to re-start our Llama program at Gateway Regional Medical Center for children admitted to their Behavioral Health Unit. The way this works is that when a child is ready for discharge the staff will give the child a NAMI Llama that has a tag on it informing families that NAMI can help and how to contact us. The hope is that the child will have at least one warm memory of their visit and if you have held one of our plush Llamas you will understand AND that the parents will be prompted to come to us immediately for help like enrolling in one of our BASICS classes or attending a support group. (See picture of NAMI Llamas with the new tags that display the Cardinal Care logo created by Matt & Mary Gauen.)

You may know that the NAMI office is just a few feet away from the Children‘s Behavioral Health Unit. There are some days that the sounds of frustrated, upset, and raging children that are just beginning treatment echo in the halls. Once Gateway has the child and family stabilized and ready for release then that is the time that NAMI can help those families - but only if they know we are here. That‘s the purpose of the Llama.

Why Llamas? Traditionally llamas are used to carry burdens and are very compassionate animals. They understand when you're sad and they comfort you. Using that concept the llama became the mascot for NAMI Southwestern IL. The NAMI Llama is here to remind you that when you reach out to others for support, NAMI is here to provide it. The original llama idea and artwork were created by NAMI Southwestern IL member Matt Gauen.