The National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City Metro, Inc. (NAMI-NYC Metro) is a grassroots organization that provides support, education and advocacy for families and individuals of all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds who live with mental illness. As one of the largest affiliates of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, we work collaboratively with our state and national affiliates and other stakeholders in the community to educate the public, advocate for legislation, reduce stigma and improve the mental health system.

NAMI-NYC Metro was founded in 1979 by a small group of parents whose children suffered from mental illness. They came together to offer and seek support, provide mutual guidance and exchange resources and information. Twenty-five years later, the idea of families helping families remains our guiding principle. In a society where stigma and discrimination against people with mental illness show little sign of dissipating, these families gain the greatest amount of strength from each other. The NAMI environment encourages families to share their struggles and talk about symptoms, treatments, community resources and services, as well as strategies for coping with public misconceptions about mental illness.

When someone calls our telephone Helpline (212-684-3264), it is a trained family member or consumer who answers the phone to offer assistance. The Helpline receives several hundred calls each month from consumers, family members and health care providers. Our informed, solicitous volunteers act quickly to provide each individual with information and referrals.

"Working on the Helpline is probably my most meaningful activity. I enjoy the opportunities it provides where I can be affirming. When people call, they are often out of sorts. There are times when, by the end of the call, the caller's resourcefulness shows up and the caller's attitude is positive. There is no salary that provides that kind of compensation." -- Ed, family member and Helpline volunteer

NAMI offers courses and support groups.

NAMI's guiding principle of families helping families is further exemplified by two of our free psychoeducation courses. Our nationally known Family to Family and Peer to Peer courses are offered to the public several times a year. The twelve-week Family to Family course teaches family members about mental illnesses and their treatments, and provides skills that help them cope more effectively. The nine-week Peer to Peer course is a unique, experiential learning program for people with any serious mental illness who are interested in establishing and maintaining their wellness and recovery.

Several years ago, we began reaching out to New York City's Latino, Asian-American and African-American communities, many of which are under-served by the mental health system, to offer support and family psychoeducation programs. Recently, we've developed partnerships with local community organizations to develop family psychoeducation programs to meet the differing and specific needs of each community. In addition to hosting monthly multicultural workgroups at the NAMI office, we now offer several specially developed psychoeducation workshop series, including programs at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Hamilton Madison House's Sunrise Club (a psychosocial clubhouse for a multi-lingual Asian-American population) and Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital's bilingual (Spanish) Parent Partners Program. Other joint programs are being planned.

Additionally, we continue to offer more than twenty different ongoing support groups for consumers and family members. Groups are facilitated by peer and professional volunteers and provide practical information, education and emotional support in a welcoming environment. They meet weekly, bi-weekly or monthly in our office and throughout New York City.

"I joined a NAMI support group and it was freeing to be around marvelous people who also had serious diagnoses. One day I was invited to speak at a NAMI meeting. Until then I tried to hide my mental illness because it made me feel substandard. But sharing my story at that meeting was the first time I was an open consumer. It made me feel strong." -- Dianne, consumer and Helpline volunteer

We also offer weekly peer-led support groups for adolescents hospitalized in psychiatric units. These groups are currently in place at Mount Sinai, St. Vincent's and Payne-Whitney inpatient units.

"I remember how confused I was about what was happening to me when I got sick. Now I get a chance to reach out to someone else who needs their fear, anger and confusion understood. Knowing that I can help them regain some hope that they can and will make it through this journey has become very important to my own recovery." -- Kenny, peer mentor

We operate a Mobile Helpline to bring the resources and volunteers of our telephone Helpline directly to the parents of children and adolescents on-site at Mount Sinai Hospital's outpatient clinic. Our new Parent Matching Program was also developed with the families of children and adolescents in mind. It brings "experienced" parents together with those whose children have been recently diagnosed. Experienced parents provide telephone support for "new" parents. By sharing stories, answering questions and offering resource information, families are able to help other families through a very lonely and often frightening period in their lives.

NAMI keeps its community informed.

Our newsletter (the Reporter), web site, regular mailings and cable television program (Mental Health Update) keep members, mental health professionals and the public informed about our programs and services and the latest developments in treatment, medications, services, and public policy and legislation affecting people with mental illness. The NAMI-NYC Metro office houses the Kenneth Johnson Memorial Research Library, which has the latest books, periodicals, newsletters and videos on mental illness. The library is open to all and has served students doing research, families in need of education and consumers who want to learn about their illnesses.

NAMI educates the public.

One of NAMI's greatest challenges is working to eradicate the stigma of mental illness. We have an ongoing outreach and education campaign to increase public awareness in the community about mental illness and the problems confronting individuals and families with mental illnesses. As part of this campaign, NAMI-NYC Metro staff and volunteers--comprised almost entirely of family members and consumers--speak about mental illnesses to groups at schools, hospitals, mental health agencies, university programs and community organizations.

Our public educational meetings and events bring together panels of experts (psychiatrists, public officials, lawyers and other professionals) as well as family members and consumers, to present information and lead discussions on a broad range of mental health issues. Recent programs have included “Siblings and Schizophrenia: How Mental Illness Affects Sibling Relationships,” which explored the way in which severe illness can irrevocably alter a family’s dynamic; and “Meeting the Challenges of Aging People with Psychiatric Disabilities,” which examined the mental health system’s ability to support the needs of society’s aging population. Annual events include our gala awards celebration and the “Ken” book awards breakfast, which honors authors whose works have shed light on the realities of mental illness.

NAMI-NYC Metro also provides the media with experts, family members and consumers to speak or be interviewed on issues affecting people with mental illness in New York City and nationwide. In addition, we sponsor information booths and distribute literature at relevant meetings and conferences.

"As a volunteer, I've given out NAMI's literature to people who might not understand mental illness at all. Sometimes people mistake one thing for another; they'll think, for example, that schizophrenia is Multiple Personality Disorder. So the fact that NAMI has all this literature available, I am able to educate the people around me. And by doing so, it really helps me to advocate for myself." -- Lynn, NAMI-NYC Metro volunteer

NAMI advocates for better services.

NAMI-NYC Metro works closely with NAMI National and NAMI-New York State to advocate for improved services for people with mental illness and their families, health insurance parity, the allocation of more resources for research into neurobiological disorders and comprehensive, accessible treatment options. We are, meanwhile, engaged in an on-going dialogue with government officials and service providers to improve the quality of treatments and provide a broader range of services. We do this by providing professional testimony; sitting on task forces, boards and commissions; organizing letter-writing campaigns and demonstrations; and collaborating with other advocacy organizations.

Because we seek to improve employer-based mental health benefits and encourage sound mental health management practices in the workplace, NAMI-NYC Metro has joined with other mental health organizations throughout the state to advocate for a parity law in New York State, which will mandate insurance coverage for mental illnesses that is equal to that for physical illnesses. We are also working directly with business groups in New York City to educate employers about mental illness and the importance of providing good mental health benefits to their employees.

In order to make our voices heard on these and other very important advocacy issues, we organize each year at least two lobbying trips to Albany. In February of each year, dozens of NAMI-NYC Metro members head up to the state's capital to speak with our legislators. By sharing our personal stories with government officials, we are able to impart, as a community, the necessity for sustained, comprehensive mental health services and resources.

"NAMI-NYC Metro gives me a way to feel empowered in the face of a disease that by its very nature strips away power. It's an organization that has given me the insight I need to know how to access help for myself and my daughter."-- Patti, Parent and NAMI-NYC Metro member since 1993

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NAMI-NYC Metro gratefully acknowledges the following sources of funding:

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and New York State Office of Mental Health
For major support of our continuing educational programs and services

The Murray G. and Beatrice H. Sherman Charitable Trust and The Edouard Foundation
For support of our programs and services

The New York Community Trust
For support of our Parent Matching Program

The Hearst Foundation, Inc., and The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc.
For general operating support

Bristol-Myers Squibb, Forest Pharmaceuticals, and Eli Lilly
For support of our multicultural outreach programs

The Laurence W. Levine Foundation
For support of our "Ask the Doctor" educational series

NAMI-NYC Metro Services

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