NAMI National and Local Mississippi Valley both provide excellent resources and opportunities to engage in the issues of mental illness. The Family First approach is very effective as most families that encounter the illness have very little expertise or knowledge of the conditions and best ways to support their family members. The impact of the pandemic has been severe, especially for those who are most at risk, such the isolated, children and overstressed parents and grandparents and Veterans. All of the instructors and staff members have lived experience with mental illness in the family or themselves and can make a real difference the lives of participants.

NAMI has provided my family with education, support, and hope! They passionate about their work. Since becoming a member of NAMI, I have not only utilized their services but now volunteer with NAMI as an educational and support leader.

Taking the excellent NAMI Family to Family class empowered me to begin to help my family in our experience with a serious and persistent mental health condition like nothing ever had. It was the beginning of our long road to recovery, which would not have happened without that education and support. As a result, I volunteer for NAMI GMV to give others the opportunity to find solutions to their families in crisis.

I found Nami when my husband was in 2S at Genesis West. My husband has bi-polar depression. At this time we had been married for 25 Years and my husband had been dealing with mental disease for 11 years. I found a brochure for nami in the waiting room attended a family support meeting and discovered a lot of families are dealing with mental illness and I’m not alone. I went thru the family to family to family class and learned more about all the mental illness and found information to help my family and husband to cope all together with tips that Nami offered thru the class and made new friends and have a larger support group for on the days that you need the extra push. Highly recommend family support for what ever age your loved one is. And also recommend to go thru family to family to learn how the mental health disease effects your liver one.