NAMI, Inc HQ

Next door and across the nation, NAMI provides free education and support for youth, adults and families. We are determined that no one with mental illness will walk alone.
NAMI advocates bring the power of lived experience to the halls of Congress and state capitols nationwide. We fight every day to promote innovation, improve care and support recovery for people with mental illness.
NAMI is the grassroots voice for individuals with mental illness and their families. We achieve impact through powerful campaigns and partnerships that fight stigma and champion change.
NAMI leads the mental health movement through an extraordinary network of people who strive for excellence every day. We embrace new tools and technologies to improve the efficiency and quality of everything we do.

A formal strategic plan guides NAMI's work. From 2015–2019, NAMI is focusing on the following strategic drivers:

1. Build a Movement—broaden public awareness and inclusion at national, state and local levels;
2. Leverage Technology—expand use of technology to build capacity and connection;
3. Drive Advocacy—lead advocacy efforts that drive increased access and quality;
4. Focus on Youth—develop and implement strategies that engage youth, young adults and their families; and
5. Strengthen the Organization—grow and develop the financing, infrastructure and capacity to support a vibrant and bold organization.

To learn more about NAMI's strategic plan and the structure to carry it out, please visit https://www.nami.org/About-NAMI/Our-Structure.

NAMI is uniquely positioned as the largest grassroots mental health advocacy organization in the United States. Having been created by parents of children with serious mental illness, NAMI is an organization that reflects “lived experience" in all it does.

NAMI is structured as an alliance of over 900 local affiliates, 48 state organizations and thousands of volunteers who work in local communities across the country. Local affiliates and state organizations identify and work on issues most important to their community and state.

By leveraging the skills and passion of its diverse staff, NAMI has capabilities in the following key areas:

Information, Support and Education
Powered by the unique understanding of people with lived experience, NAMI's support and education programs help people affected by mental illness to realize their full potential, cope with the stresses of life, work productively and meaningfully contribute to the world. NAMI creates, maintains and disseminates a host of free programs to support and educate those with mental health concerns and their families. Across the country, thousands of trained NAMI volunteers bring these peer-led programs to their communities. In addition, NAMI's toll-free HelpLine (800-950-NAMI) responds to hundreds of thousands of requests each year, providing free referral, information and support—a much-needed lifeline for many.

Public Policy and Advocacy
NAMI is the preeminent voice on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures that advocates on behalf of those living with mental illness and their families. NAMI promotes common-sense solutions to local, state and national public policy landscapes by fighting for early intervention, community support services and access to affordable mental health care.

Public Awareness, Partnerships and Outreach
NAMI is changing the national conversation on mental health and reaching new audiences every day. Throughout the year, but particularly during Mental Health Month in May, NAMI launches campaigns to raise public awareness of mental illness and inspire action. Such campaigns fight stigma, provide support, educate the public and advocate for equal care. In addition, the NAMIWalks program is a prominent awareness-building activity that takes place in 80 communities nationwide.

More than 150,000 people found resources, information and support through NAMI’s national HelpLine in 2019. Staffed by volunteers aged 21 to 80 plus — all with lived experience of mental illness — the HelpLine handles questions that come in via phone, email, social media and mail.

714,400 SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS | NAMI’s social media following grew more than 30% as campaigns such as #WhyCare reached new audiences nationwide.

12.7 MILLION WEB VISITORS | Traffic on nami.org rose 43%, with half of all visitors between 18 and 34 years of age, a strong sign that our youth outreach efforts are gaining ground.

BLOGS SHARE DIVERSE VIEWPOINTS | Filled with mental health news and engaging stories from peers, caregivers, family members, therapists, advocates and more, NAMI blog posts published in 2019 drew more than 1 million page views, a 33% increase over 2018. Our rich archive of past posts garnered more than 4 million page views, an increase of 97% over the previous year.

HELPING MEDIA GET THE STORY| In 2019, NAMI was mentioned in nearly 24,000 stories shared by print, online and broadcast outlets. Links in 1,150 published articles drove 25,250 visitors to our website. Our national team responded to nearly 450 media inquiries, with thousands more handled by NAMI Affiliates and State Organizations countrywide.

$98 MILLION GAIN IN FEDERAL FUNDING| In 2019, NAMI worked with fellow advocates to seek expanded funding for the National Institute of Mental Health. We raised our voices for early intervention and evidence-based approaches to mental health care that deliver proven benefits for individuals and families.

BRINGING LEADERS TOGETHER | In partnership with the National Institute of Mental Health and the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at Broad Institute, NAMI hosted the 2019 Advancing Discovery Summit in April. Thought leaders from academia, industry, government and private research centers gathered to share perspectives and outline concrete action plans that will accelerate the search for new mental health treatments.

COLLABORATING FOR BETTER CARE | Throughout 2019, NAMI teamed up with the American Psychiatric Association to continue the development of SMI Adviser, a tech-based hub aimed at improving care for those with serious mental illness. This new tool links physicians, nurses, recovery specialists, therapists, peer support experts and others for broad, real-time collaboration and resource sharing.

BRINGING MENTAL HEALTH FACTS TO LIFE | NAMI researchers completed a full update of the popular infographics that reveal patterns of mental health in the U.S., delays and barriers to effective care, warning signs of a mental health crisis and much more.