National Alliance on Mental Illness
Additional Services

NAMI Information Helpline

The NAMI Information Helpline is an information and referral service available Monday through Friday from 10 am to 6 pm, ET.

Call (800) 950-NAMI (6264).

Trained volunteers provide information, referrals, and support to all who have questions about or are affected by serious mental illness. The Information Helpline offers:

General, non-professional information on illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression; issues affecting children, adolescents & young families; general questions about medication; NAMI programs, such as Family-to-Family and In Our Own Voice; NAMI policy positions, such as mental health parity, and more.

Referrals to NAMI state affiliates, local affiliates and support groups throughout the country and to other organizations serving the needs of those affected by serious mental illness.

Support by trained volunteers. Consumers and family members are in a unique position to offer support and empathy from people who know what it's like and who have 'been there.'

Missing Persons Support

The National Missing Persons Database is a powerful resource that will enable not only family members of the missing person, but law enforcement, medical examiners, and other members of the justice community to enter data regarding missing persons.

Although it is currently in its infancy, the system currently provides links and contact information to authorities on both and state and local level for all 50 states.

NAMI Online Communities

The sharing of information and support is at the heart of NAMI's mission. NAMI's Online Community areas offer a place for people with common interests to stay informed on the topics that interest them, while sharing knowledge and finding support from people who've been there. Communities will grow and change over time, based on your feedback and use.

If you would like to recommend a community, please contact us with your feedback.

NAMI National Affiliate Directory

NAMI has a state organization in all 50 states as well as in Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. There are also more than 1,200 local affiliates spanning all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Search our comprehensive affiliate directory and find the NAMI group in your town or nearby.

The NAMI organization operates at the local, state and national levels. Each level of the organization provides support, education, information, referral and advocacy.

Local affiliates and state organizations identify and work on issues most important to their community and state. Individual membership and the extraordinary work of hundreds of thousands of volunteer leaders is the lifeblood of NAMI's local affiliates and state organizations.

The national office, under the direction of an elected Board of Directors, provides strategic direction to the entire organization, support to NAMI's state and affiliate members, governs the NAMI corporation, and engages in advocacy, education and leadership development nationally.

NAMI FaithNet

NAMI FaithNet is a network composed of members and friends of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness). It was established for the purposes of:

Facilitating the development within the Faith Community of a non-threatening, supportive environment for those with serious mental illness and their families;

Pointing out the value of one’s spirituality in the recovery process from mental illness and the need for spiritual strength for those who are caretakers;

Educating clergy and congregations concerning the biologic basis and characteristics of mental illness; encouraging advocacy of the Faith Community to bring about hope and help for all who are affected by mental illness.

NAMI FaithNet is not a religious network but rather an outreach to all religious organizations. It has had significant success in doing so, because all the major religions have the basic tenets of giving care and showing compassion to those in need.

NAMI FaithNet respects all religious beliefs. It also recognizes the expression by the majority of those affected by mental illness of the importance of the role of their spirituality in their ability to cope with having one of these no fault disorders themselves or in caring for an ill friend or family member.

NAMI FaithNet encourages all those who are affected by a mental illness, who are also members of a faith community, to talk to their clergy person about mental illness and the role their faith is playing in their lives. This is done for two purposes:

By telling their clergy person their story, he or she becomes personally involved and personal involvement is the best method of education. Understanding requires not only the attention of the ears and eyes, but also the heart;

By speaking to their clergy person, they have the opportunity to gain spiritual support.

Sadly, at present, many shy away from speaking with their clergy person because of the effect the stigma of mental illness has had on their lives. They needlessly feel ashamed and fear rejection.

NAMI Walks

In 2010, thousands of concerned citizens in nearly 80 communities across the nation will walk together to raise money and awareness about our country's need for a world-class treatment and recovery system for people with mental illness.

The 2010 NAMI Northwest Walk will be held Sunday, May 23 in Portland at the Eastbank Esplanade. Registration begins at noon. The walk is scheduled for 1 pm.

NAMI depends on generous volunteers to raise funds and awareness in support of programs in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Sign up a team today, and help us fulfill our mission of improving the lives of people living with mental illness, and their loved ones.

Grading the States

Our national mental health care system is in crisis. Long fragile, fragmented, and inadequate, it is now in serious peril. In 2003, the presidential New Freedom Commission presented a vision for a life-saving, recovery-oriented, cost-effective, evidence-based system of care. States have been working to improve the system, but progress is minimal.

Today, even those states that have worked the hardest stand to see their gains wiped out. As the country faces the deepest economic crisis since the Great Depression, state budget shortfalls mean budget cuts to mental health services.

The budget cuts are coming at a time when mental health services are even more urgently needed. It is a vicious cycle that destroys lives and creates more significant financial troubles for states and the federal government in the long run.

One in four Americans experience mental illness at some point in their lives. The most serious conditions affect 10.6 million people. Mental illness is the greatest cause of disability in the nation, and twice as many Americans live with schizophrenia than with HIV/AIDS.

Legislative Action Center

It is essential that you contact your state and national representatives to ensure they are working on behalf of people suffering with serious mental illnesses.

NAMI's Legislative Action Center provides a listing of current legislation impacting mental health plus an easy way to contact your elected representatives.

CIT Technical Resource Center

NAMI's CIT Technical Resource Center is available to supply mental health care, law enforcement, advocacy workers and consumers with the latest information about Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training.

The resource center serves as a repository of information about CIT programs nationwide. The Center facilitates ongoing communications between CIT programs and engages in national networking to establish standards and promote the expansion of CIT.