Program areas at Nami Fox Valley
Iris place peer run respite program: Nami Fox Valley's peer run respite center, iris place, offers a short term stay (1-7 nights) in a 5-bedroom, home-like environment for individuals who are seeking peer support for mental health challenges. Peer support is an evidence-based practice that fosters recovery and improves quality of life. The respite is staffed by peer companions who are living well in recovery from their own mental health challenges and have received extensive training in providing peer support to others. The peer companions provide support to guests staying at the respite, as well as to callers to the iris place warm line. In 2023, iris place welcomed 131 guests and provided support on 2,490 warm line calls.
Support program: Nami Fox Valley's support program offers numerous peer support groups and access to one-on-one peer support for individuals living with mental illness and their family members. Peer support is an evidence- based practice that fosters recovery and improves quality of life. Nami Fox Valley offers approximately 30 support group meetings each month, each of which is facilitated by two trained staff members or volunteers. Each support group meeting typically is 90 to 120 minutes long. The groups are designed to help individuals living with mental illness and their family members feel understood, respected, supported, and heard, and to increase coping skills, self-advocacy, and hope. In 2023, 2,235 participants attended Nami Fox Valley's support groups.
Education & outreach program: Nami Fox Valley's education and outreach program offers a wide variety of classes and presentations that increase mental health literacy, break down the stigma surrounding mental illness, and increase participants' ability to understand and address their own mental health needs and/or the mental health needs of others. In 2023, Nami Fox Valley delivered over 320 mental health and suicide prevention trainings in local classrooms to 6,990 students, presented 73 mental health trainings for audlts to approximately 3,374 attendees, hosted resource tables at 25 events, and graduated 114 individuals with mental illness or their family members from 11 multi-week mental health education courses.