NAMI Seattle

Direct client services including no-barrier mental health support groups and the NAMI- Seattle Helpline. NAMI-Seattle direct support starts with a volunteer-led helpline. This service helps people find mental health resources for themselves or a loved one when they are unsure of where to turn. Our support groups are peer-led and accessible to anyone regardless of formal diagnosis. Group attendees listen and support each other through sharing experiences in a way that fights the stigma and isolation of mental illness, creating a supportive community.

Innovation Project was to design a web based application that would digitize our existing mental health manual- Roadmap to Mental Health and turn it into an editable printable resource that other NAMI affiliates could use to design their own resource manuals. We made our own clinical language for diagnoses, treatments, and concerns available through the utility so that small affiliates with limited bandwidth could distribute that through their community, but also made everything editable so that anyone using the tool could swap in their own culturally appropriate vocabulary and communication style. We started work on this project in the end of 2023 by identifying contractors to assist with preparations of text and technical aspects of the program.

Education and outreach services including Ending the Silence, Ending the Silence - The Conversation Continued, In Our Own Voice, Family to Family, Peer to Peer, and De Familia a Familia. NAMI-Seattle teaches classes for those affected by mental illness and provide presentations that empower volunteer speakers and inspire the public with stories of mental health recovery. Family education builds community within the classes provided while providing clarity and strategies relevant to helping a loved one living with mental illness. Our presentations to the public feature individuals living in recovery from mental illness. These presenters share their stories of how they have overcome the challenges of a mental health condition and speak of the vibrant lives they have forged for themselves.Ending the Silence (new in 2023)- The Conversation Continued (or TCC). This program was designed as a supplement to the ongoing NAMI Signature program, Ending the Silence. It is designed to provide teens and young adults an opportunity to discuss what came up for them out of the EtS presentation including concerns about their own mental health, self harm ideation, taking care of peers in crisis, and other topics around mental health.