21 December 2006

U.S. Nonprofit Group Is “Nation’s Voice on Mental Illness”

First in a series on nongovernmental organizations in the United States

 

High school student Jake Novak is founder of a group that helps teenagers confront the illness of depression. (© AP Images)

By Jeffrey Thomas
USINFO Staff Writer

This article is the first in a series on U.S nongovernmental organizations.

Washington -- Three mothers and a father whose children were mentally ill began meeting in each other’s living rooms in the 1970s to offer each other support and guidance in making the sometimes complex U.S. mental health care system work for their children. Their vision of a self-help organization dedicated to improving the lives of Americans who suffer from serious mental illness and their families led to the founding in 1979 of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Today, NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots organization helping the more than 15 million people living with serious mental illnesses such as major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.  It has 200,000 members and brings together 1,100 state and local nonprofits that operate with a significant degree of independence but work toward a common goal.

NAMI is “the nation’s voice on mental illness,” according to its Web site.  It focuses on research, education, support and advocacy for the people directly affected by mental illness -- the patients and their family members -- according to Executive Director Michael Fitzpatrick. “This gives us a unique perspective, different from that of doctors and bureaucrats,” he told USINFO recently.

In its education role, NAMI offers courses and sends speakers out into the community. Family members go into schools to teach teachers about mental illness and, as part of a program called “In Our Own Voice,” those who have recovered from mental illness talk about their illness and recovery to a church, school or other community group.

NAMI delivers science-based messages to the public, health professionals and traditionally underserved populations. The basic message is that mental illnesses are biologically based brain disorders, and there are highly effective treatments available if people will recognize the need and act on it.

In Utah in 2000, for example, the state NAMI affiliate developed “Hope for Tomorrow,” a school-based program to reduce the stigma of mental illness and make it easier for young people to seek help, especially those contemplating suicide. The program was developed in response to a request from a local Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) concerned that in each of the past 12 years a student at the secondary school had died by suicide.

Research shows that "Hope for Tomorrow" has been successful in getting teens to seek help.  Suicide, depression, anorexia and bulimia “are topics that are hard for teachers, parents and school administrators to address, but Hope for Tomorrow has shown that they can be successfully dealt with in schools,” said Sherri Wittwer, the executive director of NAMI Utah.

"Hope for Tomorrow" has expanded to more than 60 schools in Utah and Oklahoma.

For those who work directly with the mentally ill, NAMI offers in 20 states a 10-week course that explains the hardship of mental illness from the families’ point of view.  It is team-taught by five people, including two family members, two who have suffered from mental illness and one mental health professional.

In its support role, NAMI volunteers respond to 4,000 callers a month on its telephone help line. Some calls come from family members confronting the social, legal and financial impact of chronic mental illness. Others come from people dealing with the acute or recovery phases of their illnesses.

Most state affiliates offer information on the local mental health system, patient and family rights and how to obtain essential services and entitlements. NAMI says its national Web site receives more than 5.4 million visitors a year.

Support groups for the mentally ill and their families are another service NAMI offers. Those who have been through the guilt and emotional turmoil caused by a family member’s illness often are best able to help other families. They are sources of information on treatment programs, ways of coping and such practical matters as how to apply for government disability benefits.

NAMI affiliates offer mentoring programs and courses for people recovering from mental illness and their families.

In its advocacy role, NAMI lobbies all levels of government for increased funding for research on treatment and cures for mental illness and improved health insurance, housing, rehabilitation programs and job opportunities.

NAMI issued the first comprehensive state-by-state analysis of mental health care systems in the United States. The report, Grading the States 2006, highlights innovative programs in each state and offers recommendations for improving care, especially in states where mental health care systems are rated as inadequate.

The nation’s mental health care system must “catch up with advances in science and with proven, cost-effective treatment practices,” the report says.

The full text of the report and additional information on NAMI are available on the organization’s Web site.

(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)