NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is a grassroots organization that provides free education, support groups, crisis resources, and policy advocacy for people living with mental health conditions and their families. It operates at both the national level and through local affiliates across the country, making it the largest mental health organization in the United States built around peer support and community action.
Free Education Programs
NAMI runs several structured education programs, all offered at no cost. Each one targets a different audience and is led by people with personal experience rather than clinical professionals.
Family-to-Family is an 8-session program designed for family members, partners, and friends of someone with a mental health condition. It’s taught by trained family members who have navigated similar situations themselves. The curriculum covers coping strategies, problem-solving, and understanding diagnoses through presentations, discussions, and interactive exercises. It’s been designated an evidence-based program, meaning research has confirmed it measurably improves participants’ ability to cope and solve problems.
Peer-to-Peer flips the focus to the person living with the condition. This program connects individuals directly with others who share similar experiences, offering structured education on managing symptoms and building recovery skills.
Ending the Silence targets middle and high school students with a free, 50-minute session that teaches warning signs of mental health conditions and what steps to take when they or someone they know is struggling. Each presentation pairs an informational leader with a young adult who shares their own recovery story. Research shows the program changes students’ knowledge and attitudes about mental health and makes them more willing to seek help. Separate 1-hour versions are available for school staff and for parents of school-age kids.
Support Groups
NAMI operates two main types of ongoing support groups, each with clear boundaries about who participates. NAMI Connection is for people living with mental health conditions themselves. NAMI Family Support Group is for the people around them: family members, significant others, and friends. Both are free and peer-led. Spanish-language support groups are also available.
The separation matters. A parent trying to understand a child’s psychosis and a person managing their own depression face very different daily realities. Keeping the groups distinct lets participants speak openly with people who genuinely share their perspective.
Public Awareness Presentations
NAMI In Our Own Voice is a presentation program aimed at reducing stigma. Trained speakers with lived experience of mental health conditions share their personal stories in 40-, 60-, or 90-minute sessions that are open to community groups, workplaces, schools, and other organizations. The goal is straightforward: give audiences the chance to hear honest perspectives on misunderstood topics, ask real questions, and walk away understanding that people with mental health conditions lead full lives with goals, relationships, and aspirations. These presentations are free.
The NAMI HelpLine
The NAMI HelpLine is a free, confidential service available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern Time. You can reach it by calling 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), texting “NAMI” to 62640, or by email.
HelpLine staff provide one-on-one emotional support, mental health information, and help connecting you to local resources. It’s important to know what the HelpLine does not do: it doesn’t provide counseling, clinical advice, referrals to specific therapists or lawyers, or any form of legal representation. Think of it as a knowledgeable starting point rather than a treatment service. If you’re in immediate crisis, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) offers 24/7 support including live chat.
Policy Advocacy
Beyond direct services, NAMI works to shape mental health policy at both the state and federal level. Its advocacy falls into four broad categories: improving access to health care, strengthening crisis response systems, supporting community inclusion and non-discrimination, and stopping harmful practices.
In practice, this means NAMI tracks state legislation, publishes policy briefs analyzing new mental health laws, and pushes lawmakers to adopt specific reforms. Its 2024 State Legislation Issue Brief Series, for example, examined new state laws addressing access to mental health care, criminal justice reform, and 988 crisis services. NAMI also tracks state-level 988 legislation and advocates for adequate funding and staffing of crisis systems. The organization frames its policy work around a core principle: every person with a mental health condition deserves care that meets their health, cultural, and linguistic needs.
How NAMI Is Structured
NAMI is a national organization, but most of its programs are delivered through local and state affiliates. This grassroots structure means the experience of contacting NAMI varies by location. Some affiliates run robust weekly support groups and full program calendars. Others are smaller and may offer fewer options. You can search for your local affiliate on NAMI’s website to see what’s available near you.
Volunteers drive much of the work. The people leading Family-to-Family classes, facilitating support groups, and giving In Our Own Voice presentations are trained community members, not paid staff. This peer-led model is central to how NAMI operates and is part of why its programs resonate with participants who may feel disconnected from the clinical mental health system.