Help is on the Line

The NAMI Chicago Helpline continues to make meaningful connections across Chicago and the region. In December 2021, we expanded our service to residents of Suburban Cook County through a partnership with the Cook County Department of Public Health. 

We also took a closer look at how we can increase meaningful connections with callers. 

On average, we spent 17 minutes with each caller last year. This time reflects how the NAMI Chicago Helpline team gives callers the space to share their story in order to fully understand and respond to their specific needs. Our continued partnership with the Center for Clinical & Translational Science at UIC helped us better understand call patterns in an effort to optimize the effectiveness of our process and practice.

Support in Court

Mental Health Court is a two-year voluntary probation program for individuals who have pending criminal cases as well as serious mental health conditions. The goal of the program is to help participants achieve stability and wellness through vigorous case management and the support of a dedicated team consisting of a judge, probation officer, state’s attorney, public defender, court coordinator and clinical support. NAMI Chicago is proud to have provided expert case management for every single participant in the program.

Connections Forged

The NAMI Chicago Clinical Support program delivered incredible breadth and depth of services in partnership with the Chicago Police Department’s Critical Response Unit. Working closely with families and individuals, this team was able to help interrupt the cycle of crisis by making critical connections to mental health and substance abuse treatment options. They also provided crisis care for hundreds of family members seeking help for those they love. 

Donor support has made it possible for us to strengthen these vital partnerships, and to expand mobile crisis and other alternative emergency department options throughout the Chicago region.

Youth Matters

It was a breakthrough year for connecting with Chicago youth in crisis. The NAMI Chicago Helpline answered more calls from young people in need of support than ever before.

We also collaborated with our advocacy partners, Young Invincibles, to champion improved mental health support for students on Illinois’ college campuses. Together, we were able to raise media attention and change decision-makers’ opinions on this issue.

We know mental health crises on campus were compounded by COVID-19. In response, we founded and facilitated the Learning Collaborative that brought together leaders from Illinois’ public colleges and universities to learn, teach and share best practices for supporting student mental health. This inspired us to develop a new training program called NAMI Chats for kids as young as eight, and we look forward to growing this initiative.

Recovery Ready

The Williams Consent Decree enables qualifying individuals with mental illness to be moved from state-funded facilities to independent-living communities with professional support. While NAMI Chicago is no longer providing outreach to Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Facilities (SMHRFs) under the Williams Consent Decree, we will continue to provide valuable peer support to class members under our In-Home Recovery Support and Ambassador programs and through our Helpline for both the Williams and Colbert class members.

We are so proud of the critical support provided by the committed peers who make up the NAMI Chicago In-Home Recovery team. By adding new team members last year, we were able to support 145 people transitioning from residential facilities into the community. Our recovery team also developed a new WRAP On-the-go Training option to introduce participants to a meaningful wellness and recovery framework that provides tools to support them on their journey.