Making internal operations and technology improvements

Expanding professional development opportunities

Cultivating a NAMI workforce and Board of Directors that reflects the diversity of the community we serve

What this means:

Growing employee engagement and wellness programs

Enhancing our data collection and quality assurance capacity

Investing in our IT infrastructure

Recognizing that the prevention-crisis-intervention-postvention cycle happens differently for different people, and meeting people where they are with increased emphasis on prevention

Promoting new prevention programs, such as NAMI Chicago Chat and other programs for youth

Creating partnerships with direct service providers to help connect people to preventative services

Proactively supporting and enhancing the continuum of care for people in need, including those involved in the court system (View)

In order to:

Reduce reliance on emergency services (such as hospital inpatient stays) and increase engagement in ongoing supportive services (such as outpatient psychiatric and counseling services)

Increase connections to accessible supports within the community, such as resources to reduce food insecurity, housing instability, and parenting support, and expansion of Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) classes for mental health support

Build on our crisis intervention program to strengthen re-entry, housing and stabilization services for returning citizens

Joining forces with partners and trusted messengers to bring our mission to life

Developing new, responsive and inclusive services and programs based on the needs of our community

Expanding scale and depth of work with youth populations and their caregivers

Focusing on measurable outcomes for quality assurance

How this will happen:

More training and engagement opportunities for young people

Increase program engagement opportunities for NAMI Ambassadors

Expansion of programs, including Ending the Silence and Recovery Groups

Diversified partnerships and collaborations across the city, with a focus on south and west side neighborhoods

Further development of Workforce Wellness trainings

Building a program of excellence for recovery-oriented training that is different from traditional education institutions

Shaping and elevating the breadth of education available for those working in mental health beyond the medical model

Facilitating higher quality and increased cadence of training, knowledge-sharing, thought leadership, and partnership among those involved in mental health treatment and/or support

So that we can:

Connect policy decision makers with peer workers and practitioners to deepen their understanding of issues and solutions needed in the mental health system

Elevate the value of peer support workers and Certified Recovery Support Specialists (CRSS) in the mental health system, and expand the peer support network

Develop increased training and internship opportunities for peer support workers and CRSS’

Shaping advocacy and policy across the mental health and broader healthcare systems

Highlighting improvements in accessibility to care, equity of access, and flexible treatment options in the mental health and broader wellness space

Elevating diverse narratives to inform advocacy and policy efforts

Building community support for providing basic needs such as food, housing, and safety

How we can help:

Implement our advocacy efforts as guided by our core values and policy needs assessments

Actively work on current and future policy campaigns

Support research

Review advocacy outcomes to adapt and advance our approach moving forward