About Us

What We do

NAMI MCH provides non-clinical mental health referral and linkage support in partnership with all community based systems of care for successful treatment in collaboration for harm prevention. All Support, Education, and Advocacy services are provided by trained individuals from all walks of life at no cost to the community. Everyone at NAMI MCH has direct lived experience enduring the impact of mental illness and navigating the challenges of mental health and prevention systems for wellness.

We educate. Offered in thousands of communities across America through our NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates, our education programs ensure hundreds of thousands of families, individuals and educators get the support and information they need.

We advocate. NAMI shapes the national public policy landscape for people with mental illness and their families and provides grassroots volunteer leaders with the tools, resources and skills necessary to save mental health in all states.

We listen. Our toll-free NAMI HelpLine allows us to respond personally to hundreds of thousands of requests each year, providing free referral, information and support—a much-needed lifeline for many.

We lead. Public awareness events and activities, including Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW), NAMIWalks and other efforts, successfully combat stigma and encourage understanding. NAMI works with reporters on a daily basis to make sure our country understands how important mental health is.

Who We Are

NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. What started as a small group of families gathered around a kitchen table in 1979 has blossomed into the nation’s leading voice on mental health. Today, we are an association of hundreds of local affiliates, state organizations and volunteers who work in your community to raise awareness and provide support and education that was not previously available to those in need. NAMI relies on gifts and contributions to support our important work.

All of our facilitators are peers for the services they lead. This means they have lived experience in the area they are facilitating. They understand what is being discussed in the groups they facilitate and/or the classes they teach. As part of our resources, we offer several programs, newsletters, community information and local and national website links. NAMI McHenry County offers most of the NAMI Signature Programs as well as supporting other programs to help educate the public and reduce stigma about mental health issues.