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About Us
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Our Mission
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The mission of the Alliance for the Mentally Ill is to provide hope and
improve the quality of life for those in the greater Chicago area whose
lives are affected by serious mental illness.
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Our History
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NAMI of Greater Chicago was formed in February of 1979, by four families coping with
their adult children’s serious mental illnesses.
These families incorporated as a
not-for-profit organization, developed a support group and invited others to
join with them.
In September of 1979,
Chicago NAMI members participated in the organizational meeting which chartered
the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI).
In 1980, NAMI of Greater Chicago
developed a residential housing program,
7720 Inc., which became an independent agency in 1983.
In 1986, NAMI of Greater Chicago developed
the Better Living Apartments Program, a case-managed assistance program for
individuals with serious mental illness capable of living independently within
the community.
In 1995, that program was
passed to 7720, Inc. for their continued expansion of the program.
Since then, NAMI of Greater Chicago has
concentrated on providing information, referrals, support, education, advocacy
and hope.
Please click
here for a more complete history of our organization.
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Our Programs
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NAMI of Greater Chicago’s programs include:
- an Information and Referral hotline
which receives more that 5,000 calls annually for assistance in dealing with
serious mental illness;
- Informational Publications on all
aspects of mental illnesses, including a Resource Card which is a
wallet-sized guide to key services in Chicago and Baby Blues brochures
which are distributed to providers throughout the Chicago area;
- family and
patient Support Group Meetings in our office as well as at many sites
throughout greater Chicago;
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an excellent, up-to-date Lending Library, a
recently expanded Job Readiness Program for mental health consumers who are
looking to return to employment;
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a Brown Bag Gift Program which
delivers cards and gifts to mentally ill residents of Intermediate Care
Facilities;
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Educational Meetings and Programs for members and the public
including a Speaker’s Bureau, the 12 week Family to Family Education Course,
and an 8 week educational course designed by consumers for consumers entitled Pathways
to Recovery
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Our Goals
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To eliminate the
stigma and discrimination associated with serious mental illness.
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To serve as a
resource for information and referral, support and education for persons with
serious mental illness and their families and friends.
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To assist in the
education of the public and professionals about serious mental illness, with
particular attention to the perspective of the individuals living with mental
illness and their families.
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To advocate on
behalf of the mentally ill and their families.
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To monitor and
seek improvement of existing treatment, residential and support services and to
promote the establishment of additional and innovative programs and approaches.
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To promote the
inclusion of families in planning and decision-making in the mental health
service delivery system, and to urge cooperation between families and
professionals in the treatment of the seriously mentally ill persons.
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To support and
promote programs that maximize the potential and independence of each person
with serious mental illness.
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To stimulate
research into causes and treatments for serious mental illnesses and research
on psychosocial rehabilitation methods.
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Highlights from Last Year
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Please click
here
for a summary of our highlights and major events from last year. |
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