NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)¶
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a major national mental health organization offering education, support, and navigation help for people living with mental illness and their families. Its public support pages center a national HelpLine reachable by phone, text, and email; a dedicated Family Caregiver HelpLine; and a Find Your Local NAMI directory that routes people toward community-based affiliates and programs2.
NAMI is relevant to family caregivers in two ways. First, many caregivers provide care for a loved one with a mental health condition — depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, or PTSD — and caregiving reviews show that this group often faces unusually high emotional stress, stigma, and isolation3. Second, caregivers themselves experience elevated rates of depression, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion1, and NAMI's family-facing programs and support resources are designed for exactly that overlap.
When you reach out to NAMI, expect support and navigation rather than emergency intervention. The HelpLine offers information, referrals, and connection to local NAMI affiliates, while immediate crisis needs are explicitly routed to the 988 Lifeline2.
NAMI operates through a network of over 600 local affiliates across the country. These affiliates run in-person support groups, educational programs, and community events. The NAMI website at nami.org includes an affiliate finder, a resource library, and online discussion communities.
NAMI addresses zone P6 (Emotional Wellbeing) directly, with a focus on the mental-health condition. It is relevant both for caregivers managing a loved one's mental illness and for caregivers experiencing their own mental health challenges as a result of caregiving demands.