NAMI News

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill today called for Congressional hearings and executive action in response to the release of a special report by the U.S. Department of Justice that estimates that over a quarter of a million inmates in America's prisons and jails suffer from mental illness.

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), the nation's largest advocacy group for persons with severe mental illness, today honored its NAMI Minnesota state organization with its prestigious national award for "Outstanding Advocacy" in recognition of a hard-fought campaign to ensure that individuals with brain disorders imprisoned in Minnesota's correctional system receive the best possible treatment toward recovery.

A recent benchmark survey reveals that significant gaps between people's perceptions and attitudes toward mental illness and, in particular, manic depression, also known as bipolar disorder, still exist. 

The results of a new national survey of American families who have children with severe mental illnesses reveal that nearly one in five of the parents surveyed were forced to give up their children because they couldn't afford to pay for much-needed treatments and services.

With over 2,500 persons in attendance, the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill (NAMI) today presented the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) with its Campaign to End Discrimination's "Religious Advocacy Award" for requiring parity for mental illnesses in the health insurance provided to church employees and their families.

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), the nation's largest grassroots advocacy organization for persons with severe mental illnesses and their families, today unveiled model legislation at its national convention aimed at establishing "a baseline of care" in the nation's mental health system and replicating effective programs shown to be critical to recovery.

Continuing the national dialogue beginning with the historic White House Conference on Mental Health, more than 2,500 national newsmakers, policymakers, best-selling authors, consumer and family activists, and leading medical experts in neuroscience, psychiatry, and research will convene next week in Chicago for the 20th anniversary convention of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI).

The Supreme Court's decision in Olmstead v. L.C. provides an incremental victory for persons suffering from mental illness by affirming the presumption for treatment in community settings under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

A week after the White House Conference on Mental Health, Brian Kaplan, 39, began pedaling from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware as part of a personal odyssey to both commemorate his impending 40th birthday and support a cause that is close to his heart: NAMI's support for families who are coping with the challenges of severe mental illness.

Today, NAMI applauded the President of the United States and Mrs. Tipper Gore, Mental Health Advisor to the President, for their leadership in convening the first White House Conference on Mental Health