At a time when we need it more than ever, our mental health system is clearly broken. More than half of people with a mental health condition in the US did not receive any treatment in the last year. Of the 452, 000 adults in North Carolina who did not receive needed mental health care, 44.8% did not because of cost. Last year, 44.7% of adults in

North Carolina reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, and 22.1% were unable to get needed counseling or therapy. Even scarier is that are number of our youth that are struggling, and dying unnecessarily because of mental health issues.

This is the year to raise our voices for better mental health in our state.

To kick off our efforts in 2022, NAMI NC has teamed up with Mental Health America of Central Carolinas and the American Foundations for Suicide Prevention for an advocacy event for mental health and suicide prevention. This will be a free, statewide, virtual event on the morning of February 18, 2022 – to register for the event click here.

NAMI South Mountains is also sponsoring a NAMI Smarts for Advocacy, NAMI’s grassroots skill-building program on January 29th at 9am. In this workshop, we’ll help you cook down your lived experience into a powerful advocacy message that can be used when connecting with policymakers. You will also receive some tips and tools to have an effective meeting with your legislator. To register for NAMI Smarts click here.

Additionally, NAMI NC is a proud sponsor of the 44th Legislative Breakfast on Mental Health to be held on February 26th. This year’s theme is Building Mental Health Policy for Comprehensive, Integrated, Whole Person Care. This event is chartered to educate our communities, including elected officials, about mental health issues that impact North Carolina. For more information and to register for this virtual event click here.