Nami Georgia Inc

TO EMPOWER AFFILIATES TO CREATE COMMUNITIES WHERE ALL AFFECTED BY MENTAL ILLNESSES FIND HOPE, HELP, AND ACCEPTANCE THROUGH SUPPORT, EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY.

EDUCATION AND SUPPORT:IN THE FISCAL YEAR MAY 1, 2021 - APRIL 30, 2022, NAMI GEORGIA SERVED APPROXIMATELY 24,716 PARTICIPANTS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS AND THEIR FAMILIES, AS WELL AS FIRST RESPONDERS, EDUCATORS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS THROUGH A VARIETY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, RESOURCES AND EVENTS (SOME DUPLICATION IS LIKELY DUE TO SOME INDIVIDUALS ATTENDING MORE THAN ONE PROGRAM). THESE PARTICIPANTS WERE SERVED THROUGH AN ARRAY OF PROGRAMS INCLUDING MULTI-DAY CLASSES, PRESENTATIONS, AND SUPPORT GROUPS. NAMI GEORGIA'S PROGRAMS ARE ALWAYS FREE OF CHARGE TO THE PARTICIPANTS. THESE 24,716 PARTICIPANTS WERE REACHED THROUGH 2,116 PROGRAM DELIVERIES IN ALL REGIONS OF THE STATE THROUGH NAMI GEORGIA'S 20 AFFILIATES. THESE NUMBERS ARE BROKEN DOWN FURTHER TO BETTER EXPLAIN THE IMPACT. NAMI GEORGIA PROVIDES TRAIN THE TEACHER EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO GRADUATES OF NAMI GEORGIA PROGRAMS, IN ORDER TO BUILD CAPACITY FOR PROGRAM GROWTH. IN THIS FISCAL YEAR, NAMI GEORGIA CERTIFIED 252 PROGRAM LEADERS IN TRAIN THE TRAINER PROGRAMS (REPRESENTING 35% GROWTH OVER FY21). IN ADDITION, NAMI GEORGIA FACILITATED GROUP SESSIONS, OFFICE HOURS, AND SUPPORT CALLS TO ENSURE ALL PROGRAM LEADERS HAD THE SKILLS NEEDED TO BE SUCCESSFUL WITH VIRTUAL DELIVERY. ADDITIONALLY, NAMI GEORGIA MEMBERS FACILITATED 1,340 NAMI FAMILY (551) AND PEER SUPPORT GROUPS (789). THESE SUPPORT GROUPS WERE TRADITIONALLY HELD IN-PERSON, HOWEVER THEY WERE MODIFIED FOLLOWING THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK TO BE DELIVERED OVER VIRTUAL PLATFORMS TO ENSURE INDIVIDUALS IMPACTED BY MENTAL ILLNESS WERE ABLE TO RECEIVE PEER-LED SUPPORT IN A SAFE SETTING. AFTER THE ADJUSTMENTS OF OUR PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR, DUE TO COVID-19, WE WERE CONFIDENT IN OUR ABILITY TO CONTINUE DELIVERING OUR SERVICES IN AN ONLINE AND IN-PERSON FORMAT. NAMI GEORGIA, IN COORDINATION WITH ITS 20 AFFILIATES, ALSO HELD 124 EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. THESE EDUCATION PROGRAMS SERVED 2,559 PARTICIPANTS. IN ADDITION, NAMI GEORGIA DELIVERED 624 PEER-LED, AWARENESS PRESENTATIONS (NAMI ENDING THE SILENCE, NAMI IN OUR OWN VOICE, FAMILY AND FRIENDS SEMINAR, NAMI PROVIDER, AND NAMI SYSLE). THESE PRESENTATIONS REACHED AN AUDIENCE OF 7,153 PEOPLE. CLASSES OFFERED BY NAMI GEORGIA PROVIDE EDUCATION AND INCREASE AWARENESS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS AND THEIR FAMILIES AT NO COST TO THE PUBLIC. INDIVIDUALS WHO BENEFIT FROM NAMI PROGRAMS REPRESENT ALL AGES, CULTURES, RACES, ETHNICITY, SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS. IN ADDITION, NAMI GEORGIA RESPONDED TO 2,301 RESOURCE/HELPLINE CALLS AND EMAILS FROM PEOPLE THROUGHOUT GEORGIA. THIS IS A 42.3% INCREASE FROM FY21. NAMI GEORGIA IS PROUD TO REPORT THAT DESPITE THE CHALLENGES THAT COVID-19 PRESENTED, IT WAS STILL ABLE TO GROW ITS EDUCATIONAL OFFERINGS. NAMI GEORGIA LAUNCHED A PARTNERSHIP WITH UNITE US TO INNOVATE THE RESOURCE DELIVERY METHOD ON OUR HELPLINE. UNITE US IS THE NATION'S LEADING TECHNOLOGY COMPANY CONNECTING HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE. THEY BUILD COORDINATED CARE NETWORKS OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS. WITH UNITE US, PROVIDERS ACROSS SECTORS CAN SEND AND RECEIVE SECURE ELECTRONIC REFERRALS, TRACK EVERY PERSON'S TOTAL HEALTH JOURNEY, AND REPORT ON TANGIBLE OUTCOMES ACROSS A FULL RANGE OF SERVICES IN A CENTRALIZED, COHESIVE, AND COLLABORATIVE ECOSYSTEM. TOGETHER, WE ARE PARTNERING TO EXPAND THE COORDINATED CARE NETWORK KNOWN AS UNITE GEORGIA TO ADDRESS THE UNMET NEEDS OF PEOPLE AND FAMILIES THROUGHOUT THE STATE. THIS EFFORT INCLUDES ALL AREAS SUPPORTED BY NAMI GEORGIA, EMPHASIZING EXPANDING RESOURCES TO THE STATE'S RURAL COUNTIES. UNITE US CONNECTS PEOPLE TO MUCH-NEEDED RESOURCES AND SERVICES SUCH AS ASSISTANCE WITH MENTAL HEALTH, HOUSING, FOOD AND EMPLOYMENT. THE COORDINATED CARE NETWORK ALLOWS HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE PROVIDERS AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO SEND AND RECEIVE SECURE ELECTRONIC REFERRALS, ADDRESS PEOPLE'S SOCIAL NEEDS, AND IMPROVE HEALTH ACROSS COMMUNITIES. NAMI JOINED THE UNITE GEORGIA NETWORK IN JANUARY 2022 TO EXTEND ITS HELPLINE SERVICES TO THE 159 COUNTY RESIDENTS THAT SEEK OUR HELP. PARTNERING WITH UNITE US THROUGH COLLABORATION AND OUTREACH, ENSURES WE PROVIDE ADDED SUPPORT TO THEIR REQUESTS. IN FY22, NAMI GEORGIA LAUNCHED THE FIRST RESPONDER AWARDS: CELEBRATING STRENGTH, EMPOWERING HOPE SERIES. THIS PROJECT, FUNDED BY THE SPARKS FOUNDATION, RECOGNIZES GEORGIA'S LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND FIRST RESPONDERS WHO HAVE UTILIZED THEIR MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS TRAINING ON THE JOB. THROUGH VIDEOS RELEASED EACH MONTH, NAMI GEORGIA HIGHLIGHTS FIRST RESPONDERS WHO SHOWED EXCELLENCE IN ADDRESSING COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN CRISIS.ALSO, NAMI GEORGIA EXPANDED THE FOLLOWING INITIATIVES: AN AMERICORPS VISTA CONTRACT (GROWN FROM 2 TO 4 VISTAS), NAMI FRONTLINE WELLNESS, NAMI SHARING HOPE (NOW OFFERING LIVE COMMUNITY DIALOGUE EVENTS), AND NAMI COMPARTIENDO ESPERANZA.PUBLIC AWARENESS AND ADVOCACY:IN ORDER TO REALIZE ITS VISION TO HAVE A GEORGIA WHERE ALL AFFECTED BY MENTAL ILLNESSES FIND HOPE, HELP, AND ACCEPTANCE, NAMI GEORGIA SETS ANNUAL STRATEGIES TO RAISE MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS. YEARS OF HARD WORK IN ADVOCACY HAVE POSITIONED US TO MAKE 2022 THE YEAR OF MENTAL HEALTH IN GEORGIA, THE SAME YEAR AS OUR 40TH ANNIVERSARY AS AN ORGANIZATION. THROUGH FORMING STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR, NAMI GEORGIA WAS ABLE TO ADVANCE POLICY REFORM ACROSS THE STATE. THE GEORGIA MENTAL HEALTH PARITY ACT (HB 1013) WAS THE LARGEST, MOST COMPREHENSIVE MENTAL HEALTH BILL IN GEORGIA HISTORY. IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, NAMI GEORGIA MOBILIZED ITS GRASSROOTS NETWORK OF ADVOCATES. THE NAMI GEORGIA STAFF AND AFFILIATE LEADERS HOSTED SIX NAMI SMARTS CLASSES, IN WHICH 70 ADVOCATES WERE TRAINED TO EFFECTIVELY ADVOCATE FOR MENTAL HEALTH. ALSO, OVER 1,200 ADVOCATES PARTICIPATED IN MENTAL HEALTH DAY AT THE CAPITOL, IN WHICH NAMI GEORGIA PARTICIPATED AS A MEMBER OF THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES COALITION. DURING 2022, NAMI GEORGIA DISTRIBUTED 500 ADVOCATE GUIDES FOR MENTAL HEALTH DAY, AND DISTRIBUTED 250 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY PACKETS TO LEGISLATORS. NAMI GEORGIA'S ADVOCACY FOR THE 2022 YEAR OF MENTAL HEALTH IN GEORGIA LED TO OVER 14,000 ADVOCATES SIGNING UP FOR UPDATES THROUGH QUORUM, AND 5,000 ADVOCACY ACTIONS TAKEN TO DIRECTLY CONNECT PEOPLE ACROSS THE STATE WITH THEIR LEGISLATORS. AFFILIATE DEVELOPMENT AND MEMBER RESOURCES:NAMI GEORGIA'S STAFF SUPPORTS 193 VOLUNTEER AFFILIATE LEADERS WHO RUN 20 AFFILIATES ACROSS THE STATE, WITH APPROXIMATELY 1,300 MEMBERS. THIS YEAR, WE LAUNCHED THE AFFILIATE SUPPORT AND ENGAGEMENT (ASE) INITIATIVE. OUR ASE TEAM ASSISTS AFFILIATES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR BY MEETING WITH INTERESTED AFFILIATE LEADERS TO CONDUCT A NEEDS ASSESSMENT, AND DEVELOPING PLANS TO BUILD CAPACITY FOR EACH COMMUNITY. THE ASE TEAM THEN EXECUTES THE PLAN, USING CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENTS METHODS, AND REGULAR CHECK-INS WITH AFFILIATE LEADERS TO ENSURE DESIRABLE OUTCOMES. ADDITIONALLY, THIS YEAR WE CONTINUED THE LEADERSHIP NAMI GEORGIA CURRICULUM FOR A DEVELOPMENT TRAINING PROGRAM FOR AFFILIATE LEADERS AND EMERGING LEADERS. THESE LEADERS RECEIVE LEADERSHIP TRAINING, FINANCE PROCEDURE GUIDANCE, MARKETING ASSISTANCE, GROUP DYNAMIC SKILLS TRAINING AND RESOURCE RESEARCH. LOCAL LEADERS ARE ALSO PROVIDED WITH REGULAR UPDATES ON NATIONAL AND STATE LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES, PROGRAM AND GRANT OPPORTUNITIES, AND BEST PRACTICES. IN THE FALL OF 2021, WE HOSTED NAMIWALKS YOUR WAY EVENTS HELD VIRTUALLY, TO HELP AFFILIATES RAISE PUBLIC AWARENESS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH AND RAISED A COMBINED $278,220, WITH 50% OF THE FUNDS RAISED BY THE AFFILIATES GOING BACK TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES.