Statements
Mission
NAMI Davidson county's mission is to provide support, education and advocacy for persons with lived experience, their families and communities impacted by mental health and co-occurring disorders. We shine a light down the road to mental health recovery and into a 'new normal'.
Background
NAMI Davidson has been providing peer support, education, advocacy and outreach services to individuals and families throughout the Greater Nashville Area since July of 2009. In the first two years of its operation NAMI Davidson averaged support to 1000 persons per year. The organization was hosted one support group, an adult caregivers' class, a parent of youth caregiver class, several IOOV stigma-busting presentations and participated in the annual Behavioral Health Day on Capitol Hill. A full-time Executive Director was supported by a few dedicated volunteers.
A current snapshot shows dedicated volunteers, and an Executive Director. Staff has grown to include 3.5 FTE staff providing bookkeeping and Admin support, program coordination, youth outreach, media and Walk coordination support. Volunteers are still key to the agency's success. Mental Health support has come to the forefront during the pandemic. NAMI Davidson now documents at least 9000 annually among all its programs. Programs have grown to include four monthly support groups for caregivers and people with direct lived experience, a three-time monthly social peer engagement group, engagement with youth on local campuses, and a focus on community collaboration for recovery support. The agency is a collaborative partner in the new Partners in Care police and crisis worker co-responder program.
NAMI Davidson has grown into the community with valued relationships. These include collaborative engagement with Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital, TriStar Skyline Madison, the Mental Health Cooperative, Elam Mental Health Center, Centerstone, Suicide Prevention in the African American Faith Coalition, and the Metro Nashville Health Department, to name just a few,
Impact
The In Our Own Voice stigma-busting presentation is now presented to over 350 people annually primarily through a Letter of Agreement with the Mental Health Cooperative.
Overall annual impact of the agency showed over 7000 women and 2500 men reached out to NAMI Davidson in FY2019. While much fewer in number, the agency also supported people identifying as they/them. The majority of people reaching out, for help are between the ages 40 and 64 years old. A significant number, over 2000, are between 30 and 39 years old. Youth between the ages of 13 and 29 years comprise about 20%. Seniors tend to call least and comprise 5% of our contacts for service, support, advocacy or awareness. Support requests are split evenly between schizophrenia, psychosis, and bipolar disorder at 34%. Depression, anxiety and suicide are cited in 25% of the contacts we have. 20% of the contacts we have may have 'Other' or unspecified areas of concern that can include PTSD, OCD ADHD, and Borderline Personality Disorder. Primary co-occurring disorders inclusive of addiction are listed under 'Other', but are frequently cited as additional historical or secondary areas of current concerns by caregivers throughout other categories. This is consistent with SAMHSAS statistics that 50% of persons with mental health issues will have a co-occurring substance use disorder.
NAMI Davidson strives to serve people within their cultural norms, understanding that different cultures have imbedded responses to mental health, and often the stigma surrounding it. . As our statistics bear out, seniors are much less likely to contact us. Generationally, seniors were taught not to discuss problems outside their family units. Mental illness was especially taboo. NAMI Davidson has established a connection with the department currently providing peer support to MNPD personnel. The African American community is making strides in awareness, driven by the reduction of suicide rates in young African American males. NAMI Davidson works within the community, and has for several years through the Suicide prevention in the African American Faith Community Coalition. NAMI Davidson is an active contributing member of Suicide Prevention in the African American Faith Community Coalition. The agency recently joined with the Chinese American Association and API of Middle Tennessee to provide a survey reactions to stress, and attitudes towards seeking help in that population. It has also established ties to the Eastern Indian and Muslim communities.
Though, NAMI Davidson reaches out to people in Davidson County, 30% of the people it serves are documented as coming in from all over the Greater Nashville Area and Middle Tennessee. Calls are also frequently received from other parts of the country. NAMI Davidson's Executive Director belongs to a national network of executive directors. As a result, when a family from Nashville reports a loved one in trouble in another state, the local ED will try to give as warm a hand-off as possible to the state where the person is experiencing difficulties. NAMI affiliates around the country are known for their knowledge of local resources. It is good practice to reach out to their grassroots network for support or advocacy.
Needs
While mental health needs have grown significantly during the pandemic, so to has some financial support. the agency has benefitted from grants and gifts related to COVID. It has seen some success in it's annual fundraising, but has been impacted by the pandemic. While part-time positions have been added through state grants, donations and fundraising, the agency's board and staff are engaged in strategic planning to maintain current funding levels and sustain programs, with a forward looking eye to mission and needs.
Moving forward efforts will be focusing more on achieving and sustaining recovery, rather than responding to crisis management. That work is till vital to the agency's mission, but helping families and individuals understand their roles in recovery, and the resources that are needed to support them. being able to take the new Youth Coordinator position to a full FTE with benefits to support would allow the work by that position to more rapidly grow planned NAMI on Campus Clubs. A Recovery Coordinator is needed to to collaborate and coordinate with agencies providing job support, mental health occupational therapy, and peer support for working people who are also balancing mental health conditions.
CEO Statement
Our organization plays a vital role for a segment of the population that is often marginalized and dismissed. Mental health disorders fill more beds around the world than any other illness and yet we fail to recognize them as a whole health issue. Everyone knows someone who lives with a major mental health disorder. There are thousands of people with well managed mental health issues that participate daily in society, but will not talk about it due to stigma. At NAMI Davidson we talk about it. We talk about the potential of the individual. Life does not stop after a mental illness. It may undergo significant changes, but the new normal that develops can be an enriched life of appreciation. People with mental illness have to have incredible strong minds to battle through and maintain a state of recovery. I've watched that battle first hand in my own family. It gained my admiration and set me on my path. I surround myself with others on that path encouraging them to find the boundaries of their potential. On that path it is the goal of NAMI Davidson to focus not on mental illness, but on Mental Wellness.
Board Chair Statement
NAMI Davidson fills a unique role in the community. Its staff and volunteers see mental health from the lens of their direct experience. The organization sits outside the clinical circle of providers, and stands as an observer of justice and policy systems. Their passionate advocacy gives direct witness to the needs in our schools, jails, and hospitals. NAMI Davidson makes a tremendous impact, not only on individual's lives, but within institutions and policies affecting them. With more direct involvement in programs, fund development and strategic growth by people of influence, NAMI Davidson can grow into a known commodity to the citizenry of the county.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Mental Health & Crisis Intervention - Alliances & Advocacy |
| Secondary Category: | Youth Development - Alliances & Advocacy |
| Tertiary Category: | Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy - Disabled Persons' Rights |
Areas Served
NAMI Davidson County goes out to all of Davidson County offering its free support, education, advocacy and awareness services. NAMI Davidson has documented through zip code requests that 30% of the people requesting assistance through its weekday Helpline, groups, or caregiver education, come from throughout Middle Tennessee. Several calls a month are also received monthly from people outside Tennessee.
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Cheatham |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Williamson |
