Nami Chicago

Helpline Team & 988 Crisis Contact Center:NAMI Chicago operates a mental health information, referral, and crisis Helpline, providing immediate support, guidance, and referrals to individuals and families. Responding to more than 500 calls per month, Helpline Specialists collaborate with callers to explore their needs in a supportive, no-barrier space, providing emotional support and education to enhance their agency, self-advocacy, and understanding of mental health systems and resources. Through the 988 Crisis Contact Center, NAMI Chicago provides urgent mental health support, ensuring individuals in crisis receive timely and appropriate interventions. Our crisis counselors foster an environment of care in which callers are treated with dignity while collaboratively engaging in safety planning that empowers their sense of agency and validates their experience. In its first year, the NAMI Chicago Crisis Contact Center answered more than 14,000 calls with only around 1% needing a higher level of care. Crisis counselors spend an average of 13 minutes per call addressing issues such as anxiety, suicidal ideation, depression, and basic needs.

Mental Health Court Advocates, Case Managers & Clinical Support Teams:NAMI Chicago provides comprehensive care coordination services to mental health supports, ensuring that individuals and families receive support during periods of high need. NAMI Chicago's care coordination focuses on individuals experiencing highly acute symptoms of serious mental health conditions who are cycling through emergency response systems and those who are involved with the criminal court system because of their mental health condition. The NAMI Chicago team delivers recovery-focused, client-centered case management and emotional support to assist clients in achieving their recovery goals. The teams engaging in intensive case management serve over two hundred participants annually, across programs.