NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.
What started as a small group of families gathered around a kitchen table in 1979 has blossomed into the nation’s leading voice on mental health. Today, we are an association of more than 500 local affiliates who work in your community to raise awareness and provide support and education that was not previously available to those in need.
What We Do
NAMI relies on gifts and contributions to support our important work:
We educate
Offered in thousands of communities across the United States through NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates, our education programs ensure hundreds of thousands of families, individuals and educators get the support and information they need.
We advocate
NAMI shapes national public policy for people with mental illness and their families and provides volunteer leaders with the tools, resources and skills necessary to save mental health in all states.
We listen
Our toll-free NAMI HelpLine allows us to respond personally to hundreds of thousands of requests each year, providing free information and support—a much-needed lifeline for many.
We lead
Public awareness events and activities, including Mental Illness Awareness Week and NAMIWalks, successfully fight stigma and encourage understanding. NAMI works with reporters on a daily basis to make sure our country understands how important mental health is.
Mission
Rainbow Community Center builds community, equity, & well-being among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning & Intersex (LGBTQI+) people & our allies. Since 1995, we have been offering support & social opportunities to the LGBTQI+ community & its allies.
Vision
Rainbow envisions a society that advocates for and celebrates gender and sexual diversity, racial justice, safety, and liberation for all through healing centered engagement.
Rainbow transcends its vision from inclusive to expansive*, as we will be able to represent by centering and reaching a wider scope of Marginalized LGBTQI+ and Intersectional Identities more effectively.
Historically Marginalized and Intersectional LGBTQI+ Identities encompass:
- Transgender and Gender Non-conforming
- Black, Indigenous and People of Color
- Women
- Neurodiversity & Mental Health Abilities
- Physical Abilities
- Body Diversity
- HIV Status
- Elders
- Youth
- Immigrants
- Interfaith
- Familial Composition
- Class/Socioeconomic Status
*’inclusive’ with its implied power differential, whereas ‘expansive’ refers to centering power with marginalized people
