About Us | NAMI Chattanooga

ABOUT NAMI CHATTANOOGA

NAMI Chattanooga serves the cities of
Chattanooga and Hamilton County in East Tennessee.

We are a 501.c.3 nonprofit, grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe and persistent mental health issues, as well as their loved ones, through effective and innovative support, education, and advocacy.

We are family members, people with lived experience, people of many ages, cultures, and stages in our lives.

Though independent, we are affiliated with NAMI National in Arlington County, Virginia, and NAMI Tennessee in Nashville.

For more information or to volunteer: 423-521-2590, namichattanooga@gmail.com,

P.O. Box 17062, Chattanooga, TN 37415.

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 LISTEN

Our toll-free NAMI HelpLine allows us to respond personally to hundreds of thousands of requests each year, providing free referrals, information, and support, a much-needed lifeline for many.

1-800-950-NAMI (6264)

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 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.

A MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD

NAMI Chattanooga is often asked about what the relationship is between NAMI Chattanooga, NAMI Tennessee, and NAMI National, and what the roles and responsibilities of each are.

While NAMI Chattanooga is its own organization, it is also an affiliate of NAMI Tennessee. In turn, NAMI Tennessee is part of NAMI National. We at NAMI Chattanooga are independent in that we secure the vast majority of our own funding and our own staffing. With this independence and by understanding the confines of our time and treasure, we are able to prioritize our programming and our presence to best serve the greater Chattanooga community.

As an affiliate of NAMI Tennessee, we are provided training, printing, and materials for each Family-to-Family class, as well as a small stipend to offset other affiliate costs. In return, we agree to teach one NAMI program per year, facilitate a support group, and maintain a helpline in our community. NAMI Tennessee also advocates for state policies that help those with mental illness and their families. We are able to support them in these efforts by volunteering to write to and speak with state leaders.

As part of NAMI National, while we are not given consistent funding, we are provided with exceptional evidence-based programming that they have researched and developed. We are also given the opportunity to be part of their efforts to drive federal policies in a way that will benefit those with a mental health diagnosis and their caregivers.

At NAMI Chattanooga, we feel fortunate to have not only advantages in the flexibility afforded us as an independent 501(c)(3), but also in the strength and backing of the educational program development and training provided by our larger NAMI National and state organizations.