Frequently asked questions

Answered by a team member at National Alliance on Mental Illness Colorado Springs

• What is your mission?

  NAMI Colorado Springs creates and cultivates a welcoming community of peers who educate, support and advocate for people and families living with mental health conditions.

• How are donations used?

  Donations fuel NAMI Colorado Springs in providing mental health education, support groups, community presentations and resource and referral services at no cost.

• What can be done with a $100 donation?

  A $100 donation covers the cost of one “In Our Own Voice” presentation, in which two people managing mental illness tell their recovery stories to educate others and break down stigma.

• What progress has been made already thanks to your donors?

  In the last 10 years, NAMI Colorado Springs has introduced a suite of peer programs to directly support people who live with mental health conditions.

• What is the history of your organization?

  NAMI Colorado Springs, formerly Pikes Peak Alliance for the Mentally Ill, was begun in 1983 by Stella Colby and Julie Foster, two mothers who had children with mental illness. It began as a group of parents of adult children who had formerly been institutionalized. They met at kitchen tables and shared resources and emotional support as they worked to reintegrate their children into their homes and families. They educated themselves and community members about mental illness, coped with the associated stigma, advocated for their loved ones, and sought more effective and accessible services.
  
  After years of offering informal support, networking and information sharing, the local, all-volunteer NAMI affiliate in 1999 adopted curricula developed by NAMI national. What began with the flagship Family-to-Family course slowly would slowly expand into other programming in the years to follow.
  
  In 2012, NAMI Colorado Springs’ board of directors hired Lori Jarvis-Steinwert as the organization’s first-ever paid executive director. Since then, we have increased our number of formal programs from three to approximately a dozen, serving everyone from teens and parents to health care providers and first responders. We have led or co-led six community-wide awareness initiatives and built a corps of 90-plus trained volunteers who teach classes, connect with people at mental health fairs, and answer more than 1,300 office calls for resources and referrals.