About Family-to-Family Programs, Ontario
NAMI provides support to families
Founded in the United States in 1979, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a non-profit, grassroots, self-help, support and advocacy organization of consumers, families, and friends of people with severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety disorders. Since its inception, NAMI has been dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness.
The work of NAMI in the United States is comparable to the work done in Canada by the Canadian Mental Health Association.
In Ontario, the Family-to-Family Programs focussed solely on education and support. These programs were offered by different agencies as described under Agency Locations.
It is due to the dedicated efforts of the late Judi Rollo, one of the leading advocates for families affected by mental illness, that the NAMI Family-to-Family Program came to Ontario. From 1997 to 2008, Judi was the driving force behind the program in Ontario. She worked tirelessly to ensure that Ontario families would have access to the NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program and helped expand the program beyond Ottawa to other regions of Ontario and to the Montreal West Island area in Quebec. Under her leadership, a similar NAMI education program for service providers was also introduced in Southern Ontario.
The first NAMI Family-to-Family Education course was held in Ottawa in 1998, making Ottawa the first city in Canada east of the Rocky Mountains to offer the program. From that beginning, the program grew to serve families in many other regions of Ontario and in the Montreal West Island area.
Over the years, Family-to-Family Programs, Ontario, also offered the NAMI Provider Education course and introduced the NAMI Basics Education course as a pilot project in Sarnia. Support Group Facilitation skills training was also provided to people wishing to facilitate support groups.
The growth and success of these programs depended on the dedication of family members, volunteer teachers, presenters and participating agencies. Together, they helped bring education, understanding, practical tools and support to families caring for a loved one with mental illness.
What we did
Family-to-Family Programs, Ontario, was coordinated and managed from Ottawa, initially by one volunteer program director and, from 2008 onwards, by a successor.
Under NAMI USA's terms, the programs were required to operate under the auspices of a mental health agency. CMHA Ottawa served as the formal sponsoring agency and financial intermediary for government funding, but the actual coordination, management and provincial oversight of the programs were carried out by the program directors.
Family-to-Family Programs, Ontario, was responsible for training leaders across the province to facilitate the NAMI Family-to-Family Education course in their communities, on a cost-recovery basis. We introduced the NAMI Basics Education course in Sarnia as a pilot project. We also provided Support Group Facilitation skills training to people who wished to facilitate a support group.
From Ottawa, we also provided oversight of the courses offered by different agencies across Ontario through a licensing agreement with NAMI USA.
Who supported us
In Ottawa, the Family-to-Family Education course was supported through an annual grant from the Ontario Ministry of Health, obtained with the assistance of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ottawa Branch, which acted as the financial intermediary for the funding. The funding also covered the costs of Train-the-Trainers courses provided by NAMI USA. The Ottawa Branch also provided space for teaching the course, receptionist services for callers, and other assistance as needed.
The Family-to-Family Programs and the provincial oversight of programs offered by other agencies were administered, promoted and delivered by family members who worked as unpaid volunteers.
Other organizations offering NAMI programs were responsible for obtaining their own funding to offer the courses in their communities.
If you have any questions about NAMI, please contact Madeleine Bertrand, Director, Family-to-Family Programs, Ontario at f2fprogramsontario@gmail.com.
