1 in 5 of us is affected by mental illness, and the other 4 are family, friends, neighbors, colleagues. We are ALL impacted by mental illness. 

What is Family Support?

NAMI-NYC is the only non-profit offering free mental health programs and support directly to “The Other 4” — family members caring for a loved one with mental health challenges. 

Click here to find a family support program.

Families and caregivers — “The Other 4” — can best support people with mental health challenges when they have proper education, support, and resources. NAMI-NYC visualizes support systems as concentric circles around the person with serious mental illness (SMI). Family members and friends are the first line of care for New Yorkers living with SMI–during a crisis or the first to notice a change in behavior. The second circle is composed of the providers, therapists, social workers, and psychiatrists providing care and medication, if needed. The last and outer circle is the social safety net, which is ever waning.

Academic research of family interventions broadly and of NAMI-NYC’s evidence-based programs specifically all point to the same results: when family members are involved, individuals living with SMI have fewer emergency room visits and fewer psychiatric hospitalizations. There’s also greater participation in preventative, community-based mental health care. However, we are not born knowing how to navigate our loved ones, or ourselves, through these experiences. This is where NAMI-NYC comes in with mental health programs, including: our Helpline, psychoeducation classes, support and social groups, Family Match mentorship program, public education programs, and Ending the Silence programs.

Learn More about The Other 4

The City Council must support the families who support their loved ones with serious mental illness, Daily News

The Transformative Power of Families Helping Families, Behavioral Health News