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Anchorage, Alaska

The home of  

Big Wild Life!

And the home of

NAMI Anchorage—Anchorage’s Voice on Mental Illness.

NAMI Anchorage, founded in 1984, is a peer-operated nonprofit affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.  We provide support, education and advocacy to people who experience mental illness and their families and friends.  We help people affected by all mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder (manic depression), obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, panic and other anxiety disorders and post traumatic stress disorder.  We also support people affected by both mental illness and chemical addiction.

NAMI Anchorage provides peer support because our activities are facilitated by people who are, themselves, experiencing or being affected by mental illness.  At NAMI Anchorage, we believe we have achieved one of the strongest forms of support available in our community:  our peer-facilitated support groups.  Our consumer support group for adults experiencing a mental illness has been running continuously twice a week for over seven years.  Our family support group, running since the late nineties, meets twice a month.  NAMI Anchorage also provides peer support to people from throughout Alaska and other parts of the U.S. over the phone with our volunteer-operated NAMI Anchorage Helpline: (907)272-0227 or Toll Free (800)478-4462.  We also provide this support over the internet via e-mail: namianchorage@nami.org.

NAMI Anchorage educates the community about mental illness, spreads the word about the possibility of recovery and combats the scourge of stigma. We hold the free Family-to-Family 12-week class twice a year and give presentations throughout the community.

NAMI Anchorage advocates for people affected by mental illness on two levels.  On the personal level, we assist consumers and family members in solving problems, navigating the mental health system and practicing self-advocacy with professional caregivers.  On the public level, we give public testimony and engage in other advocacy to promote administrative policies and legislation that improve the lives of consumers and families.

With NAMI Anchorage, if you or someone you love is facing mental illness,

you don't have to face it alone!

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