It’s easy to become involved in our organization. Call our office, email us or write to us. Or, if you prefer, fill out and submit our brief volunteer interest form. We can help answer your questions!

Join a Committee!

Many of our current volunteers are excited about working with us and are inspired to make a difference by reaching out to help others. Being involved in a committee is a great way to start: it can open doors for you and for others. Four standing committees offer a diverse spectrum of involvement opportunities for interested volunteers: Public Education | Outreach | Development | Advocacy

Public Education Committee

• Plans speakers for monthly meetings
• Interacts with local media

Our public education committee often showcases exciting speakers coming from all corners of the community. As our Public Education chair, Bill Lane, puts it,

“Our objective is to provide a forum for exchange of information between family members, persons coping with mental illness, professionals and the general public.”

[to top of committees]

Outreach Committee [CURRENTLY NOT ACTIVE.  TO VOLUNTEER, CALL OFFICE]

• Organizes volunteers for a Speaker’s Bureau to speak to universities, schools, churches and other community groups
• Coordinates the monthly support groups

With mental illness it is especially important to reach out and educate others because stigma can impair the image of those suffering from these disorders. The Outreach/Education Committee does exactly that by presenting to local high schools, colleges and civic groups; running the support group; and getting volunteers involved in the community. The focus is to get the word out that these illnesses are like any others and are treatable.

[to top of committees]

Development Committee

• Develops budgets and tracks expenses
• Engages in fundraising and writes grants

Over the past several years, as the activities and financial needs of our organization have expanded, we have formed a Development Committee that assists the board and our office manager to attend to these needs. This committee actually encompasses three areas of activities: development, membership, and finance. The primary responsibilities of this committee are to raise funds through various activities, including:

• Increasing membership
• Seeking and managing grants
• Soliciting donations
• Managing expenditures

Our board treasurer participates in this committee and is responsible for providing financial statements and budget projections for committee members for review and guidance. Lucy Miller, our outgoing chair of this committee says,

“Our committee welcomes new volunteers and provides an opportunity to learn more about the needs of our organization and to contribute to the success of our mission.”

[to top of committees]

Advocacy Committee

• Acts as watchdog of legislation and public policy
• Organizes letter writing to legislators
• Enlists members to attend public meeting

If you’ve always wanted to advocate for better services for your loved one or anyone suffering from mental illness, here’s your chance. The Advocacy Committee works to improve conditions on a local, state and national level.

“We have a lot of great ideas and we’re open to more. We value everyone’s contribution, no matter how big or small, and we don’t ask people to put in more time than they can, or work on a project they don’t believe in,” says our former Advocacy Chair, Jim Salisbury.

We also have an "on-call advocacy team" for those who don't want to be a part of the committee at this time, but would like to be notified periodically when we need help on a specific effort.

Some of the achievements and “things in the works” of our Advocacy Committee are:

• Meeting with, calling, e-mailing and writing legislators
• Advocating local and Detroit media outlets for better, more accurate mental health coverage
• Identifying “best practice” models and helping to make them available locally
• Enhancing anti-stigma efforts
• Attending political rallies
• Writing to newspapers
• Helping train police officers about mental illness

If you are looking for ways to contribute, this committee can make your efforts as effective as possible.

[to top of committees]

Other Ways To Get Involved

In addition, our organization has other options for regular and occasional involvement:

Regular involvement

• General office help
• Publicity (publicizing regular events and making flyers)
• Monthly newsletter…
  • Be a consumer columnist!
  • Join our mailing party! Help fold and mail the newsletter.
• Invite others to public education programs

Occasional involvement

• Greet guests/ help with refreshments at public education meetings
• Help us organize Family Day or volunteer on the day of the event
• Be present at a table display of NAMI literature through United Way or other non-profit promotions (health fairs, etc.)
• Place NAMI flyers at strategic locations within the community

Become a Board Member

[top of page]

Interested in getting involved? Fill out our online volunteer interest form now!