Fulfilling NAMI's mission is a shared goal with shared responsibilities. To ensure that our NAMI voice is heard and our support is felt, NAMI's scope is broad, yet focused. It is focused in that all NAMI staff and volunteers, regardless of the organizational level at which they work, carry the same message and work toward the same common goals. Local Affiliates NAMI has more than 1,200 local affiliates spanning all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Canada. Local affiliates generally start as a small group of people who come together to provide mutual support and share information.
Some support groups have as few as five or six members.
As they grow, the group seeks formal affiliation with NAMI and is chartered through the national and state NAMI offices. In addition to sponsoring support groups for consumers and family members, some larger local affiliates may also take on an advocacy and education agenda. In all cases, members of local affiliates are consumers, family members, professionals, and friends who come together to share and take comfort in the commonality of their experiences and to educate members of their communities about serious brain disorders. Search our affiliate database for your nearest NAMI Affiliate. State Organizations NAMI has a state organization in all 50 states as well as in Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.