LOCAL
‘You are not alone’: NAMI Tallahassee leans on lived experience
Kyla A SanfordTallahassee Democrat
Sept. 30, 2026, 5:04 a.m. ET
- NAMI Tallahassee is a local non-profit organization offering free support and advocacy for individuals with mental health conditions and their families.
- The organization’s services are led by volunteers with lived experience and are built on the pillars of education, support, advocacy, and community outreach.
- NAMI provides various support groups, including specialized virtual groups for LGBTQIA+, young adults, and neurodivergent individuals.
- To reach people before a crisis, NAMI offers presentations in schools and workplaces to challenge stigma and promote mental wellness.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) embodies the idea that sometimes, creating change starts with becoming the person you once needed. Because even when life can feel lonely, you may find that you are never truly alone — especially when someone who has been there before reaches back to help you through
But let me explain. Last week, I launched my first “Impact in Action” column highlighting the mental health service Apalchee Center in light of National Suicide Prevention Month
As you may remember, the entire month of September is dedicated to raising awareness, sparking impactful conversations about mental health and giving people the re
According to a study from NAMI, more than one in every five adults experiences mental illness and more than one in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness. In 2024, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death overall in the U.S. and the second leading cause of death among people ages 10 to 14 and among people ages 15 to 24
So for this week’s column, we’re looking at NAMI’s local affiliate, NAMI Tallahassee, which got its start in 1989
The non-profit organization is a self-help support and advocacy organization for individuals living with mental health conditions as well as their families. With the support of its 40 core volunteers, it offers free mental health information and related services within Leon and surrounding counties
No need for a referral, diagnosis, or even a crisis to get connected with NAMI; those struggling or caring for someone with a mental health condition are invited to get connected with the re
I had the opportunity to sit down with executive director Amber O’Connell, director of marketing Jaclyn Tipton and former executive director and lead volunteer Nancy O’Farrell to discuss all things NAMI
Lived experience at the heart of the solution
Four pillars: education, support, advocacy and community outreach serve as the baseline for all NAMI does and everything it stands for. Volunteers and leaders with true lived experiences help maintain and shape the effectiveness of their many re
“We do not do treatment; we are not mental health professionals. We have lived experiences,” O’Farrell said. “Participants are invited to join us at no charge, and everything stems from that.”
No criteria and credentials are needed to be a peer volunteer for NAMI
“The stigma is still so real with mental health,” Tipton said about her own experience with mental illness, growing up in a rural town where mental health was taboo. “Prevention is so important, and having peers who have gone through something similar, and having a community of people saying, ‘yes, I’ve been there,’ is part of recovery and it’s part of wellness.”
Each of the women spoke with sincerity and passion about their own experiences with mental illness, or about watching loved ones navigate it. But their stories did not end there. Their experiences became part of what led them to help others find their way through similar struggles
The empathy they shared in the interview — and offer to the many people they serve each year — carries the weight of understanding that brings NAMI’s message to life: You are not alone
“Everything we do in NAMI … is suicide prevention because you have to believe that things will get better. Psychological pain is a horrible thing,” O’Farrell said. ” Young people are mostly in psychological pain. So you have to try to intervene at the shallow end of the pool.”
One of the services NAMI offers, as previously mentioned, is support groups. Initially, they had a “Family Support Group” catered to loved ones of people with mental health conditions and a “Connections Support Group” for people who have mental health conditions
But, as the needs of individuals evolved, so did their groups
For example, the connections group was available for all ages, but they found that older adults would make up the majority of those numbers
“The problems of older people and younger people are very different when you’re dealing with a mental health condition, so that kind of was the first one that we took a chance on,” Tipton said on expanding their groups
Those newer virtual support groups include LGBTQIA+, young adult, women’s, neurodivergent- which has become very popular- and “Healing Through Creativity” in collaboration with Florida State’s College of Medicine
While they preferred to continue hosting these groups in person, they found that more people were comfortable and had better access to attend these groups virtually
Reaching people before they reach a crisis
Meeting people where they are is the biggest part of preventive action
“We don’t want someone’s first introduction to mental health reto be more proactive about it, which is one of the reasons that we’re trying to get into the schools and trying to get into the workplaces because we do get a lot of calls and emails of people in crisis and it doesn’t have to be that way.”
Advocacy is another part of NAMI’s work, including efforts to encourage federal and state lawmakers to sustain the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Education, meanwhile, gives NAMI another way to reach people before they reach a crisis with classes and community presentations
“Ending the silence” presentations help students recognize warning signs, challenge stigma, and let students know how to seek help for themselves and friends. They saw a need for this one, especially after Leon County Schools lost young lives to suicide and reached out to NAMI for support
They’ve also adapted “Workplace Wellness” presentations to foster mental wellness, “utilizing available reworkplace boundaries,” as the organization’s site says
According to a NAMI study, serious mental illness causes $193.2 billion in lost earnings each year throughout the nation, a gap the organization is working to fill
Its ability to expand that reach is, in part, a testament to a community that is becoming more aware of the services available to them. But awareness is only part of the equation. To continue that work, NAMI needs the community’s help, too
“We need more trained volunteers and community partners to help us reach all the people across Leon County and all of these rural communities that we want to better serve,” O’Connell said on receiving invitations from schools, workplaces and organizations
“With every new volunteer that we can train and get on board, this means more people can access the free reonnection close to home.”
How to help
NAMI is actively looking for volunteers to help facilitate their support groups and community presentations. NAMI provides program-specific training, materials and support. No need to worry about any additional credentials. Volunteer roles include:
- “Ending the Silence” facilitators: This role calls for adults, educators or youth-serving professionals who are willing to share a school-appropriate personal mental health story and are comfortable with engaging students. Roles include lead presenter and lived experience presenter.
- “Workplace Wellness” presenters: This role calls for experienced public speakers, educators, trainers, HR or workplace leaders, mental health professionals and others with relevant expertise in well-being, stress, burnout, communication or suicide prevention.
- “Family Support Groups and Class” facilitators: This role calls for family members or caregivers with personal experience supporting someone with a mental health condition.
- “Peer Support Groups and Class” facilitators: This role calls for adults with lived experience of mental health challenges who feel ready to support others.
If you are interested in any of these roles, visit https://www.nami-tallahassee.org/volunteer/
If you need help
- If you are interested in knowing more about any of NAMI’s support groups, visit https://www.nami-tallahassee.org/support-groups/.
- If you are interested in knowing more about any of NAMI’s classes, visit https://www.nami-tallahassee.org/education/.
- Immediate Crisis Support: Call or text the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline to receive help for anyone in emotional distress, suicidal crisis, or concerned about someone els.. Find more information at 988lifeline.org.
- Youth Support: Call 800-852-8336 between 6-10 p.m. PT or text “TEEN” to 839863 to receive peer-to-peer support for teens, supervised by mental health professionals. Find more information atteenline.org.
This solutions‑focused journalism is supported by a grant from Press Forward North Florida, an initiative of the Community Foundation of North Florida. To learn more and to support local journalism like this, visit cfnf.org/press-forward. Also, email Tallahassee Democrat reporter Kyla Sanford with story ideas at ksanford@tallahassee.com
