A year ago, the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Colorado Springs moved into its new space at the Silver Key campus. This provided the organization with 4,000 square feet versus its previous 900 square feet.

“One reason to partner with Silver Key was that we struggled to have a sense of community,” said Kirk Woundy, director of strategy and operations. “Our new space also gives us the opportunity to offer more.”

Included in the additional space is the Clay Taylor Family meeting space, which can accommodate 80 people with the option of dividing the room in two, both complete with full technology.

“This helps us engage the community in whatever ways the community wants to come to us: in-person or virtually,” Woundy said. “Among the challenges of addressing mental health concerns is having an open conversation about it to share in a non-threatening environment.”

Emily Brady, director of community engagement for NAMI, said the virtual classes and sessions “stemmed from transitioning to the best ways to be accessible to those we serve across the Pikes Peak region.”

Virtual, in-person and hybrid programs are offered.

The pandemic not only brought about changes in accessibility, Woundy noted, “One silver lining of the pandemic of the pandemic is that it opened a lot of conversations about mental health and openly reaching out for help”

This was echoed by Brady. “One thing that has expanded is recognizing the need for connection and the importance of peer perspectives,” she said. “We know that isolation is detrimental to anyone’s mental health and we have seen a real influx of need for folks.

“We continue to offer programs at no cost. We’re here for those who have just acknowledged a mental health condition of those in a place of crisis. Making the connection is important so people recognize they are not alone.”

NAMI’s 2023 annual report noted that 8,781 people were reached through its programs. These range from family support groups (virtual and in-person) to Connection support groups (in-person) for adults living with mental illness. There is a program for parents and caregivers of children and teens experiencing mental health issues. In all, 2023 saw 110 meetings of eight different support groups.

NAMI also offers support to the LGBTQ+ community and has a variety of in-person offerings. About half of the classes are in person. NAMI also collaborated with Community Health Partnership to develop plans for the PRISM Community Collective, a gathering space and resource center for the queer community, funded primarily by the federal Office for Victims of Crime.

“It’s an honor for us to serve that need,” Woundy said.

Another NAMI outreach is the “What’s On Your Mind” youth program. NAMI, Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention Partnership & Diversus Health delivered 32 presentations to 1,346 students in eight school districts last year.

The organization reported 3,299 volunteer hours.

“As far as volunteers go, we’re pretty fortunate that we have people who want to do these volunteer roles, which can be pretty challenging,” Woundy said.

These include leading programs, doing office work and interacting with the public at awareness events.

“We have a wide array of ways for people to give back, or meet the different interests and needs of those who volunteer,” Woundy added.

The Empty Stocking Fund has been vital to NAMI, Woundy said.

“We are one of the smaller (Empty Stocking) agencies and we are honored to be in the same room as those who serve our community in such far-reaching ways,” he said. “We learn a lot from the other agencies. Empty Stocking is important to us on a number of levels. Our budget has more than doubled and being able to count on it takes a layer of anxiety away.”