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NAMI Clackamas: early conversation and local free services can reduce stigma and speed help, presenter tells school board
Summary
Representatives from NAMI Clackamas described free classes, peer support and community programs designed to reduce mental‑health stigma and provide no‑cost assistance, and urged schools to host presentations and student clubs to open conversations about mental health.
A representative of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) affiliate serving Clackamas County gave the Lake Oswego School District board a briefing on local, no‑cost mental‑health supports and outreach methods aimed at reducing stigma and increasing timely help.
Marsh Key (NAMI) told the board that people on average wait more than a decade to seek help for a suspected mental‑health issue and that stigma is a primary barrier. He said “sharing stories save lives,” and summarized NAMI programs available free to residents: peer‑run support groups, classes for individuals with lived experience and family members (Family‑to‑Family; Basics), peer‑support specialists who provide one‑to‑one assistance and help navigating services (housing resources, transportation), and community presentations such as Ending the Silence and Mental Health Matters.
Key emphasized that NAMI services require no diagnosis, referral or insurance and are offered barrier‑free, though programming in languages and cultures beyond Spanish and Latinx offerings is limited by capacity. He invited the district to host presentations, student‑led NAMI on Campus clubs, parenting conferences and community events; he said NAMI would share materials and that volunteers teach many classes.
Board members asked about student volunteering; Key said volunteers generally must be over 18 but that district students over 18 could participate and that NAMI could design campus projects.
