Sterling – The goal of the Nami Salk area is simple in nature. It's about working together within the community to provide the best mental health support possible.
NAMI Sauk Area officially became a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and NAMI Illinois in 2010. Currently a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we serve Ogle, Lee, Carroll, and Whiteside counties.
NAMI was first founded around a kitchen table in 1979 and is now “the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness,” according to NAMI.org. ”.
“It was just families who needed help and decided to stand up and start from the grassroots,” said Nami Sauk Regional Co-President Maggie Wike.
Wike said those involved in NAMI at the national level work with legislators to advocate for people with mental illness. They are also the ones developing the programs offered by NAMI Sauk Area, she said.
NAMI Illinois provides local affiliates, such as NAMI Sauk Area, with education to provide and promote programs developed by NAMI and to speak publicly, Wike said.
“We are the worker bees,” she said of the local volunteers, called Stigma Removers.
Wike said the core of what NAMI Sauk Area offers is a variety of peer-led support groups for those 18 and older. She pointed out that before you can lead or speak in any way at a NAMI event, you need training.
Wike said family support groups provide support for people who have a loved one or friend with a mental illness.
“[We’re] I hope we can make people stronger and be stronger for our loved ones and friends,” she said.
The Suicide Survivor Support Group is for adults who have lost a loved one or friend to suicide, Wike said. It is led by co-president Cheryl Robinson.
Starting in June, a virtual family support group will be established for parents and grandparents of young people with mental health conditions and neurodivergent youth, Wike said.
The Connections Recovery Support Group is for people 18 and older who are living with a mental health condition, she said. Wike said she will soon have three such groups, one of which will meet virtually.
support group
Connection Restoration Support Group
- Living Well Church, 116 E. First St., Dixon, 6:30 to 8 p.m. on the first Monday of each month beginning in June.
- Starting in June, the fourth Monday of each month from 6-7:30 p.m., Immanuel Lutheran Church, 501 Eighth Ave., Rock Falls.
- Second Wednesday of each month from 6:30pm to 9pm, virtual, limited to 10 participants
Survivors in suicide support groups
- Fourth Thursday of each month from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Crossroads Community Church, 201 W. Market St., Morrison.
family support group
- Second Thursday of each month from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Faith Lutheran Church, 14206 E. Flagg Road, Rochelle.
- Fourth Tuesday of each month from 6:30 to 8 p.m., St. John's Lutheran Church, 703 Third Ave., Sterling.
- Starting in June, the second Tuesday of each month from noon to 1 p.m., virtual, limited to 10 participants
For more information, please visit www.NAMISaukArea.org.
