administrative assistant

program manager

kitchen helper

executive director

customer service associate / cashier

NAMI

What started out as a tentative internship brought into existence based on my interest in the field, I ended up trained to perform a number of public speaking engagements for them, as well as qualified to co-run a support group.

I worked with administration of my university to gain access to the support of the general staff and use of an official university office space to hold a welcoming and healthy environment for college students suffering from anxiety, depression and beyond. While most of the NAMI funding in my area was focused on providing no-cost support to the community at large, I found that the college students (a significant portion of the town's population) were largely neglected, despite many of them lacking any sort of medical support.

Additionally, I maintained communication and support in their local office by attending monthly collaborative meetings, re-working their membership lists, formatting their newsletter, and forwarding messages and emails to their appropriate recipients.

The most enjoyable part of the job was also the hardest--finding the right perspective to approach multiple and hugely diverse audiences was difficult, but successfully speaking directly to them was amazing.

The office succeeded in scheduling events for their speakers and was always available to help find new outlets and venues for their programs and to help train and support their volunteers.

It is a great opportunity for people with mental illness or family members to advocate for those the are affected with mental illness.

NAMI provides education training on different groups that can and will serve mental illness through Peer To Peer mentoring,  

Connection Support group for those that experiences mental illness

Family to Family training for family members that care for family members with mental illness.

Youth programs that can reach the youth and their families through support groups, education, mentoring, and advocacy.

My co-workers are a team of people that are either have family members with mental illness, members that have mental illness and community members that want to learn and create an environment to serve the mentally ill and educate our community.

The hardest part of my job is to break the stigma that is associated with mental illness.

The most enjoyable part of my job is to educate myself to learn how to take care of my own mental heath and to teach and educate others that mental illness does not have to be completely disabling as it once was. It is to admit that we have an illness that can be treated and that through our experiences we can help others to succeed though medical care, education and support.

Typical day at work, I would work between 10-14 hours depending on what was going on. I learned a lot on the operations side of things that I had never worked with before. My managers were okay, one of them couldn’t really control his emotions and the other one was homophobic (called a guest an it after being corrected on the gender) and had a lot of very weird opinions on Halloween and how girls coming in the restaurant should be dressing. The culture they are trying to build is not going to be executed with the remaining managers in house. Most of the staff is unhappy with tips going around and how they have to tip out on sales instead of on tips they make. The hardest part of my job was being the only manager with humanity and integrity, all the staff was upset and would come to me for the other managers yelling at them and being rude to them. The only thing I could tell them was to go to HR. Most enjoyable part of my job was spending time with the chefs and getting to be creative behind the bar, not that it was recognized but it was fun. 

I have met some lovely coworkers and learned a lot, but the overall environment is very challenging and makes it difficult to actually accomplish work.  People's experience varies widely depending on their department, but mine is stifled by a controlling department head and a micromanaging supervisor. NAMI management seems opposed to 360 reviews, so managers don't receive feedback about their own behavior- leaving me skeptical that the environment will get better anytime soon. 

I know many people are considering leaving the organization because they are unhappy with the culture and salaries. I can only hope that NAMI management realizes the brewing crisis they have at hand, because it is an incredibly important mission that should be better served. 

My advice to NAMI management: reassess yourselves. You claim to be open and supportive- then create an environment where people can actually discuss challenges and problems. Otherwise we are so focused on protecting ourself image that the important work doesn't get done.

What is the best part of working at the company?
My Colleagues, gratification of the job and working with clients- and seeinging their improvement. They don't make you feel like a number.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Doing my job as a counselor. Hard part is trying to help client trying to be able to look at their life from an outside point of view. Sometimes "trigger" words pup up & the client shuts down.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Diverse but more female employed currently. All been Zoom.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I'm assigned a client for 6 months with max 4 hours/week. We can break/ disengage the "agreement" and offer the client a new counselor or something else like another agency more suited for their situation. Mainly try to get client grounded again back to mindfulness. They have to be in recovery mode for us to work with them. Family members can be included.

nationwide, NAMI seems to be a solid organization.  in OK it was poorly run (when I was there) the board (though I suspect they meant well) were in over their heads.

Like many non profits, you have leaders who want to take them to the next level of competence, but there are always board members who have a "friend" who can "do this job or that one" and you end up with perpetual mediocrity.  

They had potential to be a bigger player but the board kept getting in the way of solid leadership.

I also felt the total amount of tax payer dollars coming in vs. the actual number of people getting benefits from groups, etc. were not a good investment.  that is, the total number of folks getting actual assistance was costing a lot of dollars.  Other mental health orgs help more people per capita that NAMI OK did.

The management at NAMI/ San Diego Psychiatric Hospital allowed and even at times encouraged bullying of mentally ill employees making the culture extremely stressful. When ordered by my Psychiatrist to take 2 weeks off due to workplace-engendered PTSD I was fired. The paperwork required for this job sometimes changed daily and I was reprimanded for taking a 10 minute break after facilitating an hour-long AOD group. Coworkers not only bullied their peers but they spied on each other and made false reports and accusations. The turnover is fast due to the unbearable working conditions especially under the Mental Health Lead person.

NAMI is a community mental health nonprofit that does a great job supporting individuals with mental health conditions and their families. The work is super rewarding. It is a small nonprofit with extremely limited resources, so be prepared to wear many hats. This has its pros and cons: gain lots of varied experience, but beware of burnout. Work-life balance is phenomenal. Leadership is super flexible and understanding. You are trusted to do your job without micromanagement and you are held accountable. Only drawback is that the pay is low and there are no benefits. Other than that, it's truly one of the best jobs I've ever had!

Skills are required to work at and for NAMI. I ran groups, facilitated and led theatre and other creative styled groups to help people struggling with mental health issues come to terms with their illness, and diagnosis. We performed at The Thompson Center and we worked at The New Life Recovery Center. I learned how to work with people struggling with bipolar, or other mental health diagnosis, I learned to direct, lead outings, created characters struggling with mental health issues in my theater group Blossom.

The product was mental health services to individuals, family and community. Our emphasis was to empower individuals with mental disorders to make good decision in their treatment plans and follow-through by providing group support, encouragement and advocacy. 

We also sought to educate community to the myths vs facts surrounding mental illness, We addressed suicide prevention techniques and strategies to help individuals cope with signs and symptoms of suicide. 

Personally an enjoyable mission to strive for.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Administrative assistant 10 salaries reported	$23.00 per hour
Program manager 2 salaries reported	$46,250 per year
Kitchen helper 1 salary reported	$13.00 per hour
Executive director 3 salaries reported	$67,201 per year
Customer service associate / cashier 1 salary reported	$11.00 per hour

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