Mental well-being is fundamental for enjoying healthy lives and building harmonious societies, yet cultural stigma and socioeconomic factors often undermine access to mental health care. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that despite being a major cause of disability, mental illness is not treated in up to 50% of cases in developed countries and in up to 85% of cases in developing nations. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has reported that half of all adults in the Unites States will suffer from at least one mental illness during their lifetime. 

The mission at NAMI-UW is to fight the stigma against mental illness by educating ourselves and the public, advocating for the rights of people with mental illness, and supporting our fellow students on matters of mental health. We primarily serve the student community at the University of Wisconsin, but also strive to expand our work to neighboring communities and internationally. 

Please explore our website to find out how you can get involved with NAMI-UW!

​Education

Our leadership team works hard to ensure that each year we are offering meetings that will benefit our members. General Member Meetings are held bi-weekly on Wednesday nights, and each features a new guest speaker that talks about applicable mental health related topics. 

Advocacy

Advocacy comes in many forms and NAMI-UW tries to take on as many of those forms as possible. Each year we offer our members numerous opportunities to work towards public support of mental illness such as volunteering and fundraising events.

Support

Every semester we offer a variety of social events specifically catered to upcoming holidays and member interests. These events allow members to get to know each other better in an inclusive environment, while also seeking the benefits of integrated self care activities.