NAMI Family Support Group | ONLINE & IN-PERSON (Saturdays @ 9AM)
2025-08-02 09:00 - 11:00, 2025-08-09 09:00 - 11:00, 2025-08-16 09:00 - 11:00, 2025-08-23 09:00 - 11:00, 2025-08-30 09:00 - 11:00, 2025-09-06 09:00 - 11:00, 2025-09-13 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Chicago) | AMITA Health Saint Francis Hospital, 355 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, IL, 60202, United States
It gives family members of those who have a loved one with a mental health condition the opportunity to share challenges you are facing and to learn how others have dealt with these challenges. You can share your concerns and ask questions about health care, housing, medications, government programs, therapists, and anything else troubling you. Our support group is led by peer facilitators with their own mental health experiences.
Registration is required. This group is offered both virtually and in-person.
In-person location: AMITA Health Saint Francis Hospital

Participants will check in at front desk.

Saturdays @ 9 AM – https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIlduyoqzwq53C6smYD35PMUf4gyJd4_Q
Privacy Policy for Online Meetings:
To respect the privacy of all participants, NAMI CCNS does not allow meetings to be recorded by any attendee or facilitator. Please make sure that the device you use to log into the online meeting is safe to use. If you think someone else could have installed any spyware on your device, please do not use the device for participating in the online meeting.
About the Facilitators: Our meeting group facilitators are trained by the National Alliance on Mental Illness as Peer Leaders and are not licensed professionals.

All articles, information, free groups and all services NAMI CCNS provides are possible because of generous donations from people like you! Please consider donating today! NAMI CCNS is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, Nami Cook County North Suburban.

Grief and Loss Support Group | ONLINE (Saturdays @10AM)
2025-08-02 10:00 - 12:30, 2025-08-09 10:00 - 12:30, 2025-08-16 10:00 - 12:30, 2025-08-23 10:00 - 12:30, 2025-08-30 10:00 - 12:30, 2025-09-06 10:00 - 12:30, 2025-09-13 10:00 - 12:30
This group provides a space for participants to find healthy ways of remembering and honoring someone they care about. When you join,
you will find a community of others who understand your pain, and like you, are learning to let go of blame and regrets and becoming whole again. This is a place where you will always be comforted by their memory. Facilitators have lived experience with loss. Group meets online via zoom, Saturday mornings at 10:00 am.

Registration is required.
Saturdays @ 10 AM – https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpcuutqj4pHt3iWERy_h–WdNhAqecP6q3

Privacy Policy for Online Meetings:
To respect the privacy of all participants, NAMI CCNS does not allow meetings to be recorded by any attendee or facilitator. Please make sure that the device you use to log into the online meeting is safe to use. If you think someone else could have installed any spyware on your device, please do not use the device for participating in the online meeting.

About the Facilitators: Our meeting group facilitators are trained by the National Alliance on Mental Illness as Peer Leaders and are not licensed professionals.

All articles, information, free groups and all services NAMI CCNS provides are possible because of generous donations from people like you! Please consider donating today! NAMI CCNS is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, Nami Cook County North Suburban.

NAMI Connection Support Group | ONLINE (Saturdays @ 4PM)
2025-08-02 16:00 - 17:30, 2025-08-09 16:00 - 17:30, 2025-08-16 16:00 - 17:30, 2025-08-23 16:00 - 17:30, 2025-08-30 16:00 - 17:30, 2025-09-06 16:00 - 17:30, 2025-09-13 16:00 - 17:30
About the Support Group
Knowing that others have similar experience is a relief to individuals who seldom get to speak without fear of shame or stigma. You can share your stories and ask questions with others who have so much in common with yourself. Our support group is led by peer facilitators with their own mental health experiences. Groups meet online via zoom, Mondays and Saturday at 4:00 pm.
Registration is required.
Saturday @ 4 PM – https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcudeCoqz4rH9V5CPUemW7nn5TbDYNCgEW-
Out of respect to the group, it is highly encouraged that all participants arrive by 4:00 p.m. CST.

Privacy Policy for Online Meetings:
To respect the privacy of all participants, NAMI CCNS does not allow meetings to be recorded by any attendee or facilitator. Please make sure that the device you use to log into the online meeting is safe to use. If you think someone else could have installed any spyware on your device, please do not use the device for participating in the online meeting.
About the Facilitators: Our meeting group facilitators are trained by the National Alliance on Mental Illness as Peer Leaders and are not licensed professionals.

NAMI Family Support Group | ONLINE (Mondays @ 7PM)
2025-08-04 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-08-11 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-08-18 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-08-25 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-09-01 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-09-08 19:00 - 20:00
About the Support Group
It gives family members of those who have a loved one with a mental health condition the opportunity to share challenges you are facing and to learn how others have dealt with these challenges. You can share your concerns and ask questions about health care, housing, medications, government programs, therapists, and anything else troubling you. Our support group is led by peer facilitators with their own mental health experiences.
Registration is required.
Monday @ 7 PM – https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/vpIuc-qprjsjwpiqUnsKfFZfEnBSeccvEw

Privacy Policy for Online Meetings:
To respect the privacy of all participants, NAMI CCNS does not allow meetings to be recorded by any attendee or facilitator. Please make sure that the device you use to log into the online meeting is safe to use. If you think someone else could have installed any spyware on your device, please do not use the device for participating in the online meeting.
About the Facilitators: Our meeting group facilitators are trained by the National Alliance on Mental Illness as Peer Leaders and are not licensed professionals.

All articles, information, free groups and all services NAMI CCNS provides are possible because of generous donations from people like you! Please consider donating today! NAMI CCNS is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, Nami Cook County North Suburban.

Defining and Understanding Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health
2025-08-20 19:00 - 20:30
Defining and Understanding Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health
With Alli Lowe-Fotos (MSW, LCSW, I/ECMH-C) From Start Early and Sarah Martinez (MA, M.Ed., LCPC, I/ECMH-C) From Erikson Institute
August 20, 2025, 7:00 PM Central Time
Description:
Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health (I/ECMH) is the developing capacity of the child aged birth to 5 to form close and secure relationships; experience, manage, and express a full range of emotions; and explore the environment and learn—all in the context of family, community, and culture. It is often misunderstood in a field that can overlook or miss the mental health of infants and young children. This presentation is designed for mental health practitioners and will define I/ECMH and guiding principles, discuss early childhood trauma, discuss approaches and practices for attending to I/ECMH, and introduce the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC:0–5™).
Objectives:

Understand and define I/ECMH and guiding principles
Discuss the importance of observing and noticing behavior changes in young children and be introduced to the diagnostic process
Discuss and describe the I/ECMH approach and practices

REGISTER HERE

Chai and Chat Session 1 (Virtual)
2025-09-09 17:30 - 2025-11-30 19:00
Chai and Chat is:
Chai and Chat is developed specifically for individuals of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives ancestry. Chai and Chat is a three-part community conversation series designed to empower communities to share openly about the stresses of acculturation/integration, family and community pressures, generational trauma, racism and inequalities in accessing care. It is an opportunity to hold listening circles for, by and about South Asian Communities and provide the opportunity to validate and explore participants’ mental wellness journeys and discover avenues of support.
To attend these meetings, you must be:

Of South Asian descent (including ancestry from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Maldives, and Indo-Caribbean individuals from countries including Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago)
Over 18 years old

Chai and Chat Series 2 Dates:

Session 1 (Virtual): September 9

5:30 – 7:00 PM via Zoom
Zoom invite will be emailed to you after you register.

Session 2 & 3 (Hybrid): September 24

5:30 – 7:00 PM at Skokie Public Library in the Cosmos Room and via Zoom

Registration Information:

Please fill out the information on the registration form, and a Zoom link will be sent to your email. Once you have navigated to your email, you can click on the “Join Meeting” button, and you will be directed to the Zoom room.
Please register for the first session, then you will need to register for the next session separately.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention
2025-09-10 19:00 - 20:30
Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention
With Luma Bonilla-Webster (She/Ella) From American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Illinois
September 10, 2025, 7:00 PM Central Time
Description:
Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention is AFSP’s flagship suicide prevention education program that covers the scope of this leading cause of death, what the research has found to be the warning signs and risk factors of suicide, and the strategies that prevent it.
Objectives:

Scope of the Problem: The latest data on suicide in the U.S.
Research: Information from research on what causes people to consider suicide, how certain communities are impacted by suicide differently, as well as contributors to suicide risk.
Prevention: An understanding of the protective factors that lower suicide risk, and strategies for managing mental health and being proactive about self-care.
What You Can Do: Guidance on warning signs and behaviors to look for, how to start a conversation with someone you are concerned about, and ways to seek and offer support and crisis resources for yourself or others.

REGISTER HERE
