NAMI Connection Support Group | ONLINE (Saturdays @ 4PM)
2025-09-20 16:00 - 17:30, 2025-09-27 16:00 - 17:30, 2025-10-04 16:00 - 17:30, 2025-10-11 16:00 - 17:30, 2025-10-18 16:00 - 17:30, 2025-10-25 16:00 - 17:30, 2025-11-01 16:00 - 17:30 (America/Chicago)
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.

Pantlepalooza - A Night of Live Music and Community
2025-09-20 19:30 - 23:00 | Toadstool Pub, 327 Waukegan Ave, Highwood, IL, 60040, United States
Live music in support of mental health
Support a great cause at Pantapalooza at the Toadstool Pub.
Click HERE for more information and to register.

NAMI Family Support Group | ONLINE (Mondays @ 7PM)
2025-09-22 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-09-29 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-10-06 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-10-13 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-10-20 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-10-27 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.

Chai and Chat Session 2 & 3 (Hybrid)
2025-09-24 17:30 - 19:00 | Skokie Public Library, 5215 Oakton Street, Skokie, 60077, United States
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

Family-to-Family Class | September 25 - November 20, 2025
2025-09-25 18:00 - 20:30 | Unitarian Church of Evanston, 1330 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, Illinois, 60201
Do You Have A Loved One Living With Mental Illness?
The NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program is a FREE 9-week course for families and close friends of adults with mental illness. This course is taught by trained teachers who are also family members and know what it is like to have a loved one living with mental illness, such as major depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and other disorders.
Many family members describe this experience as life changing. Join the thousands of families, just like yours, who have gained information, understanding, and support.
Fall 2025 Class Details:
Dates: September 25, 2025 – November 20, 2025
Location: Unitarian Church of Evanston (1330 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201)
Time: Thursdays @ 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM
REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.

NAMI Family Support Group | ONLINE & IN-PERSON (Saturdays @ 9AM)
2025-09-27 09:00 - 11:00, 2025-10-04 09:00 - 11:00, 2025-10-11 09:00 - 11:00, 2025-10-18 09:00 - 11:00, 2025-10-25 09:00 - 11:00, 2025-11-01 09:00 - 11:00 | 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)
2025-09-27 10:00 - 12:30, 2025-10-04 10:00 - 12:30, 2025-10-11 10:00 - 12:30, 2025-10-18 10:00 - 12:30, 2025-10-25 10:00 - 12:30, 2025-11-01 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.

Art & Well-Being: The Open Studio Process Webinar, With Rob Lentz
2025-10-22 19:00 - 20:30
Art & Well-Being: The Open Studio Process
With Rob Lentz, Executive Director of Open Studio Project
October 22, 2025, 7:00 PM Central Time
Description:
This presentation will take participants deep into the creative process at the core of Open Studio Project’s mission and programs. Developed over 30 years ago by art therapists seeking a new way to engage with their clients, the Open Studio process flattened the hierarchy of conventional therapy and restored the primary role of creativity in improving mental health. Now practiced all over the world, the process has proved to be infinitely adaptable and uniquely effective at harnessing the transformative power of art for individual and community well-being.
Objectives:

The core components of the Open Studio process: setting intentions, uninhibited artmaking, witnessing, and sharing
The importance of establishing psychological safety and freedom of creative expression with the No Comment rule
Adaptations to the Open Studio process developed to address specific populations.

REGISTER HERE

Year End Giving Campaign
2025-10-31 00:00 - 2025-12-31 23:59 | https://www.namiccns.org/calendar/year-end-giving-campaign/
At Some Point…
…We all need a helping hand.
Your gift makes it possible.
No one should have their life overshadowed by fear or despair. Your gift will make a direct impact where it is needed most.
As the year winds down, we want to remind you that a tax-smart gift to NAMI CCNS may also reduce your taxable income when you file for 2025 — if made before December 31.
According to the IRS, people over age 70.5 can contribute $108,000 to charity via the qualified charitable distribution, or QCD, in 2025. That’s up from $105,000 in 2024. Please contact a tax professional for more information.
We all could use a helping hand sometimes. Let yours be the one that helps continue to provide free mental health support for those who need it.
