Community Education
NAMI Cook County North Suburban offers a variety of programs for individuals, families, and the community.
Community Webinars
Professionals from the Cook County northern suburbs bring their expertise to speak on topics based on mental health community needs expressed through requests to NAMI CCNS staff and our resource line. Most webinars are held once a month and pre-registration is required.
Find Past Webinars on Our YouTube Channel
In Our Own Voice
NAMI In Our Own Voice Presentations change attitudes, assumptions, and ideas about people living with a mental health condition. These free, 40-, 60-, or 90-minute presentation provide a personal perspective on mental health conditions, as leaders with lived experience talk openly about what it’s like to have a mental health condition.
Outreach Programs
Go Lime Green
Go Lime Green is a program to educate and empower individuals in normalizing conversations about mental health through awareness nights at high school athletic events throughout Northern Cook County. Each event is tailored to the school and community in which it is serving and includes a resource table manned by the GLG team that offers a banner to sign, numerous resources for mental health, and other giveaways. Each participating school will receive a framed certificate recognizing them as a “Mental Health Matters School.” Schools will also participate in mental health awareness activities leading up to the day of the event including PSAs by current and formers pro athletes as well as Ending the Silence presentations.
High School Recommendation: School Wide
Community Night
Let’s break down the stigma. Join NAMI CCNS and the surrounding community service organizations for an evening of resources for families of your school district while listening to interactive speakers talk on ending the silence and their own personal experience with mental health challenges and conditions. The entire district’s families, students, and staff are invited. Together we can raise awareness and elevate this important conversation.
High School Recommendation: School Wide
Mental Health Self-Care Kits
Learn how to use your five senses to help self soothe and know when to seek help with trusted adults and peers. This lecture gives you a starter kit and information to the basics of mental health.
High School Grade Recommendation: Freshmen Year
Mental Health 101
Join NAMI CCNS in a conversation about the basics of mental wellness and what being unwell might look like. We will share data on different conditions and their prevalence and discuss warning signs and symptoms. This interactive conversation is for anyone interested in learning and sharing.
High School Grade Recommendation: Freshmen Year
Ending the Silence
In this 50-minute evidence-based presentation, high school students learn how to support and educate others on reducing mental health stigma and have the opportunity to hear the personal story of an individual aged 18 to 25 who lives with a mental health condition. This presentation aligns with the SEL Illinois Common Core Standards.
High School Grade Recommendation: Sophomore Year
Youth Mental Health First Aid
Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to individuals how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who are experiencing a mental health challenge, addiction, or who may be in crisis. Youth Mental Health First Aid is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people. NAMI CCNS staffers are certified to teach this course through funding by the Josselyn Center.
High School Grade Recommendation: Junior Year
Teen Mental Health First Aid
Build a powerful community of teens ages 15-18 by teaching them how to support a friend or classmate with the
evidence-based teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) course. Young people will be prepared to provide support for their peers as well as better cope with mental health challenges themselves.
High School Grade Recommendation: Junior Year
How To Survive Life After High School
Graduating high school can bring with it feelings of excitement, nervousness, anticipation, ambition, stress, and more. We will provide you with tips and tricks to ensure your mental wellness is a top priority. You will learn how to take care of yourself and others during your first year after high school. Hear stories from young adults who will share where their journeys began and where they are now in their mid-20s.
High School Grade Recommendation: Senior Year
