Which charity or foundation does a great job helping the mentally ill?

Question

Which charity or foundation does a great job helping the mentally ill?

Answer 1

Nami supports forced treatment of people who lack insight into their mental illness. They have spun off the Treatment Advocacy Center which highlights stories in the media about violent people with mental illness, while NAMI has stigmabusters group that tries to show how people with mental illness are NOT violent. I'm sure they both lobby politicians with both views.  I dislike NAMI, because I was getting close to involuntary commitment, and I know d**n well how bad my illness is, it's just that the drugs do not help me.  (I'm always suicidal, I never hurt anyone else, and I take the meds, tried many of them).  So the Treatment Advocacy Center scares me personally.

There is the Bazelon Law Center, which supports civil rights for persons with mental illness. They do NOT want more forced treatment, but rather LESS coercion, so people with mental illness are not afraid to get help.  They have found that in supportive housing, people with lack of insight meet other people with mental illness who DO take drugs, and become more willing to try that approach.  I'm sure some never do, however, and die under a bridge.

Both groups try to work on access to affordable treatment, federal and state funding for support services, affordable housing for disabled people, etc.

I'll bet if you look into the Salvation Army, they will have programs. Lutheran Social services has counseling and psychiatrists in my area (but not free) and I know Catholic Charities helped some ladies ina boarding house I lived in when I went to college. These ladies had various kinds of mental illness or developmental problems or addictions.  What's nice about these major church groups is they keep their overhead low.  I have lost my faith in god because of my extreme depressions, but I still donate to religious charities due to this reason.

Better to say "people with mental illness." I don't really like being referred to "the mentally ill."  Makes me feel like I'm a problem to be solved or shoved away into the corner.  There is so much stigma with mental illnesses, the labels really do matter, in recovery too (many people with severe mental illnesses do get a lot better with good care and meds).

Also, you want to check out what % of your donation goes to charitable purposes and what % to overhead/fundraising. I can't remember the names of the sites that give you this info, you will have to google it.

Don't overlook local programs, like drop in centers, etc.

Answer 2

In the UK we have a charity called MIND which specifically helps people with mental health problems. They have special programs, workshops, fund-raising events and counselling.

Answer 3

Without question the United Way...The United Way is a nonprofit organization..  I was thinking of taking "theory of nonprofit management" to see how it operates.

Answer 4

The United Way does NOT provide services for the mentally ill! The United Way provides funding and services for nonprofit organizations in its area -- and that may or may *not* include organizations serving the mentally ill.

In the USA, your state's mental health department can direct you to any government programs or nonprofit organizations/charities in your area that provide services to the mentally ill. Every area of the USA is served by *different* organizations when it comes to mental health issues.