Family-to-Family Leader Training in February
It happens almost every time I volunteer at one of our community outreach table events. Someone approaches our booth and expresses their appreciation for our work. Then they say something like, “I took that family class. It changed my life and really helped our whole family.” The it changed my life phrase is always included in the comment. NAMI’s Family-to-Family course is a powerful program that gives people direction and community. While the curriculum is thoughtful and practical, it is wonderful to see how the students in the course end up learning from and supporting one another. Your experience supporting someone with a mental health condition can open a rewarding opportunity to help other families.
In February there will be a training class for volunteers who would like to teach the NAMI Family-to-Family course. The teachers for the Family-to-Family course are called “leaders.” NAMI Family-to-Family leaders become certified by completing a self-paced 2-hour pre-training online module and then attending and graduating from a one-and-one-half day in-person training. The weekend in-person training class is scheduled for February 17th and 18th at the NAMI Mass office in Woburn.
Prospective leaders must be parents or other primary caregivers of an adult with a mental health condition. Those who were once students in the class are always welcome to become trained as leaders. Now, those who haven’t yet been a student are also welcome to participate in the training, and then take the class as a student afterwards. Thanks to a 2024 grant, NAMI Massachusetts is offering a $400 stipend for each course taught. New leaders are matched with an experienced leader to form a teaching team, and they work together during the weekly eight session course, via Zoom or in person.
Details about the training course and a downloadable application form are included in the buttons below. Any of our current leaders would be delighted to talk with you about their experience teaching a NAMI Family-to-Family course.