Advocacy
NAMI Northern Virginia advocates to improve the lives of people affected by mental health conditions. From Virginia state legislature to local city councils, the NAMI Northern Virginia Alliance uses the power of lived experience to shape how our community helps people with mental illness.

Together, we are advocating for improved services and treatment options, the expansion of research, increased housing options, improvements in the criminal justice system, and more. 

Get Involved

Share Your Story: Sharing your experience as an individual living with a mental health condition, a family member, a provider, or other member of the community, is the most powerful way to educate legislators about the importance of support for mental health related resources. Download our advocacy toolkit to learn how to harness the power of your personal story.

Learn About The Issues: There are a lot of ways to learn and to stay up-to-date with the issues affecting our community. By reading below about upcoming advocacy opportunities, participating in our Monthly Meetings, and connecting with others through our education and support programs, you can learn more about important issues, network with others, and help us in building a community that cares.

Participate in Our Programs: Find education and support, connect with others, and discover that you are not alone. Our programs are helping to build a community of people who care about mental health. Together, our voice is strong, and we can help to create real change.

Get in Touch: Do you have any great advocacy ideas or questions about other ways to get involved? Contact us with you questions!

Local Advocacy

Check out our Concerned Alexandria, Concerned Arlington, Concerned Fairfax, and Concerned Loudoun pages to get involved in advocacy efforts closer to your home. 

Have an interest in growing any of these advocacy efforts? Send us an email at info@nami-nova.org.

State Advocacy

HB5043 Jeffrey M. Bourne: Establishes mental health awareness response and community understanding services (Marcus) alert system.
HB5046 Dawn M. Adams: Telemedicine services; clarifies definition of originating site, etc. 
HB5086 Kaye Kory: Mobile crisis co-response team programs; Department of Criminal Justice Services and Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to establish throughout the Commonwealth.
SB5014 John S. Edwards: Law-enforcement officers; officers to complete crisis intervention training.
SB5038 Jeremy S. McPike: Mobile crisis co-response team programs; Department of Criminal Justice Services and Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to establish throughout the Commonwealth.
SB5080 George L. Baker: Telemedicine services; healthcare providers who provide services via telemedicine, etc. 
SB5084 Jennifer L. McClellan: Establishes mental health awareness response and community understanding services (Marcus) alert system.
SB5087 Siobhan S. Dunnavant: Telemedicine services; originating site.
SB5113 Ryan T. McDougle: Crisis intervention team training; appropriation.

Want to look up your representatives?For more Virginia state-level advocacy opportunities, visit NAMI Virginia's advocacy and legislation web page.

National Advocacy

You can help make mental health part of the debate. Help 60 million Americans living with mental health conditions by voting for policy that treats mental and physical health equally. #Vote4MentalHealth

​Learn more about the national initiatives NAMI is involved with including, early intervention, improved care, and crisis intervention, and how you can get involved by visiting www.NAMI.org.