Carol McIntyre, Team Captain

The NAMI Valley Walk raises awareness and reduces stigma about mental illness in our community. The Walk is NAMI Arizona’s only fund-raising event.

NAMI Valley of the Sun is the Maricopa County Affiliate of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization.

NAMI is dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. NAMI advocates for access to services, treatment, support and research and is steadfast in its commitment to raising awareness and building a community of hope for all of those in need. NAMI Valley of the Sun provides education programs at no cost throughout Maricopa County. They provide family programs, peer programs, programs for teachers and school administrators, programs for veterans and their families, support groups and many more! They are dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with mental illness and their families through support, education and advocacy.

The families and members of NAMI Valley of the Sun are here to help! They offer understanding to anyone concerned about mental illnesses and the treatment of mental illness. Mental illnesses are brain disorders that are biologically-based medical problems. Untreated, they can cause severe disturbances in thinking, feeling and relating. This results in substantially diminished capacity for dealing with the ordinary demands of life. Mental illness can affect persons of any age and occur in any family. It is not caused by bad parenting and not evidence of weakness of character.

NAMI has an envisioned future where mental illness will no longer thwart a person’s fulfillment of his or her potential, where with early diagnosis, interventions, targeted medications and services, there will be no pervasive disability, and, ultimately, a day when prevention or a cure is found. v