NAMI Smarts for Advocacy is a hands-on advocacy training program that helps people living with mental illness, friends and family transform their passion and lived experience into skillful grassroots advocacy. This program will be delivered virtually over Zoom.
NAMI Smarts for Advocacy is designed as a series of workshops/modules. THIS CLASS WILL FOCUS ON:
- Telling a compelling story that is inspiring and makes an “ask” in 90 seconds
- Contacting Your Policy Maker or Other Community Leaders (via effective email, “elevator speech” or impactful phone call)
- Meeting with Your Policy Maker or Other Community Leader (orchestrating a successful meeting)
The unique step-by-step, skill-building design of NAMI Smarts is effective with a wide range of participants, including those who are new to advocacy as well as individuals with years of experience.
Participants routinely share that they’ve never been able to condense their story or made a clear “ask,” but with NAMI Smarts, they are now able to.
Lobbyists who represent NAMI State Organizations or mental health coalitions also love this program—they see participants come out confident and able to share their story in a way that moves policymakers.