Our Front Door:NAMI Help Lines

Kate Farinholt & Deneice Valentine: NAMI Greater Baltimore

Sita Diehl & Gracie Allen:

NAMI Tennessee

Objectives

To consider the value of NAMI Help Lines To learn techniques and procedures for

Help Line operation To consider how to take Help Lines to the

next level

Why Help Lines? Often the first contact with NAMI for consumers and

families We are the voice of consumers and families We have gained expertise through personal experience

Effective help line interaction will: Help the caller Bring new callers into NAMI,

Grow the membership and program usage Establish links between NAMI and other community organizations Help establish your affiliate and state org as the local or state Voice

on Mental Illness Help fund “operations”

Help Lines Assistance to individuals

Telephone Email Face to face follow-up

Many forms: Kitchen table

Dedicated NAMI members answering from home Mobile Help Line

Cell phone with consumer/family counselors Staffed Help Line

Coordinator Family/consumer counselors

Paid or volunteer or intern Crisis (24/7) or office hours Coordinated with other help lines, or not

“Helping in the name of NAMI”

NAMI Help Line Services Peer counseling

Issues related to mental illness and its effects Consumer/family perspective – not professionals

Information Mental illness

NAMI website information Local/state materials

NAMI programs and services Mental health services – array, access, quality Community resources – health, housing, employment, legal

Referral To NAMI programs and affiliates To community mental health services To other community organizations

NAMI Help Line Services (cont.)

Advocacy Individual advocacy

giving them the “keywords” and empowering them to go to the next step themselves

Helpline following up to advocate with a system directly

Systems Advocacy: Tracking types and frequency of calls and complaints (to

follow up; to substantiate complaints) Helping caller to see where their complaint/issue fits within

advocacy as well as getting them info and resources NOW

NAMI Help LinesNational Overview Help Line Survey: April/May 2007 71 NAMI organizations responded

52% local affiliates 34% regional help line 66% local help line

48% state organizations28% have toll free line

Coordination of State/Local NAMI Help Lines

N=19

NAMI Help Line Types

N=33

2006 Call Volume

N = 29

Help Line FundingAnnual Budgets

Funding Sources

N=33

Help Line Personnel

N = 63

Top Call Topics

NAMI Metro Baltimore

History: 25 yrs ago, home phone 15 yrs ago central office PT staff fielding

and referring calls some mail (postcards & newsletter) 2-3 volunteer f/m, outreach with personal phone

Temporary Fix

The Bottom Drops Out: Welcome to NAMI Metro Baltimore

Snapshot: Membership list corrupted; no $; under attendance new programs (F2F and support model) Disconnected volunteers Little consistency mailing list?

Opportunity: Organizational Reassessment – Finding NAMI: Staying connected

Multiple Goals

Connecting People

Connections to Community Resources Connections to NAMI not to individuals Ongoing Contacts Connections to programs

Grow the Affiliate

Program participants

Volunteers

Members

Visibility

Funding

Uniformity and Quality

Let’s Not Do it TwiceAnswers: Resources Basic Packet Consumer Packet C&A Packet Provider Packet Topical ResourcesHelpline Consistency Training Quality Assurance

Call Specifics:

ALL calls are possible helpline calls4-500 calls a month

simple calls for info in-depth or crisis calls and in- between

Call length: 1min to 45 mins

NAMI Metro Baltimore

Staffing “Tiers”: Team; Keeping people in touch with what we do 4-5 Staff (25% of FT staff and varies with hourly

staff) All FT staff must attend F2F and periodic Info Mtgs;

Interns/Americorps Volunteers

Training

Basics: Intake Info and Resource PacketsPhilosophy Empowerment, Peers, Pulling People In; Looking beyond the Callers’ Requests to What

they Need and What we Can Give them

Tiered Training and Duties

Level 1:Orientation

Level 2: Communication

Level 3: F2F

Level 4; most difficult calls. Review at periodic mtgs.: is there a resource or can we “write this up into a protocol”?

Quality improvement?

Random follow-up calls 6-12 mths later (with survey instrument)

Training Tiers Oversight and listening in on calls

NAMI Metro Baltimore

Typical calls – wide variety – (crisis calls to general support)

most popular initial topics: immediate housing, imminent discharge, basic info re illnesses, support groups, specific outreach for specific program, referral to treatment

“Real” topics: case management; array of services for which eligible; NAMI support and ed for that particular audience; upcoming Info Mtgs or other events; free or reduced Rx; what the system or the police etc can and cannot do;

Issues

The more outreach we do, the more calls we get (IOOV, C&A, Ambassadors, Fairs; 911; BCARS referrals)

The more program participants we have, the more calls we get (for more info, etc)

Follow up

COLLECT THE CONTACT INFO!!!! and the background data

Topical and customized resource packets all with NAMI program and time sensitive info

Mailing list 6 mths Info re website and membership Email listserv Follow up at 6 mths explaining benefits of membership

including web based resources. Follow up AGAIN and AGAIN

NAMI Metro Baltimore

Record keeping Intake Sheet; keep 5 yrs Tracking:

Contact info; referral to and/or interest in support and other NAMI programs; issues, demographics, Dx, relation, etc. etc etc...

USE this info to follow up with them as well as the demonstrate needs

NAMI Metro Baltimore

Budget/funding sources

Unrestricted some program funding

Reporting: Internal External

NAMI Tennessee Resource Line Statewide, toll free number

5% (growing) email help line requests Peer counseling/active listening

Information Referral:

To NAMI TN regional staff (follow-up) To local affiliates (support groups and classes) To professional services

During business hours 4 rings in resource line area, then rings throughout office All staff prepared to answer help line calls

Call volume: 250/month average Call length

5 - 30 minutes

NAMI Tennessee Resource Line: Personnel

Part time coordinator3 Paid peer counselors, part time 4 Paid regional staff

Local affiliate volunteers (100+)

Consumer/family volunteers in state office All other NAMI TN staff

NAMI Tennessee Resource Line: Training State office volunteers – Monthly or more often

Orientation to phones Active listening Suicide/crisis counseling Mental health service system Frequently used resources (housing, legal assistance, etc.)

Local affiliate volunteers Fall leadership training Winter consultation sessions State convention

NAMI Tennessee: Record Keeping Always available via the Internet

No special software

Prevents duplication of caller records Previous information easily retrieved during call Types of consumer interaction

phone, face-to-face, email

Secure multi-tiered system User designated by Affiliate President User trained by Resource Line Coordinator Confidentiality agreement and password protection Keeps local affiliate data separated

NAMI Tennessee: On Demand Reports

Race/EthnicityTopics

Call Summary Diagnosis

Next Steps: Help Line Improvement

Coordination between National, State, Local Volunteer/staff recruitment and training Supervision and quality assurance Record keeping/reporting

Help Line Limits: What is it that we cannot do? Give medical or legal advice Refer to particular providers Use the help line contact data in

fundraising Other limitations

How Help Lines Help NAMI

Bring in new members and program participants

Make NAMI more visible in the human service system

Source of revenueGrant fundsDonations as callers get connected

Ethical limits of fundraising from callers

Open the Door: Promoting NAMI Help Lines Promotional materials

PrintWeb-based

Through ALL your programs, services and outreach

Networking with other NAMI’s Networking with other help lines Networking with service providers

Thank You!Questions?

Kate Farinholt & Deneice ValentineNAMI Metro Baltimore5210 York Rd RearBaltimore MD 21212

410-435-2600

www.nami.org/sites/namimetrobaltimore

Sita Diehl & Gracie Allen

NAMI Tennessee

1101 Kermit Drive, Suite 605

Nashville TN, 37217

(800) 467-3589

http://www.namitn.org