The two New Orleans area chapters of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a national mental health advocacy organization, announced on Friday that they are merging and will now serve a nine-parish region across south Louisiana.
NAMI’s New Orleans and St. Tammany chapters, which previously operated independently, will now be led by Nick Richard, the executive director of the northshore chapter. The new organization will be called NAMI Southeast Louisiana (NAMI SELA) and will provide critical mental health resources to Orleans, St. Bernard, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Tammany, Livingston, St. Helena, Tangipahoa, and Washington parishes.
“This merger represents a significant step forward in our mission to provide comprehensive support for families, friends and individuals whose lives have been affected by mental illness,” Richard said.
The merger, which has been in the works for about a year, will become official on July 1.
LaShonda Williams, who runs Louisiana’s statewide NAMI chapter, celebrated the merger, emphasizing that by combining forces, both organizations will be able to “work together toward a common goal.”
Bringing the two organizations together was a natural fit, according to Richard. “What they’re really good at, we needed help with,” he said. “What we’re really good at, they needed help with.”
As an example, Richard noted that the northshore chapter has developed relationships with local law enforcement to provide crisis intervention training. The south shore chapter, on the other hand, provides clinical services that the northshore chapter hasn’t historically had.
Now, the larger, merged organization will be able to provide a wider array of services to the broader region.
Merging the administrative side of the two organizations, leaders from both organizations stressed, would lower costs and allow staff to focus on providing services to people dealing with mental health issues.
“By combining these resources, we can streamline processes and ensure more efficient use of our funds, ultimately serving the community more effectively,” said Ashleigh Castro, the chair of NAMI New Orleans’ Board of Directors.
The Greater New Orleans Foundation also chipped in to help the two organizations join up, providing funding for an outside consulting firm that specializes in helping nonprofits merge.
“Over the years, the Greater New Orleans Foundation has been a long-standing advocate and supporter of both NAMINO and NAMIST,” said Kellie Chavez Greene, the organization's vice president for programs. “The foundation is delighted to have provided leadership and critical funding to get the merger across the finish line.”
And having a larger organization, leaders emphasized, will allow NAMI SELA to more effectively advocate for behavioral health services.
“We see nationwide the increased need for behavioral health services,” Richard stressed. “As an advocacy organization, [the merger] certainly makes our voice a little louder.”