NAMI members and supporters are the most effective people to educate legislators about mental illness and the need to change our current "mental illness" system to a "mental health" system. We are excited for you to join us! This year we are again advocating virtually. Details are still coming together, but we wanted to start registration as soon as possible!

Join NAMI Washington members from across the state for our virtual Lobby Week (taking the place of our annual in-person lobby day in Olympia). Our Lobby Week will include a week of opportunities to take action from virtual events to legislative appointments throughout the week of February 21st through the 25th.

Schedule:

Monday 2/21: 

9:00AM-11:30AM - Welcome, Legislative Update, and Issues Brief, learning about Behavioral Health in WA and Lawmaker Keynotes

11:30-5:00 PM - Legislative District Meetings (virtual) - Legislative appointments: after you register your affiliate leader will contact you with details and logistics for your appointments with your affiliate

3:00PM-4:00PM - Informal Q&A group to answer any last questions on NAMI Smarts materials or legislative appointments

Tuesday 2/16:  

Engage with #MentalHealthIs campaign

Legislative appointments: after you register your affiliate leader will contact you with details and logistics for your appointments with your affiliate

Wednesday 2/17:

12:00PM-1:00PM - Legislative Education Panel (topic TBA)

Legislative appointments: after you register your affiliate leader will contact you with details and logistics for your appointments with your affiliate

Thursday 2/18:

Engage with ongoing social media campaigns - more information to come!

Legislative appointments: after you register your affiliate leader will contact you with details and logistics for your appointments with your affiliate

Friday 2/19:

12:00PM-1:00PM - Debrief from legislative appointments and connect with members to celebrate our advocacy efforts in the face of challenging times!

Legislative appointments: after you register your affiliate leader will contact you with details and logistics for your appointments with your affiliate

Legislative Appointments:

- Legislative appointments are meetings with your state lawmakers and/or their staff alongside other NAMI members and supporters in your legislative district. The NAMI Washington state office works with your local NAMI Affiliate office to schedule appointments with your lawmakers so you can speak with them.

- Legislative appointments will be made throughout the week of February 21st until the 25th, we are trying to get most of them on February 21st. Your local affiliate lead will follow up with you via email on the time and details of your legislative appointment after you register.

When you register for Lobby Week, make sure you know which legislative district you live in so that we can be sure you are in the correct lawmaker meeting! If you need help finding your legislative district, please click here.

Register for NAMI Washington's Lobby Week to be a part of the legislative process and make your voice heard as a mental health advocate!

Please reach out to Lauren Simonds at lsimonds@namiwa.org if you have any questions.