The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Yolo County is hosting the NAMI Family-to-Family class — a free, 8-session educational program designed specifically for family, significant others and friends of people living with mental illness. This valuable resource will be offered weekly from Tuesday, April 1, until Tuesday, May 20, according to a release from the organization.

It’s estimated more than 59.3 million Americans — 23.1% of the U.S. adult population — live with a mental illness. According to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), 10% of children ages 3-17 had current, diagnosed anxiety (9% of males and 11% of females). Around 7% of children ages 3-17 had current, diagnosed behavior disorders (10% of males and 5% of females), and 4% of children ages 3-17 had current, diagnosed depression (3% of males and 6% of females).

In California, according to the national NAMI organization, nearly 5.6 million adults live with a mental health condition. In the case of the Golden state’s youth, 396,000 Californians ages 12 to 17 are diagnosed with depression, and according to the most recent data, 64% of Californians ages 12 to 17 with depression did not receive any care in the last year.

A big hurdle for most Californians’ ability to receive health care is the price tag — NAMI reported of the 1.6 million adults in state who did not receive needed mental health care, 35.3% didn’t due to high costs. Nearly 8% of California residents are uninsured, and those who are insured are five times more likely to have to go out-of-network for mental health care than for primary health care. This ultimately results in the necessary and lifesaving care becoming too expensive for many Californians, even for those who are insured.

However, NAMI Yolo’s Family-to-Family program is comprehensive and provides essential education, practical tools and the opportunity to connect with other families who understand the unique challenges of having a loved one with a mental illness. Participants will gain insight into mental health conditions, learn about effective communication strategies and explore ways to find and provide care for your loved one.

The course will teach you how to:

• Solve problems and communicate effectively

• Take care of yourself and manage stress

• Support your loved one with compassion

• Find and use local support and services

• Handle a crisis

• Handle the impact of mental health conditions on an entire family

The NAMI Family-to-Family program is taught by trained volunteers with lived experience of caring for someone with a mental health condition. This peer-led format provides a supportive and understanding environment where participants can share their stories, ask questions and learn together.

Registration is required to attend, and those forms can be found at https://forms.gle/sgWy7dj35E54kUn4A. The classes will start on Tuesday, April 1 and will run until May 20. Each meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. and will run until 8:30 p.m. in Woodland. The exact address will be released at a later date.