The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Southern Arizona (NAMI SA) and Text, Talk, Act have teamed up to bring schools, clubs and youth-based organizations in Southern Arizona a free, interactive and educational two-part program on mental health. Funding is provided by a Mental Health Block Grant, in partnership with The National Alliance on Mental Illness Southern Arizona (NAMI SA).

NAMI SA’s Ending the Silence (ETS) is a free, 50-minute presentation designed to give students an opportunity to learn about mental illness through an informative Power Point and short videos. Through the presentation, students learn symptoms and indicators of mental illness, and are given ideas about how to help themselves, friends, or family members who may be in need of support. Additionally, the presentation includes personal testimony from a young adult living with a mental illness about his/her journey to recovery.

Text, Talk, Act (TTA) is a free, 50-minute interactive activity that guides students in a discussion using a series of pre-programmed text messages (try it now! Text START to 89800). Scheduled within a week after ETS, the activity is designed to reinforce the information students learned in ETS and get them talking in small groups about how they can take care of their mental health and help a friend in need.

How Does the Program Work?

We come to your location when it works with your schedule. Our trained facilitators present the program in high school and middle school classes, youth groups, clubs and after-school programs.

ETS includes presenter stories, educational slides, videos, discussion and behavioral resources. TTA includes discussion questions, videos, polling questions and social media interactions, delivered via text messaging.