When serious mental illness strikes, it is family and loved ones who carry people through the hardest days. It’s a demanding role for those caregivers and they need support, which they find in the Nevada County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). 

On Oct. 14, the Board of Supervisors honored the group for its 40 years of service to the community. “Your work touches so many people,” said Supervisor Sue Hoek. “It’s the light that keeps things going in Nevada County and it comes with love and passion.” 

Behavioral Health Director Phebe Bell said NAMI’s partnership is invaluable to helping patients get help through the County’s programs. “Having NAMI as a partner at the table as advocates for their loved ones with serious mental illness is critical to people’s long-term stability and well-being,” she said. 

Lael Walz of the Nevada County NAMI chapter said the group is eager to collaborate with anyone who serves people with serious mental illness. 

“They are our families, our husbands, our wives, our sons, our daughters. We know what it looks like when mental illness hits,” she said.

Walz shared her own story of her productive husband who suddenly became ill in his 40s and was hospitalized four times in two years before he was finally diagnosed with bipolar illness. Then her family was struck with another blow when her then-12-year-old daughter said, “I think I have Daddy’s disease.” 

But through medication, therapy, and the support of family and community, she has now been symptom-free for 12 years.  Today, she is married, working and expecting a baby in January, Walz said proudly. 

The NAMI Nevada County chapter offers compassionate peer support, education programs, and guidance in navigating the mental health care system. Its advocacy has contributed to the creation and implementation of many local programs and resources, including Odyssey House, Mental Health Court, Laura’s Law, the Insight Respite Center and the Crisis Stabilization Unit. NAMI holds a vision that all people with mental illness are valued, safe and able to achieve recovery and meaningful lives. 

The group is a key partner in Nevada County’s efforts to provide mental health services to the community.  A few of the programs that NAMI helped advocate for include: 

• Assisted Outpatient Treatment (Laura’s Law): A program that helps people with serious mental illness connect to treatment, housing and support services as an alternative to cycling through jails or hospitals. It runs under the authority of Laura’s Law, named after Laura Wilcox, a 19-year-old Nevada County resident killed by a man with untreated mental illness while she was working at a County mental health clinic. 
• Behavioral Health Court Programs: These programs connect people to mental health treatment instead of punishment. These include Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Court,  a civil court which offers an individualized treatment plan and support services under the supervision of a judge and Mental Health Court, a criminal court which evaluates, treats and monitors participants while providing coordinated and comprehensive mental health treatment. 
• Jail-Based Services: Behavioral Health staff provide direct treatment and case management in the jail, helping individuals transition into ongoing care upon release.
• Crisis Response System:Two Nevada County departments now operate mobile crisis teams. 
  • The Sheriff's Office kicked off its program in 2020 and now offers two mobile crisis teams, each with one deputy sheriff and one clinician, that respond to incidents from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. daily. In fiscal year 2024-25, the teams handled 231 crisis calls for service in addition to regular patrol calls. They served 373 individualsand made 165 referrals to treatment. They also conducted 75 mental health hold evaluations, of which 64% were resolved on scene and did not have to be transported to the crisis unit. 
  • Behavioral Health launched its own comprehensive program in 2023, ensuring that two crisis staff are available to respond to any location within the county, 24 hours a day seven days a week. Both departments provide in-person crisis support to people where they are located with staff specially trained to provide intervention. In fiscal year 2024-2025, the Behavioral Health crisis team responded to 585 calls for service, resolving 50% of those calls on scene. 

In addition, a four-bed Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) located next to Seirra Nevada Memorial Hospital offers emergency psychiatric care for people experiencing a behavioral health crisis. In fiscal year 2024-25, there were 626 admissions to the CSU.

“These programs work because they recognize that recovery is possible,” said Bell. “People can and do get better—especially when they have family support and a community that believes in them.”