• Presented by a trained 2-person team consisting of:
  • A young adult (age 18-35) living with a mental health condition, who will serve as the Young Adult Presenter.
  • An adult (age 18 or older) living in recovery with a mental health condition, or family member of an individual living with a mental health condition, who will serve as the Lead Presenter.
• This presentation educates audience members about mental health conditions and their warning signs and provides audience members with resources and tools to help themselves, friends, and family members who may be in need of support. The program has three presentations designed for three audiences: students, families and school staff.
• Hearing a personal story from an individual living with a mental health condition helps to dispel myths, instill a message of hope and recovery, and encourage audience members to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness.

ETS reduces stigma through:

• Education — Provides accurate information about mental illness to promote understanding and dispel myths.
• Personal Contact — Puts a human face to mental illness and provides hope that recovery is possible.

Individuals who have lived experience with a mental health condition and are interested in educating students, families, and school staff about mental health/illness. If an affiliate is working to implement the program and wants to train their first Ending the Silence presenters, we ask that they submit a 2-person team consisting of a Young Adult and Lead Presenter, if possible.

• A 2-person team consists of a Young Adult Presenter, a young adult (age 18-35) living with a mental health condition who is willing to share their story, and a Lead Presenter, an adult (age 18 or older) who is either a person living with a mental health condition or is a family member or caregiver of an individual living with a mental health condition.
• A current NAMI Member.
• Able to complete the online training three weeks after the application deadline.
• Able to attend the entire half-day intensive training.
• Because NAMI Ending the Silence is taught in schools and youth settings, applicants should have flexible schedules that allow them to present on weekdays during school hours.

The Ending the Silence training is a blended training, with an online portion and in-person portion. The 6-8 hour online training gives you resources and support as you prepare your draft presentation script. The half-day in-person training gives you the opportunity to practice your presentation in front of a friendly audience and our state trainers, who give supportive and constructive feedback. You will leave the training feeling confident and prepared to give Ending the Silence presentations.

The Lead Presenter will be trained to give the 25-minute educational PowerPoint presentation, and will complete the NAMI ETS Lead Students online training. The Young Adult Presenter will be trained to give both the 25-minute educational PowerPoint presentation as well as trained to share their story of recovery, and will complete both the NAMI ETS Lead Students and the NAMI ETS Young Adult online trainings.

After completing the in-person training, all Ending the Silence presenters will need to complete two additional online trainings, NAMI ETS Lead Families and NAMI ETS Lead Staff.

NAMI Washington will cover the cost of all training materials, food, and lodging. Your NAMI affiliate is asked to cover your travel expenses. Lodging will be at a nearby hotel, and is double occupancy, which means you will be sharing a room with another attendee. If you require single occupancy, arrangements will need to be made prior to your attendance, and there will be additional costs which will be the responsibility of the attendee.

Attending the training is by pre-registration only, and class size is limited. In order to reserve a space, your affiliate must submit a $50 refundable registration deposit at the time of registration. If there are more applications than spots for the training, a waiting list will be created.

Completion of the online training is REQUIRED for in-person training attendance – if you do not complete the online training within three weeks of the application deadline, you will be unable to attend the in-person training.

If you need to cancel after being accepted, notify the NAMI Washington staff, no later than a week before the training so we can fill your spot, or your affiliate will lose its $50 registration deposit. Cancelled spots are filled with applications from the waiting list for the class, not by sending another affiliate member.