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Why New York City Needed A Comprehensive Web Site for Mental Illness

March 5, 2009
Charlotte Moses Fischman, Huffington Post

When our family was thrust into the world of mental illness, we felt like we had been cast into outer space. We moved from having a daughter with an eating disorder, like every other young woman in her class, to a child that was seriously and persistently mentally ill; from a child that was early decision to one of the Ivies to a child that was not well enough to attend college.

We searched for information. We tried to understand the public mental health system and figure out whether our private insurance was sufficient. We spent hours on the phone, moving from one contact to another, saving our handwritten notes as though they were the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Now that we are 12 years into this journey, the New York City community finally has a behavioral health web site to help families, consumers and providers. Go to www.nycnetworkofcare.org to see the site developed for New York City by the National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City, Inc. (NAMI-NYC Metro) through funds raised through the annual NAMI Walk. It is an online clearinghouse that provides critical information, communications and advocacy through a single point of entry. It ensures there is "No Wrong Door" for those navigating the system of behavioral health services.