Thank You for Attending NAMI Washington's Lobby Day!
Thank you to everyone who attended NAMI Washington's 2025 Mental Health Lobby Day! Our lobby day was an amazing success with over 140 attendees including 30 youth and three amazing legislative speakers! A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped make this event run smoothly for everyone!
Our Lobby Day started off with three amazing legislative speakers. Senator Keith Wagoner, Senator Manka Dhingra and Senator Tina Orwall were engaging and inspirational. It was so wonderful to have our behavioral health champions addressing all the attendees and speaking on the impact of personal stories when advocating for change. Thank you Sen. Wagoner, Sen. Dhingra and Sen. Orwall for being NAMI Champions!
After the morning program and our big group photo, we all headed off to the Capitol to meet with legislators and their staff to share NAMI Washington's Legislative Priorities. This year, we had access to the Temple all day where attendees were able to go in-between their meetings with legislators. At the Temple, there were activities to enjoy, a great potato bar lunch and a quiet room for people to get much needed respite from the crowded capitol.
This was our second Lobby Day with advocacy programs for youth. This year, we had over 30 young people attend Lobby Day to learn more about the legislative process and to speak with their Representatives. We had a robust youth program with a scavenger hunt, some fun games, a networking event and a great presentation on social and emotional learning. Thank you to Deidra Burke, her interns and the members of the Youth Advisory Board for putting together such an amazing program for the young people that attended Lobby Day!
Care and support after sharing your story
At NAMI, we believe in the power of sharing your story and the impact those stories can make towards inspiring positive changes to Washington's behavioral health system. It is our stories that set us apart from other stakeholders as we have the lived experience voice and we are the people who are most affected by behavioral health policies. NAMI Washington appreciates each and every person who had the courage to share their story with legislators on Lobby Day as well as those who shared through powerful testimonies and emails.
We understand that sharing your story can also be very difficult and in some cases, can leave us feeling drained and possibly re-traumatized. If you are experiencing any difficulty and mental stress as a result of sharing your story, please join one of our many support groups through our 21 local affiliates. We want to make sure you receive the care and support you need! Click here to find out more about NAMI's support groups and programs.
Let's continue to advocate for mental health!
While Lobby Day is behind us, Washington's 2025 Legislative Session is still in full swing and we still have a lot to do to push our legislative priorities to the Governor's desk. Did you know that you can continue being involved in NAMI WA's advocacy? Sign up for NAMI WA's Action Alerts! Click here and scroll down the page to find the form to join our Advocacy Newsletter. Want to keep track of all the bills NAMI WA is supporting this year? Click here for our bill tracker! Are you interested in testifying at bill hearings in-support of NAMI WA's priority bills or submitting a statement of support? Contact our Public Policy Director, Anna Nepomuceno to learn more! anepomuceno@namiwa.org.
Would you like to share your story to help instill changes to our mental health system? You can submit your story here!
Also be sure to check out NAMI Washington's Legislative Priorities below. Please note that not all of our legislative priorities may pass this year. We realize this can be frustrating and disappointing. However, it is important to stay focused and continue to advocate for the changes we want to see. If the bill you were most passionate about does not pass, do not lose hope! Bills can be reintroduced next year and often times, other legislation with the same intent are introduced in future sessions. NAMI Washington will continue to fight for more accessible and equitable mental health services and with your help, we will continue to see positive changes in our behavioral health system. Thank you again for joining us on NAMI Washington's 2025 Mental Health Lobby Day!
