A cluster of support groups and other activities for families of those with a mental illness. The group also provides a free family to family training group to discuss and learn about a variety of issues relating to mental illness. It's an A-Z twelve week course--it gets rave reviews from participants. Click here to see the NAMI-Charlotte website or, for instructions on how to talk with a real person, call the group's office at 704/333-8218 anytime anyday. (Click for overview of Families of People with Mental Illness resources)

A group for parents of youth with significant behavioral issues, emotional problems, or mental health problems.  The group empowers parents to learn, to lead, to participate, and to advocate.  For details, call their office for a return call at 704/336-7128 any time any day. (Click for overview of Families of People with Mental Illness resources)

Based on the 12 steps of AA, this group welcomes anyone with a dual recovery issue (mental illness and drug addiction).  The members help one another achieve dual recovery and prevent relapse. The only requirements are a desire for attain and maintain sobriety and to manage emotional or psychiatric illness constructively.  For details about their weekly meetings, call a leader of the group at 704/945-2210 (Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

is an informal, friendly group which meets to share resources, provide mutual emotional support, and have a good time.  To learn details, click here to e-mail a leader, or if you don't have e-mail, call a leader of the group any time any day to leave a message at 704/525-8787. (Click for overview of Families of People with Mental Illness resources)

DBSA is a support group for individuals affected by a mood disorder such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.  The group does not address issues of other mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, etc.   It is open to individuals who suspect that they have, or have been diagnosed with, depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder as well as professionals or students who want to learn more about these disorders. Click here to visit the group's new web site to see their schedule and other topics. You can also call a member of the group at 704/307-5008 any day 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.  (Click for overview of Families of People with Mental Illness resources)

This service provides comprehensive data and referral assistance for nonprofit and government resources in the NC counties of Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Union, and Anson counties and in or near the city of Mooresville, NC.  If you are calling on a landline or residential phone in one of those counties, dial 2-1-1.  If that fails, if you are calling on a cell phone, or if you are calling from anywhere else in NC, call 866/744-7778.  For calls from out of NC, use their local number of 704/377-1100. Although they are open 24 hours a day, you may wish to call weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. for non-emergency questions.

The friendly staff at this full service library can help you research any medical topic using their up-to-date computers, databases, journals and books.  No previous research experience or medical knowledge is required. Click here for details or call them at 704-384-6393.

MedLinePlus

This service of the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health is one of the better one-stop shops for beginning your search on the internet for medical information.  For those of you who live in Mecklenburg and Union counties in NC, we recommend that you contact the Health Library for more personal assistance from the experts there in searching for reliable medical information. Click here for their details.

Click to link to any of these lists of national groups: 

The Self-Help Sourcebook OnLine Index
The Genetic Alliance
NORD (National Organization for Rare Diseases) Database

Click here to branch to the American Self-Help Clearinghouse listing of toll-free phone numbers for a wide variety of topics.