NAMI Sharing Your Story with Law Enforcement
Preparing NAMI Members to Present for Law Enforcement Audiences
NAMI Sharing Your Story with Law Enforcement (SYSLE) is a presentation program that prepares individuals and family members to share their stories of lived experience with mental illness to a law enforcement audience, such as during Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training, or other events where mental illness and related topics are featured.
SYSLE Presenters provide an opportunity for officers to hear about someone who experienced being in crisis and may have interacted with law enforcement as a result, but is now living well with mental illness. The powerful and unique stories shared by NAMI presenters help increase officers’ understanding and empathy, improving crisis response in communities. These presentations are consistently popular with officers who attend CIT training and NAMI’s goal is to ensure that every law enforcement officer has this opportunity.
“When someone with lived mental health experiences speaks, they are not just sharing information; they are offering profound insights born out of personal challenges, triumphs, and resilience. Their stories have the power to deepen our understanding, foster empathy, and inspire meaningful change in how we approach mental health in our communities.”
- CIT Coordinator, Sgt. Lance Dardeen
- CIT Coordinator, Sgt. Lance Dardeen
NAMI developed Sharing Your Story with Law Enforcement as a presentation program that provides participants with:
An opportunity to understand the ways they can share their experience as a peer or family member affected by mental illness with law enforcement.
Tools to describe the barriers they or their family member faced in accessing treatment, help and services.
Tips on the best ways to share interactions they or their family member had with law enforcement.
Ways to effectively speak to – and answer questions from – a law enforcement audience.
The program format is simple, user friendly and easy to access. SYSLE consists of a two-part blended training: a self-paced course that guides participants through the process of writing a presentation, followed by a coaching session where they will practice, get tips and finalize their presentation.
After completing this training, peers and family members say they feel more prepared to present their lived experience.
If you would like to complete the training or schedule a NAMI SYSLE presentation for your agency, program, or event, contact Linda Williams at lwilliams@namiindiana.org.
