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In Our Own Voice

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In Our Own Voice (IOOV) is a unique public education program developed by NAMI, in which two trained public speakers share compelling personal stories about living with mental illness and achieving recovery.

IOOV is an opportunity for those who have struggled with mental illness to gain confidence and to share their individual experiences of recovery and transformation.

Throughout the IOOV presentation, audience members are encouraged to offer feedback and ask questions. Audience participation is an important aspect of IOOV because the more audience members become involved, the closer they come to understanding what it is like to live with a mental illness and stay in recovery.

IOOV presentations are given to consumer groups, students, law enforcement officials, educators, providers, faith community members, politicians, professionals, inmates, and interested civic groups.

All presentations are offered free of charge.

The goals of IOOV are to:

  • meet the need for consumer- run initiatives
  • to set a standard for quality education about mental illness from those who have been there
  • to offer genuine work opportunities
  • to encourage self-confidence and self-esteem in presentersto focus on recovery and the message of hope.

Anyone familiar with mental illness knows that recovery is not a singular event, but a multi-dimensional, multi-linear journey characterized more by the mindset of the one taking it than by his or her condition at any given moment along the way.

Understanding recovery as having several dimensions makes its uneven course easier to accept. Much as we don’t blame the cancer patient for dying of invasive tumors, we can’t condemn a consumer whose symptoms overtake his or her best efforts to manage illness.

Recovery is the point in someone’s illness in which the illness is no longer the first and foremost part of his or her life, no longer the essence of all his or her existence.

Ultimately, recovery is about attitude and making the effort.

Groups or organizations in Michigan interested in scheduling a NAMI In Our Own Voice presentation in your community may request one by calling or email NAMI Michigan ( 517-485-4049 or ) or filling out the form on our Contact NAMI Michigan page.  Please let us know what type of audience you have, such as:

  • Law enforcement officials
  • Educators
  • Faith-based communities
  • Politicians
  • Professionals
  • Inmates
  • Civic groups

A brief flyer about the NAMI In Our Own Voice program is available for you to download.

How can I find a class in my area?

To find out where the NAMI In Our Own Voice programs are currently being offered in Michigan, please contact the NAMI Michigan main office in Lansing at 517-485-4049 or send an email to . You can also fill out a request to have someone from NAMI Michigan reach out to you on our Contact NAMI page. You can indicate your interest in the NAMI In Our Own Voice Education program on the form.

You can also review a listing of all of the NAMI Michigan affiliates maintained at the national NAMI site.