News — December 2025 – January 2026

December 2025, January 2026

Out & About NAMI Presentations in Your Community

By Barb St. Clair, Outreach Programs Coordinator

NAMI-Santa Clara County (NAMI-SCC) Outreach team has been busy working in the community to reduce stigma and promote mental health resources within Santa Clara County. It is our goal to normalize mental health conditions so that individuals and their families will seek care immediately when mental health concerns arise.

We engage with individuals, staff, and families at community, medical, corporate, and academic sites throughout Santa Clara County.

Recent Events:

• County Public Health Resource Fair
• Disability Awareness Day @ San Jose City Hall
• Santa Clara University Benefits EXPO
• South Bay Conditional Release Program
• Gardner Health Services – Behavioral Health Internship Program
• San Jose Sharks Corporate Wellness Fair
• Gavilan College – Resource Fair
• Pacific Clinics – TRUST Community Team
• Mountain View Rotary Club
• San Andreas Regional Center – Resource Fair

NAMI-SCC Outreach team can conduct a presentation at your location or event. Our experienced tabling staff can join your event to distribute valuable resource information and engage event participants.
To schedule a presentation or request tabling staff, please call Barb St Clair at 408-460-2779 or email bstclair@namisantaclara.org

Presentations:

General Presentation: In this 20-minute informational presentation, we discuss mental health, stigma, and resources within Santa Clara County. Topics include: statistics, warning signs, how to access resources, wellness strategies, and NAMI programs.

Ending the Silence is designed for middle-and high-school students. Students, faculty, and parents learn about mental health conditions through a brief presentation, short videos, and personal testimony from a young adult who describes their journey to recovery. NAMI Ending the Silence helps recognize the warning signs of mental health conditions and understand how to seek help for themselves or their peers.

In Our Own Voice (IOOV) presentations change attitudes, assumptions, and ideas about people with mental health conditions by providing personal perspective of mental health conditions, as presenters with lived experience talk openly about what it’s like to have a mental health condition. Our IOOV team presents in a variety of places such as clinics, hospitals, and community centers. The presentation provides hope and encouragement as well as practical wellness strategies that have worked for the presenters.

NAMI @ Work: Untreated mental health conditions can have a real impact on the day-to-day workings of a company, both financially and in terms of morale. There are many ways that an organization can support individuals experiencing mental health challenges, yet the biggest obstacle is often getting employees to utilize those supports and services. Eight in ten workers say shame and stigma prevent them from seeking treatment for a mental health condition. In collaboration with your staff, NAMI provides an informational presentation to open dialogues, educate employees, and promote available resources.

NAMI Mental Health 101 (FaithNet): Faith communities are often the first place where people reach out to for support. Mental Health 101 equips faith leaders and communities with knowledge about mental health, stigma reduction, and how to support those facing mental health challenges. The presentation includes practical information, real-life experiences, and guidance on fostering compassionate spaces with faith settings.

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Holiday Closure

Best Wishes for a Very Happy and Safe
Holiday Season!

The NAMI office will be closed on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025 &
Jan. 1, and Monday, Jan. 19, 2026

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NAMI-SCC Board Officer Election for 2026-2027

In accordance with our revised bylaws, a nominating committee will provide a slate of officer nominees that will be announced at the February 10, 2026 General Meeting. Voting will be open until March 15 on the NAMI-SCC website, www.namisantaclara.org

The slate of nominees will be published in the March newsletter and officers will be installed at April’s General Meeting.

We need candidates for: President, 4 Vice Presidents, Treasurer, and Secretary. If you are interested in joining our Board of Directors or wish to suggest someone, please contact NAMI-SCC Board Vice President Beverly Lozoff at blozoff@namisantaclara.org

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NAMI-SCC Annual Holiday Drive

This holiday season, NAMI-SCC will distribute gifts to patients in hospitals, mental health residential facilities, and homeless shelters, as well as participants at self-help and veterans’ centers. Each year, we distribute gift bags to over 1,000 individuals, which costs us more than $11,000.

Our Holiday Drive has been growing each year, allowing us to reach even more individuals in need. However, as the program expands, so do the costs of supplies and packaging. We rely on community donations to make this effort possible and sustainable.

Please help us bring a smile to their faces—often these individuals aren’t able to spend the holidays with their loved ones or receive gifts.

If you would like to donate or sponsor the Holiday Drive, please send a check to:  NAMI-Santa Clara County, 1150 S. Bascom Ave, #24, San Jose, CA 95128, or donate through our website: www.namisantaclara.org

Your generosity helps us spread hope and kindness to those who need it most.

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Upcoming NAMI-SCC Education Classes

Please contact the NAMI-SCC Helpline to find out about our education classes—all free to participants. Call 408-453-0400, Option 1.

The following classes will begin in late January for the winter session: Family-to-Family, Peer-to-Peer, Familia a Familia and Persona a Persona.

There will be two Provider classes. The one on December 12 is a 4-hour virtual seminar. The 5-week class in person will begin on January 9. Please see the flyers on the next two pages of this newsletter for more information.

To learn more about all of our classes, visit https://namisantaclara.org/classes/classes-2/

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Upcoming Provider Education Virtual Seminar

To learn more about Provider Education, click here.

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Upcoming Provider Education InPerson Classes

To learn more about Provider Education, click here.

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Directing Change Contest

The 14th Annual Directing Change Film Contest has launched. Students and young adults ages 12 to 25 are invited to create films to start conversations about mental health and advocate for change. Films are due by March 1, 2026.

Read more about submission categories, including the new Substance Use category, and contest rules by going to www.directingchangeca.org

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Call for nominations: 15th Annual Behavioral Health Community Heroes Awards

The Behavioral Health Board is accepting nominations for the 15th Annual Behavioral Health Community Heroes Awards. This annual celebration recognizes individuals, teams, and organizations who go above and beyond to help improve the lives of community members seeking support with behavioral health challenges, including mental health and substance use issues.

Click the link to submit a nomination: HeroesNomination

For more information contact: bhb@hhs.sccgov.org

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Congratulations to Navah Statman

NAMI-SCC is proud to recognize Navah Statman, who joined our affiliate 35 years ago as an advocate for mental health for her family and others. Navah served on the NAMI-SCC Board of Directors for many years, eventually serving as president, overseeing the growth and development of the office to enable hosting of meetings, classes, and support groups. She has been a Family-to-Family teacher, a support group leader, served on the SCC Behavioral Health Board and NAMI California Board and led the development of NAMI signature programs. She was asked by the county to serve on the Blue-Ribbon Commission for Prison Reform. She has mentored many key staff and Board members and still does.

Navah and Meir, her husband, have been major donors to our affiliate and walk sponsors.

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Grateful for Community & Partnership this Thanksgiving

A heartfelt thank you to the Los Gatos Interfaith Clergy Council for choosing NAMI Santa Clara County as the Charity of the Year and for supporting our mission to empower families and individuals living with mental illness to build better lives.

Our executive director, Rovina Nimbalkar, and Programs Manager, Sarah Prabhu, attended the Thanksgiving Service at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish, where leaders from different religions came together to worship in peace and unity and present the collection to NAMI-Santa Clara County. The generosity of your members will help fund support groups for families and individuals, provide free mental health education classes, and sustain advocacy efforts that give hope and healing to those impacted by mental illness. Together, we can build a compassionate community that respects all people.

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Staff Spotlight: Jen Larson

Jen Larson, Events Associate, brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to mental wellness and community building as she joins NAMI-Santa Clara County as the new special events coordinator. With over 23 years of high-tech experience, Jen has been seeking an opportunity to use her skills to make a difference in the lives of others and her community.

Having grown up and attended school in the Bay Area, Jen’s roots run deep in the community she serves. Most recently, Jen has been working with a hiking organization which focuses on mental health and wellness. She took on the role of Managing Partner where she managed the back office, coordinated and promoted events, assisted with social media, and shared her story within the community, working directly with the founder. She took the Peer-to-Peer class the winter of 2025 where she learned more about NAMI and began looking for an opportunity to work with the organization.

Now, Jen merges her expertise in event/project management with her unwavering dedication to helping others as she steps into her new role. Her blend of compassion, creativity, and organizational prowess promises to elevate our events to new heights, fostering connections and driving positive change within our community.

Beyond her professional endeavors, Jen loves hiking in the outdoors. She is well known in the hiking community for her infectious laugh, her progress in hiking has found it not only improves her physical health, but has helped her mental health considerably.

She lives in San Jose with her husband and three rescue dogs. However, her greatest joy comes from spending time with family, her husband, two adult children, daughter-in-law, and her two grandsons.

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Year-End Charitable Giving

There is still time to donate to NAMI and save on your 2025 taxes. While we can’t endorse a specific brokerage, here are some considerations for year-end charitable giving: https://molentax.com/year-end-charitable-giving-tax-deduction-strategies-what-you-need-to-know-before-december-31st/

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End-of-Year Letter 2025

Every year, NAMI-Santa Clara County shares the story of someone within our community in our End-of-Year letter. This year, we are highlighting Tessa Gallo and her family’s experience with NAMI-Santa Clara County and mental health resources. The letter also features a review of NAMI-SCC during 2025.

During November, volunteers gathered to package and mail out the letters to our mailing list. Thank you, volunteers and Gallo Family, for participating in our End-of-Year letter.

Read full story of Tessa here.

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Membership Form

To join online, go to www.namisantaclara.org/Become a Member

To make payment via check:

Please address the check to “NAMI Santa Clara County“ and send it by mail to:

1150 S. Bascom Ave., Suite 24
San Jose, CA 95128

NAMI-SCC welcomes your membership.

Memberships are valid for one year.

Your membership and donations are tax deductible.

Tax ID #94-2430956

Learn how to include NAMI-SCC in your estate plan by going to “Get Involved/Planned Giving” on our website.

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