NAMI Chicago and NAMI Metro Suburban announced that a grant from the State of Illinois will be allocated to expand support for faith communities in areas most impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic. NAMI will use this funding to partner with faith organizations in targeted zip codes to build skills and increase knowledge around supporting the mental wellness of those in their congregations, now through the end of this calendar year. These expanded services are aimed to act as a catalyst to help faith leaders become mental health champions and transform communities, as well as create a pathway to employment for individuals with lived experience of mental health or substance use recovery. NAMI is offering participating faith communities free virtual education sessions to bring new approaches, mental health tools and education to faith leadership or the entire congregation. Engagement and outreach with these leaders is a critical piece of this initiative, so NAMI is also offering partnership and resources leaders can rely on to support members of the congregation and broader community long-term. Interested faith communities can submit a request online at namichicago.org/faith or call 833-626-4244, and a NAMI representative will reach out to coordinate.