Why was NAMI Washington shut down? Details still sparse

Months after the Washington state chapter of a major mental health support and advocacy group abruptly shut down, details of what led to the closure and what happens next are still murky.

Smaller affiliate chapters for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, based in local cities or metro areas throughout Washington, will continue providing services for people with mental illnesses and their families. NAMI Seattle has taken over some statewide coordination and responsibilities.

But NAMI’s national organization has remained tight-lipped as to why it dissolved Washington’s statewide chapter, which had taken the lead on lobbying efforts at the state Capitol and organized events like an annual conference. It was the first time NAMI had shut down a state chapter.

In interviews with The Seattle Times, people who worked at various levels of the organization indicated there were tensions between the state chapter and some local chapters. A February email announcing the organization’s closure specifically referenced a “violation of inclusion and belonging” in a training coordinated by NAMI Washington in 2024.

Lauren Simonds, NAMI Washington’s executive director at the time, told The Times the issue centered on a peer support group training for people experiencing mental illness in early February 2024. A participant was asked to leave because the trainers were having trouble understanding their spoken English, she said, and NAMI Washington immediately offered to find another training in the participant’s language.

At the heart of the issue, Simonds said, was a national NAMI policy that prohibits participants from using a spoken-language interpreter during trainings. The policy had caused issues with trainings before, she said, and “really tied our hands.”

The state organization hired Archbright, an outside consultant, to investigate what happened. Simonds said Archbright found that NAMI WA had not violated laws or policies related to protected classes, but the national policy created training barriers for people who weren’t native English speakers.

NAMI national spokesperson Anna Mikulak confirmed this policy was in place in February 2024 and said it has not changed, “ensuring program quality, consistency, and accessibility.”

After the outside investigation had already started, a group of six local affiliate NAMI chapters sent a letter to the NAMI Washington board that included grievances, Simonds said.

The affiliates met with the board’s executive committee, and eventually with the national organization, but wouldn’t meet with the state organization’s leaders, Simonds said.

The email announcing the organization’s closure said that many affiliates had long-standing concerns that had been “met with little or no response.” Simonds said she disagrees with this characterization.

“More than once, everything that they wrote in that letter was responded to,” she said. “Not only did we respond to grievances, we spent money that was not in our budget to do a legal investigation.”

In November 2024, after months of back-and-forth with local affiliates and the national organization, Simonds resigned.

“The way that the three-tiered organization was operating was outside of the way it had operated, not only for the decade I’ve been there, but the decades before then,” Simonds said. “I felt that if I stayed, it wouldn’t be healthy for the organization.”

It’s not clear whether the training incident alone, or other concerns, led to the state chapter’s closure.

Huynh Chhor, the current executive director of NAMI Seattle who was not with the organization when grievances were filed, said her understanding was that grievances included mismanagement, governance and lack of support for affiliates.

It’s not clear when these grievances were filed. Simonds said she was not aware of grievances related to these topics.

The national organization did not answer questions about the content of the grievances and the reasons for the closure, pointing back to an earlier statement stating that decisions to revoke a charter “follow a careful and deliberate review process and are made only when necessary.”

Alice Nichols, the executive director of NAMI Washington at the time of the closure, did not respond to emails or calls from The Times.

Vanessa Osage, former director of philanthropy of NAMI Washington who sent out an email announcing the organization’s closure along with Nichols, did not respond to specific questions about the closure and plans for rebuilding. In an emailed statement, she highlighted the resilience and dedication of local affiliates who have kept programs and services going.

“An ethic of justice and cooperation has wanted to come forth in delivering NAMI services in Washington,” Osage wrote. “Now, this is the moment when those doing the vital, life-saving work draw closer to one another and fulfill the promise of making it happen.”

The national organization plans to rebuild NAMI Washington and is hoping to establish a “sustainable, community-informed statewide structure” within the next 6 to 12 months, Mikulak wrote.

“NAMI National is taking a phased approach to rebuilding the state organization - currently focused on listening and assessment, followed by planning and implementation,” Mikulak wrote.

In the wake of the state organization’s closure, NAMI Seattle has taken on some of its responsibilities. It now administers several grant contracts that the state organization had held and holds the license for NAMIWalks, a large fundraising event at the end of May.

There are still plans for state legislative advocacy in the future, led by the Thurston-Mason chapter and shared among other affiliates, Chhor said.

NAMI Seattle has also begun coordinating statewide trainings, ensuring that local affiliates have trained facilitators who can host a range of community groups.

“We’re taking the opportunity to reimagine the systems and really think about what we can do to improve them,” Chhor said. “How can we center equity? How can we engage practices that reflect the true needs of the community and our affiliate network?”

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published May 9, 2026 at 6:39 AM.