Just more than two years ago, the St. Tammany chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness officially assumed duties of the NAMI group in New Orleans. Merging the groups was a bold move, as NAMI-St. Tammany’s resources already were spread thin trying to help people in crisis across several northshore parishes.
But the thought of assuming directorship of the new NAMI-Southeast Louisiana group didn’t phase Nick Richard, who for nearly 20 years has been the face of NAMI and its myriad involvement throughout St. Tammany Parish. In fact, Richard embraced the chance to grow, even if it meant the new NAMI-SELA outfit would take in five new parishes and quadruple the number of citizens falling under one umbrella of mental health services.
Richard said there have been challenges in the 26 months since the merger, but he doesn’t see that as a bad thing. After all, the Covington native has regularly overcome obstacles throughout his professional career…