Denise Stewart volunteering at the NAMI Tennessee Convention with her daughter, Logan.

Denise Stewart is more than a success story, she is a past client of NAMI Tennessee, the local chapter of the National Alliance of Middle Tennessee. She is also a graduate of its programs, teaches others about mental illness through NAMI Tennessee courses, and lives what she learned every day as a wife, mother of two, and Donelson resident.

“I get more from volunteering than I give,” says Denise Stewart, Nashville’s Volunteer of the Month. “It gives me joy to watch how much NAMI’s programs that I teach, train, and present help others.” Her service as a volunteer is more than what she learned from class. It involves her life experience of living with a mental disorder which “just about destroyed” her marriage and relationship with her children.

Denise credits NAMI Tennessee for saving her marriage, her relationship with her children, and keeping her alive. She carries out the nonprofit’s message of hope in her daily life and volunteerism. She encourages others saying “Family members of those in crisis do not have to go through this alone.” For more information about mental health or NAMI Tennessee, visit www.namitn.org.