Improving Access to Family Support Organizations: A Member Survey of the AMI-Quebec Alliance for the Mentally Ill

Family support organizations such as the Quebec Alliance for the Mentally Ill (AMI-Quebec) provide services for mentally ill individuals and their families. Despite possible benefits, there is often a lengthy period between identification of mental illness and involvement of family members with family support organizations. A survey of AMI-Quebec members was undertaken to assess this delay. Of the 186 respondents, 47 percent experienced a delay of more than two years. Only 10 percent were referred to the organization by psychiatrists. The majority would have liked to have become involved with AMI-Quebec earlier. Some approved of more proactive methods of recruitment by AMI-Quebec, such as a telephone call after an initial hospitalization.