Court Advocacy
About Our Court Advocacy
Assisted Outpatient Treatment
NAMI Richland County serves on the advisory team for the Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) program, which provides court-ordered mental health treatment in the community for individuals with severe mental illness who struggle to stay engaged in care. AOT aims to promote stability, reduce hospitalizations and incarcerations, and support recovery through structured treatment and supervision. As part of the advisory team, NAMI offers the perspective of individuals and families with lived experience, advocates for person-centered, recovery-oriented approaches, and helps ensure participants are treated with dignity and connected to vital resources.
Behavioral Health Court Advocacy
NAMI Richland County partners with Mansfield Municipal Court’s Behavioral Health Court to provide advocacy and support for individuals navigating mental health challenges within the justice system. Someone from our team attends court sessions twice a month to offer mental health resources, peer support, and education to participants, families, and anyone in attendance.
By promoting understanding, reducing stigma, and connecting individuals to community services, we help support recovery and encourage positive outcomes both in court and in daily life.
About
Bradley's AOT Story
"My name is Bradley N. Tarr.
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An Assisted Outpatient Treatment Court Order saved my life.
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From 2004-2019, from 11-26 years old, I was cycled in and out of hospital Psych Wards, and had many negative run-ins with Police and with State Highway Patrol.
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In 2019, AOT changed my entire life, in a holistic way, for the better.
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It gave me a Case Manager, Psychiatrist, Talk Therapy Counselor, Attorney/Guardian Ad Litem, and an AOT Judge that gave me the Help, Treatment, Debt Forgiveness, and Medicine that I desperately needed.
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Now, I am a public Advocate for AOT, and other forms of Court-Ordered Mental Health Treatment, and for Organizations like NAMI, Catalyst, and Treatment Advocacy Center, that help to spread awareness of it and funding for it.
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I even have the privilege of educating the Police and the Highway Patrol that my illness used to pit me against.
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I now have a safety net. I want others to have it as well."
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- Bradley Tarr
