ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
Theme: The Urgency of Now – Ending Isolation by Creating Responsive Community Ecosystems
The National Federation of Families (NFF) is the nationwide advocacy organization with families as its sole focus, playing an important role in helping parents, caregivers, and families and their loved ones whose lives are impacted by mental health and/or substance use disorders.
2026 has opened with unprecedented challenges for families whose loved ones experience mental health and/or substance use challenges. Across the country, we are witnessing a troubling resurgence of calls to return to mass institutionalization. This renewed push toward institutional care, driven by workforce shortages and gaps in effective treatment, threatens to reverse decades of progress. NFF believes the most powerful antidote to this trend is an informed, mobilized, and well‑supported network of families, community leaders, policymakers, and frontline professionals.
To this end, NFF is hosting its 37th Annual Conference: The Urgency of Now – Ending Isolation by Creating Effective Community Ecosystems on October 13-15th at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista in Florida. This gathering will bring together families, youth, advocates, researchers, and national leaders to confront the challenges ahead and strengthen the movement for community‑based care.
Our annual conference features many great workshops and speakers, joining hundreds of mental health and substance use advocates, family members, and professional from across the nation as we work to educate and advocate for families and their loved ones.
Our conference offers families and the workforce who support them to:
• Improve policy and enhance practices for families and their loved ones who have or are at risk of experiencing mental health and/or substance use disorders
• Acquire skills and strategies that will improve outcomes for families
• Gain knowledge of best practices and latest research in mental health, substance use and related fields as it pertains to families
• Enrich understanding of different perspectives and common goals in support of all families
Focus Areas for the 2026 Conference
Person-Centered Support: Solutions Designed with a Profound Respect for the Journey
Proposals will focus on what is true person-centered support and why is addressing the self-identified supports of each individual the most effective path to building family and community resilience that benefits everyone? Let’s re-center our work on the mantra “nothing about us without us”.
Lived and Living Experience: The "Secret Sauce" as we Expand the Workforce Tent
Proposals will explore the “secret sauce" as we expand our workforce tent using data and stories of impact. We’re on the precipice of an exciting new frontier as we add a variety of peer support to our workforce, including sibling to sibling and spousal to name a few. Sessions should answer the questions: “What is authentic peer support?”, “How/why does it work”, and “What makes it a critical and effective practice?” What is the magic of leveraging shared lived experience to support families whose loved ones are impacted by mental health and/or substance use?
Blending Advocacy and Support: The Power of Peer and Family-Run Organizations as Agents of Change
Proposals will capture the power of peer and family-run organizations as agents of change. How these organizations balance their dual roles as advocates and providers? Proposals should describe what makes these organizations uniquely qualified to understand the needs of families and communities and demonstrate their expertise in developing and delivering supports and services that truly answer their call.
Amplifying Innovation: New Frontiers in Family Support
In an age of great change and new challenges, the urgency and need for family support to evolve is clear. Proposals will broach new topics that impact families and focus on burgeoning programs, strategies, trends and approaches that can benefit attendees in being responsive to what families need today.