As the National Alliance for Eating Disorders marks its silver anniversary, it’s worth pausing to look back through the lens of impact, growth, and stories told in numbers.
When The Alliance was founded in October 2000, it was born out of a promise to pay-it-forward after more than a decade of struggling. Since then, the National Alliance for Eating Disorders (formerly The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness) has evolved from that promise to a national lifeline, offering referrals, support groups, education, and advocacy for anyone affected by eating disorders.
The Helpline: A Human Voice Behind the Call
One of the foundational offerings of The Alliance is the helpline, staffed by licensed therapists who specialize in eating disorders. From the beginning, that was a breakthrough in initiating care: callers receive care from mental health professionals who not only listen, but help map a path forward.
Since 2018 alone, the helpline has provided more than 21,000 direct referrals to treatment. These aren’t generic suggestions. They’re tailored, thoughtful connections to different treatment options, informed by years of clinical experience and a deep understanding of the treatment landscape.
Calls come from individuals with eating disorders, family members, school counselors, and even hospital case managers. The Alliance’s team helps guide each one with patience and expertise. And while the helpline isn’t a 24/7 crisis line, every message and call is returned within 24 hours by someone trained, qualified, and ready to help.
findEDhelp: Mapping the Treatment Landscape
A recurring barrier in eating disorder care is the difficulty of finding the right care: one that matches diagnosis, location, insurance, and therapeutic philosophy. To help address that, The Alliance launched findEDhelp: the nation’s most inclusive and comprehensive directory of eating disorder treatment centers and practitioners. Since its launch in 2017, findEDhelp, alongside The Alliance’s therapist-staffed helpline, have provided over 1.2 million personalized referrals.
The findEDhelp website and apps are free to use and accessible 24/7. In an effort to further remove barriers to care, there is not a charge for providers/programs to be listed in the database.
Support Groups: Holding Space, Week after Week
If the helpline is a first step, the weekly support groups are the ongoing community. These therapist-led groups are free of charge, rooted in connection, and can be an essential part of the recovery journey for those experiencing eating disorders and their loved ones.
The numbers paint a clear picture: over 115,000 attendees across 6,000+ hours of group time have received support since 2018. Each participant is a person with a story; someone that discovers there is a life beyond eating disorders, someone hearing “me too” for the first time, someone starting to believe they are not alone.
Outreach and Education: Power in Numbers
Awareness of, and early intervention for, eating disorders are key, and through our community education and outreach, we can dispel myths, decrease barriers to care, and address concerns early. Between nationwide presentations, school programs, community education, workplace trainings, and awareness campaigns, The Alliance has empowered over 500,000 people through outreach and educational programming.
That’s half a million moments of myth-busting, stigma-challenging, life-affirming conversation. Events like Southern Smash turn heads and start dialogue, while educational programs allow schools, colleges, and organizations to access expert-led presentations on eating disorders.
Education is often the first step toward early intervention and The Alliance has made that first step available across the country.
Therapy Hours: Making Mental Health Tangible
From mid-2017–2024, The Alliance provided over 21,000 hours of specialized, affordable, outpatient treatment for under/uninsured individuals who, otherwise, would not have been able to access care.
In addition to providing life-saving therapeutic care, The Alliance’s Psychological Services Program provided a teaching opportunity for Post-Doctoral Fellows and early-career therapists to become specialized in the treatment of eating disorders.
A Growing Team, Powered by Passion
In the beginning, The Alliance was one person: founder Johanna Kandel, unpaid and unshakably determined. Today, it’s a thriving non-profit backed by an entire team:
- 16 staff members, including licensed clinicians, outreach coordinators, and operations leaders
- 12 Board members guiding strategic vision
- More than 80 support group facilitators leading sessions across the country
- Hundreds of volunteers, helping make events, groups, and outreach possible
This growth is not only structural but also philosophical. The Alliance continues to operate with heart, lived experience, and clinical excellence at its core. But it now has the infrastructure to support long-term, sustainable impact.
Looking Ahead: The Next 25
There’s no doubt: The Alliance has changed the landscape of eating disorder awareness and care. But challenges remain. Equity, access, stigma, insurance limitations, and digital harms continue to affect countless lives.
That’s why the next 25 years matter even more.
With a foundation of clinical expertise and lived experience, The Alliance promises to keep doing everything they can to help expand access to care, smash the stigma, support individuals and loved ones, educate professionals, and build communities where no one has to struggle alone.
The numbers tell a powerful story, but so much more lies behind those statistics. Behind every call answered and every support group hour is a person finding a path forward. The Alliance turns 25 not just with gratitude, but with momentum.
Seek Help
If you or a loved one is experiencing symptoms of an eating disorder, you are not alone. Recovery is possible. Help is available with the National Alliance for Eating Disorders.