FORM A COMMITTEE TARGETING MENTAL ILLNESS

Faith communities that are committed to supporting persons with mental illnesses may want to form a committee to lead this effort.

Here are some suggestions put together by the Della Landes Foundation about how to set specific goals for such committees. This is a good starting place, but the sky is the limit as to what your faith community can accomplish together with creativity, unconditional love and the hope that comes from faith in Christ.  

 IN PREPARATION

 Look carefully at your congregation's basic theology so not to blame or project the concept that mental illness is a punishment for sin brought on by Divine wrath.
 
 
 Recognize the need for spiritual healing for the individual and the family, without focusing on the "cure" of the illness. Respond openly to those illnesses. Recognize the ongoing stress and sense of loss experienced by family members.
 
 
 Encourage clergy and laity to learn about mental illness so that pastoral counseling does not secularize the guilt, perpetuating the myth of family causation, and is up-to-date on what science is saying about mental illness.

TO RAISE AWARENESS

 In order to introduce a basic understanding of mental illness and encourage awareness, reflection and possible action, promote workshops and forums in your congregation by calling your local Alliance for the Mentally Ill to educate members.
 
 
 Include articles and/or brochures in newsletters and other publications of the congregation, as well as church-wide publications. Click here for suggestions on publishing articles.
 
 
 Ask clergy and laity to preach on mental illness and/or to offer prayers for all persons with mental illnesses, especially those lost to their families by suicide, homelessness or imprisonment. Click here for suggestions on composing sermons.
 
 
 Collaborate in consciousness-raising with other denominations, social service agencies and consumer organizations.
 
 
 Place books, literature and videos on mental illness in your church library and brochures and other literature on mental illness in literature racks.
 
 
 Plan special observances during Mental Illness Awareness Week (always the first week in October) and Mental Health Month in May.
 
 
 Have a day of commemoration for those people who have mental illness.

TO BE IN MINISTRY

 Organize active outreach to persons with mental illness and their families by working with the evangelism committee to visit persons in their homes, hospitals or in supportive living arrangements in the community.
 
 
 Support individuals who are experiencing mental illness, as well as their families, through visitations, prayers or counseling.
 
 
 Develop a resource and referral network so that persons with mental illnesses and their families can be directed to the proper community services or support groups. Click here for suggestions about making referrals.
 
 
 Help combat stigma by objecting to the stereotyping of persons with mental illness. Tactfully correct misunderstandings about mental illness by friends or relatives. Click here for suggestions about appropriate language use.
 
 
 Provide space for support groups to meet, both for people who have experienced mental illness and their family members if they are more comfortable in their own church, rather than an outside support group.
 
 
 Offer such things as transportation to church events, respite care for family members or assistance in every day activities, such as grocery shopping or paying bills.
 
 
 Encourage members to join local mental health advocacy and support groups and to serve on community boards and citizen advisory boards.

REACHING NEW FAMILIES IN NEED

 Match new families experiencing mental illness with "veteran" families in your congregation; especially with veteran families who share similar circumstances.  
 
 
 Support these families with sympathetic listening, prayer, offering respite if you can, and inviting them to Alliance for Mental Illness meeting. Refrain from offering simple solutions.
 
 
 Other families in your congregation may be suffering quietly and may believe they are alone. Use your names and give your telephone numbers in all congregational notices or events sponsored by your congregation. There you are the ministers. Let other families know how to reach you and be available to them.

IN THE COMMUNITY

 Be open and supportive to community-based residential facilities coming into your neighborhoods. Attend meetings or hearings to learn how you, as a neighbor, can be supportive of people moving into the facility.
 
 
 Foster a local ecumenical approach to the needs of the persons with mental illness and their families in your neighborhood.
 
 
 Coordinate congregational efforts and programs with those offered through community services or church/synagogue related agencies.
 
 
 As an employer, be open to offering low-stress sheltered employment to persons who are recovering from mental illness or will continue to be ill and require low-stress employment.
 
 
 Advocate for better community resources and increased funding for research into mental illness.

IN THE CHURCH

 Work with appropriate committees in your diocese or congregation to address the concerns and needs of persons with mental illnesses and their families.
 
 
 Submit resolutions to the area and national church conventions calling for the church involvement in this area of ministry to people with mental illnesses and their families. Click here for suggestions about how to compose an resolution and to view a sample resolution.
 
 
 Consider offering grants and scholarships to financially sponsor special programs and local services for people with mental illnesses and their families.
 
 
 Offer presentations to (or co-sponsor with interfaith groups or the local Alliance for the Mentally Ill) local denominational institutions of clergy training (seminaries, divinity schools, etc.). Ask for inclusion of severe mental illness as part of the official curriculum of these institutions.
 
 
 Encourage congregational work at local soup kitchens, shelters and group homes throughout the year.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW SERVICES/MINISTRIES

 Sponsor socialization drop-in centers using church facilities. Members of the congregation should be encouraged to volunteer in these programs and can be "paired" as companion/helper with individual clients.
 
 
 Work cooperatively with government, social services agencies and denominational offices in establishing housing facilities for people with mental illnesses, as has been done for the aged population over the years.
 
 
 Help establish shelters and programs for persons with mental illnesses. Even more important is congregational involvement in making shelters unnecessary by providing affordable housing and community support programs.
 
 
 Offer a lay training program to equip members of religious groups to serve as companions, volunteers in community programs, advocates, and/or leaders in local ministry efforts.
 
 
 Sponsor a group home/apartment, etc. and have various groups of the congregation working with the group home/apartments administrators around resident's individual and group social and recreational needs.

COLLABORATION WITH MENTAL HEALTH AGENCIES

 Clergy and agency staff could exchange names, addresses and phone numbers for sharing newsletters and alerting each other to events of mutual interest, support group meetings, health issues/concerns, etc. 
 Make available agency brochures, flyers and posters for educational or community events within your church. 
 
 
 Offer church space for agency programs.
 
 
 Agency clients engaged in vocational rehabilitation could work in supervised clerical, janitorial, etc. positions at church..
 
 
 Regular social/friendship programs for clients which include lay volunteers (parties, drop-in-center, dances, social clubs, companionship programs, etc.).
 
 
 Group pastoral counseling sessions at agency.
 
 
 Chaplaincy programs established in agencies.
 
 
 Cooperative volunteer transportation services where transportation resources are limited.
 
 
 Cooperative home placement efforts for clients.
 
 
 Cooperative job finding efforts for clients.
 
 
 Jointly sponsored educational programs in congregational, denominational, interfaith and community groups.
 
 
 Joint task force to advocate for needed resources, etc.

Thanks again to the Della Landes Foundation for compiling such a comprehensive list of ideas. The Della Landes Foundation seeks to support and promote opportunities for the spiritual nurturing of persons with mental retardation, mental illness, and physical disability. You can find out more about the Della Landes Foundation at their website, www.dellalandes.org.