The Faith in Mental Health certificate program has gotten off to a strong start, with more than 100 people representing about 30 churches taking part in the initial program in June. Organizers are expanding this pilot phase in Vance and Granville counties and welcome others to join at upcoming meetings, one in Vance and one in Granville.
The Vance County meeting will be held Monday, Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Henderson. The Granville County meeting will be held Monday, Sept. 29 at 6 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Butner.
Local pastor Frank Sossamon, in partnership with Granville Vance Public Health, Vaya Health and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Mental Health, introduced the idea to his colleagues in the N.C. House of Representatives.
Sossamon and GVPH’s Karl Johnson, PhD, talked about how the Faith in Mental Health program works to help church communities be a bridge to services and to resources for members of the congregations and for the larger community.
“It’s a mechanism for churches to become more knowledgeable about resources,” Sossamon said on Thursday’s TownTalk. Services are available, he said, but if you don’t know how to access those services, they’re of no help to someone struggling with mental health issues.
“We have already gotten some positive response back,” Sossamon said of the first training session held in June.
They decided to add more sessions to allow even more churches to get involved. “Every church can be involved and should be involved,” he added.
Johnson is on the faculty of UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, but he said he spends a good bit of time as part of the GVPH staff. He said he helps connects both work sites – things happening at the university and things happening on the ground in Vance and Granville counties.
Those connections include financial resources and networks of professionals who can support the kind of work the Faith in Mental Health program does.
“It’s exciting to work with Pastor frank Sossamon,” Johnson said, as well as Vaya and the professionals at the state level to be able to tailor programs to meet the diverse needs of churches.
“It’s not a one-size-fits-all program,” he said. Program organizers work with churches to help them identify the topics that best suit their needs, whether it’s addiction, depression, anxiety, the mental health of the elderly, among others.
This set up “gives churches a lot of agency in pursuing the kinds of activities that they think will better equip their congregations and community,” Johnson said.
The program is free and open to all local religious leaders and church members of any denomination in Vance and Granville counties. Designed to help faith communities support individuals facing mental health and substance use challenges—through both practical resources and a faith based perspective – the Faith in Mental Health program is one way to help churches and their members to become more knowledgeable about available resources and agencies.
“Churches have long been a source of strength and support in our communities,” Sossamon said in a press release from GVPH announcing the extra meetings. “With the right tools and knowledge, faith communities can play a powerful role in walking alongside individuals in their recovery journeys—spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.”
Participants will learn about local providers of mental health and substance use treatment; understand the science behind conditions like depression, anxiety, trauma, addiction, and suicidality; explore available treatment options; and discover how faith and spirituality can provide unique forms of support for those in need.
If a church were to develop a mental health ministry that highlights each month a different theme related to mental health, Sossamon said it would go a long way to educated and inform the congregation.
But more than that, just talking openly about mental health and the challenges associated with it, are helpful. “Talk about it and remove the stigma,” Sossamon said. “That in itself is healing.”
For more information or to get involved, contact Sossamon at pastorfrank1954@gmail.com
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