Advocacy Group Offers West and South Side Churches Last Month of Free Mental Health Classes
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CHICAGO - Throughout the month of December The National Alliance on Mental Illness Chicago (NAMI Chicago) and The National Alliance on Mental Illness Metro Suburban (NAMI Metro Suburban) will host the last of their free virtual mental health courses for Black and Brown faith communities on Chicago’s South and West Side.
NAMI Chicago and NAMI Metro Suburban are both Illinois affiliates of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a United States mental health advocacy group and grassroot organization. Both offices teamed up to extend their services to various faith communities after the Illinois Department of Health awarded the groups with a $500,000 grant in November 2020.
Although, NAMI Chicago and NAMI Metro Suburban have worked with different faith communities in the past, the state grant has financially allowed NAMI Chicago and NAMI Metro Suburban to increase and focus their efforts toward Chicago’s South and West Side communities— areas that have been disportionately and heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ericka Bailey, a CRS or certified recovery support specialist and a peer counselor at NAMI Metro Suburban said, “It's communities of color that are being affected, and the mortality rate is higher amongst those who become sick with COVID. And so we really want to concentrate our efforts with both communities, because we know that lives are at stake.”
Strategically, the affiliates have decided to use churches or faith communities as a point of contact. Bailey said, “We are trying to get into both communities, by the way of the church, because we know that a lot of people who are dealing with difficulties often turn to the church for support.”
After noticing that the pandemic has led to an increase in depression amongst individuals, the faith initiative uses their training, Bridges of Hope, to educate pastors and congregations on resources and signs related to mental health. “We want to better equip faith based communities, to again, be able to identify when a person is in crisis, and also to equip them with the base knowledge and then some resources so that they can better meet that congregant's needs,” Bailey explained.
Making the class more personable, the virtual 30-minute PowerPoint presentation is led by a NAMI peer counselor who lives with mental illness. The peer counselor uses their own experience to connect with those that they teach.
Bailey, who lives with depression and anxiety, is one of the teachers for the Bridges of Hope training. She expressed, “It really shows that the person is not alone and that there is hope and that again, recovery is possible, and so it’s been really really meaningful to me and my own recovery.”
During the Bridges of Hope training, The NAMI Chicago and NAMI Metro Suburban peer counselors provide an overview of the mental health symptoms and diagnosis related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The trainers also lead a discussion on stress management, wellness tools, and tenets of support. Additionally classes also discuss how to take personal responsibility, overcome their anxieties, and how spirituality can aid in recovering. Bailey explained, “You get the facts and the PowerPoint portion of the presentation. And then that person who has that lived experience has been able to share these are the tools that I use in order to overcome my symptoms related to the pandemic related to just everyday life related to unemployment, whatever situation.”
Any faith community or individual, especially those located on the South and West Side, interested in the Bridges of Hope training and other resources can contact at namichicago.org/faith or call 833-626-4244.
Although Illinois only contracted the virtual classes to last until December 31, NAMI Chicago and NAMI Metro Suburban have been doing other work, partnering with hospitals, different organizations and even passing out flyers in hopes to spread more awareness. The NAMI team added, "Both NAMI Chicago and NAMI Metro have offered Bridges of Hope educational presentations for many years. NAMI Chicago went virtual with all of our educational presentations by April-May of 2020."
The affiliates also offer free services such as a help hotline, The living room services— where people can meet individually with peer counselors. Bailey ended, “We want the person to know that insurance is not an issue, the support and encouragement and guidance will be there. And again, everything's free,”
For more information on other services checkout https://www.namichicago.org/groups-and-classes