This month is World Mental Health Month, and recently, faith leaders from throughout Niagara County gathered for Community Missions’ 14th Annual Interfaith Community Prayer Service for Mental Illness Recovery & Understanding. At Bacon Memorial Presbyterian Church, leaders from Muslim, Christian, Catholic, Native American, Hindu, and Sikh faith traditions, as well as 12-step programs, gathered to share their approaches to mental health care. While their approaches may differ, the faith leaders said they shared a common goal of modeling the destigmatization of mental health care.
Plain Language Description: Earlier this month, faith leaders from Muslim, Christian, Catholic, Native American, Hindu, and Sikh faith traditions, as well as 12-step programs, gathered at a church in Niagara Falls. Each of the faith leaders presented on different ways their communities care for mental health. At the core of the event, all of the communities were showing how other communities can decrease stigma and misunderstanding around mental health.
TRANSCRIPT
Emyle Watkins: Hi, I'm Emyle Watkins and this is the WBFO Disabilities Beat.
This month is World Mental Health Month. And recently, faith leaders from throughout Niagara County gathered for Community Mission's 14th Annual Interfaith Community Prayer Service for mental illness, recovery, and understanding. At Bacon Memorial Presbyterian Church, leaders from Muslim, Christian, Catholic, Native American, Hindu, and Sikh faith traditions, as well as 12-step programs gathered to share their approaches to mental health care. Pastor of Bacon Memorial, Lisa Giacomazza, put it this way.
Lisa Giacomazza: We're hoping that by being more open and looking at how all faiths come together, that they can see that religion isn't an exclusionary process, it's an inclusionary process. A place where you go to be loved and healed, not a place where you go to be judged as a sinner, as they say. We all are doing our best as human beings.
Emyle Watkins: Throughout the night, leaders shared religious texts, stories, and described different practices such as meditation used within their traditions. Anas Mangla, the Director of Outreach programs for the Buffalo chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community shared...
Anas Mangla: Whenever we do an interfaith symposium, we always find out no matter what topic we choose, the fundamental beliefs in all faiths are pretty much similar, is basically there are different metaphors and different languages because of where the faith starts from.
Emyle Watkins: While events like this highlight different approaches to mental health, faith leaders share that it also models how communities can destigmatize mental health.
Anas Mangla: The first thing is that we need to... Any faith leader we talked about today, Muhammad, Prophet Muhammad, or Jesus Christ or anyone else that we discuss a role model, we need to put ourselves in their shoes. They went out of their way to help the people in need, and that's what we need. We're not above anyone else. As I said, we were talking about people who are seeking our help and we need to stop judging, and we need to go and seek those people and tell them without judging that we're there for them. And other leaders, they need to get over the stigma as well and get out and meet people. Simple as that.
Emyle Watkins: The American Psychiatric Association describes stigma as a barrier that reduces the likelihood of someone seeking help. Makita Brooks, pastor of St. John AME Church, encourages other faith leaders to learn more about professional mental health resources.
Makita Brooks: I would say that to really destigmatize it as well as being in a community of African-American church traditions, a lot of times it's something that's silent or it's told just pray about it, and so I would say educate about it and the message is it's okay to get help. It is okay that they're professionals and it's okay to meet people where they are.
Emyle Watkins: And Reverend Mark Brees, who helped organize the event, also encouraged faith leaders to build a network.
Mark Brees: If faith communities can get this information and this education, if we can teach our people to see that, it allows us to really open up and be part of that healing process for people. Along with the other treatment they have, they have a community to support them, right? If we can get rid of that stigma within the church or the mosque or the synagogue, it's going to give people a greater base of support as they're going to be looking to seek treatment and to encourage them to do that. So breaking that stigma within the institution, institutionalized religion opens up possibilities for people.
Emyle Watkins: The National Alliance on Mental Illness also recognizes the unique role faith communities play in mental health, hosting an interfaith network and advisory committee. Locally, Community Missions also has a clergy advisory committee with leaders from different faiths. When asked what he would say to someone in recovery, Brees who works for Community Missions shared this about faith.
Mark Brees: I think that to people who are in treatment now, if they think that having some kind of a spiritual component to their recovery, I'd encourage them to do that if that's their thing, right? It's not for everybody, but if it's something that can speak to them and help them feel more uniquely themselves, to understand that they're valued by a community greater than themselves, or a God greater than themselves or the universe in a way that's greater than themselves, that they actually have value. It can really show people how their human dignity and value is real and present. And I think the faith community has a unique place in that.
Emyle Watkins: You can listen to the Disabilities Beat segment on demand. View a transcript in plain language description for every episode on our website at WBFO.org. I'm Emyle Watkins. Thanks for listening.
