On Sunday, May 22, the Health and Wellness Team is sponsoring an event to help us learn better how to support one another in the area of mental health. After a light lunch there will be a presentation by Paul Stansbury and Sandy Villano, local leaders of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. About 1 in 4 adults experiences a mental health condition every year. One in 17 lives with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, major depression, or bipolar disorder. About 20% of youth experience a mental disorder. Of course these events affect family, friends, and communities (including church!).
Those experiencing a mental health condition and their families often feel shame and tend to keep their burden a secret. Shedding stigma and learning about treatment and resources is an important part of caring for one another.
Signups will begin on Sunday, May 8. Or you may email Parish Nurse Annette Matsuda at: annettematsuda@gmail.com
“Sing for joy, O heavens and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.”
Isaiah 49:13