Mental Illness Awareness Week 2010

This is the first in a week-long series of posts about Mental
Illness Awareness Week.

Think back to the Yom Kippur evening service at your synagogue just a few weeks ago, one of the rare times when almost the entire congregation is in one room. Based on national statistics, one in four people in that service was struggling with a mental health disorder.

Think about the last time you went to a Sunday school or confirmation class. Based on national statistics, one in 10 of the students in that class was struggling with a serious mental or emotional disorder.

Yet, out of all the people in the U.S. who are dealing with mental health disorders, nearly two-thirds of them do not seek treatment, mostly because of the stigmas associated with mental health issues.

Just as we say “Next year in Jerusalem” at the Yom Kippur concluding
service, so too can we hope that next year, our fellow congregants will
feel more comfortable sharing their mental health struggles with a
Jewish community that is better able to help them and their loved ones
cope with everyday challenges.

That future could very well depend on what happens during and
after this week, Mental Illness Awareness Week.

Starting today and throughout this week, the RAC blog will highlight a different topic related to mental illness, such as the growing prevalence of substance abuse and self-destructing behaviors in young adults and the impact of Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill on the mental health of Gulf Coast residents. As you read about these issues, consider these resources to help you and your congregation observe Mental Illness Awareness Week:

• Consult the following URJ publications to learn about the vast Jewish textual support for caring for mental illness and read sample sermons and liturgy: “Caring for the Soul: R’fuat HaNefesh,” “Resilience of the Soul,” and “L’tapeach Tikvah: To Nourish Hope.”
• The last guide is available through the URJ’s Caring Community specialist, Rabbi Richard Address. Rabbi Address can also help your congregation implement a mental health awareness program and answer any questions.
• Begin planning an interfaith event to raise awareness of mental illness in your community. NAMI provides a toolkit with suggested program ideas and liturgy.
• Find your local National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) chapter and look for a NAMIWalk near you. The walks raise money for local programs that help people struggling with mental illness and their loved ones.
• See how your state’s mental health care system performed on NAMI’s “Grading the States” report card. The United States as a whole received a “D.”
• Give a sermon on mental health issues, or discuss this idea with your rabbi. Simply talking about mental health issues goes a long way to reducing the stigma.