Initiatives and Goals of Mental Health addition to the Health Ministry
The OLC Health Ministry Mental Health addition will Provide Mental Health resources to parishioners and assist with guidance on how to access needed resources in the Mecklenburg county and surrounding areas. The goal is to lessen the stigma of mental health and the barriers around accessing care to church parishioners.
The Mental Health subcommittee will organize psychoeducation groups to provide knowledge on common mental health issues such as: substance abuse issues including anxiety/stress, depression, family issues and teens & tweens issues such as self-esteem and conflict resolution. Our intent will be to include handouts and or links within the church website and posted on bulletin boards to resources including self-assessment scales for anxiety, depression, stress, trauma/PTSD and fact guides about common mental health diagnoses.
The Mental Health subcommittee also finds that lack of access or knowledge to basic common needs can contribute and exacerbate mental health issues. The Mental Health subcommittee would like to compile a community resource guide to address common needs such as access to food, emergency shelters, clothing and a variety of services as well as how to connect to Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte. The resource guide and how to connect to Catholic Charities in the area will also be posted on the bulletin board and linked on the church website.
Click
here to download OLC Health Ministry Nurses and Mental Health Consultant contact information.