Dozens of religious groups in San Antonio have found an additional calling in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic: To take a more active role in addressing the mental health of their congregations.
“When people are struggling, they often come to their faith leaders first,” said the Rev. Mignon R. Jones-Spann of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. “Church is a place for your mind, body and your spirit … [but] seminary doesn’t always train us on how to deal with the mind.”
Bridges to Care, a program developed more than two years ago by the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), has trained more than 800 interfaith clergy and congregants across San Antonio to be “Wellness Champions” to spread the word about mental health and reduce its stigma.
It’s part of an underlying goal of NAMI to enlist the broader community — outside medical professionals — to reduce mental health crises by helping people find resources long before a crisis occurs, said Doug Beach, executive director of NAMI Greater San Antonio.
“One out of five people will experience a mental health disorder this year,” Beach said inside the chapel at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. “And people typically wait 10-11 years before they first get professional help.”
Beach and Jones-Spann joined several “Wellness Champions” Tuesday and other agency officials on Tuesday to announce a $300,000 grant for Bridges to Care from The de Beaumont Foundation. The grant will help sustain the program for another three years with a focus on historically underserved neighborhoods on the East and West sides of San Antonio.
“What we’re doing really follows a model that works in other countries and cultures around the world, where the community is part of the mental health continuum,” Beach told the San Antonio Report. “The United States — at least in the last 100 years — hasn’t done it that way.”
The U.S. relies on medical professionals to identify and treat people with mental health issues, who also often encounter first responders during a crisis, he said. But the need is greater than that.
“There aren’t enough doctors, there aren’t enough [hospital] beds,” he said. “We have to move upstream.”
NAMI worked closely with several community partners to develop a free, six-module course, which features both virtual and in-person classes, that trains people on how to talk to someone experiencing mental health issues and connect them to resources. Typically three classes are offered per week and participants can complete the modules, totaling 19.5 hours, at their own pace. Once they graduate, they can then act as mental health ambassadors within their congregations, decreasing stigma and encouraging people to seek help.
Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, located on the East Side, had already implemented a “Mental Health Monday” program during the pandemic and was an early adopter of Bridges to Care, Jones-Spann said.
“There is a stigma around mental illness … [and] we want to normalize the conversation,” she said. “If I broke my arm, I wouldn’t be ashamed that I had a cast on — it’s just something I would need to do. So if you’re in the middle of a mental health crisis, it’s nothing to be ashamed of to get assistance. … You can have Jesus and a therapist.”
Jones-Spann hopes more places of worship will start participating in the program.
“When you think about the training that we’re getting, you normally would have to pay for this — and it’s free and it’s [high] quality.”
Allison Martin, an Air Force veteran who teaches at Stone Oak Elementary, is a member of Antioch Missionary and received her certificate Tuesday for completing her courses.
As someone who saw the toll that the pandemic lockdowns took from her students, Martin said she is excited to continue to act as a “bridge” to mental health services at church and at school.
Martin is confident that the program will change and possibly save lives, she said, because helping someone always “goes beyond that person. It’s like throwing seeds in a field.”
As part of the program, University Health will contribute one full-time data specialist to help collect and analyze the outcomes and needs of the community.
“We will be able to figure out what works best and what else we need to do to improve access to care,” said Dr. Anna Taranova, deputy vice president of Research and Health Innovation at University Health.
The program also fits in with the City of San Antonio’s five-year strategic plan for the Metropolitan Health District, said Jessie Higgins, the city’s Chief Mental Health Officer.
“Faith communities are especially able and important in the area of building connection,” Higgins said, noting U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s advisory entitled “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation” that outlined the growing number of people experiencing disconnection.
That isolation can also apply to communities, the advisory states. “Long-standing systemic disinvestment, inequitable zoning laws, underdeveloped transportation systems, and residential segregation can perpetuate chronic poverty and isolate entire neighborhoods or towns from more prosperous local economies,”
People who are living with housing or food insecurity are even more vulnerable, Beach said. “Stress is one of the biggest triggers for people who have mental health issues.”
Addressing those underlying social determinants of health can also improve mental health outcomes, he said.
“It’s difficult to maintain [someone’s] mental health when all things are going well,” Jones-Spann said, and it’s even more difficult when they don’t know where they are going to sleep tonight.
“Now there’s going to be a program right here in the community [where] they can come to get the resources that they need.”
