Mental Health Critical to our Well Being by Betsy Sitkoff at JFCS of Minneapolis

According to the World Health Organization, one in four families has at least one member with a mental disorder. The magnitude of the distress, along with the burden on families, is staggering.

And because one’s environment affects the incidence of mental illness, the stress of the current devastating economic downturn has impacted people from all walks of life and in all financial situations. Those who are most vulnerable, may find themselves in a situation that is catastrophic.

For example, Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Minneapolis (JFCS) has seen a rise in depression and suicide in the last year. At Jewish Family Service of St. Paul (JFS), the request for services is at an all-time high, with people seeking services for issues that are multidimensional.

Although the extent of the impact is hard to assess and quantify, JFCS and JFS are on the front lines. They continue to have a pulse on our community and are well suited to respond to its diverse mental health needs.

Mental illness, sadly, continues to hide behind a curtain of stigma. Education, prevention efforts and effective, targeted treatment are all key ingredients in alleviating mental health issues.

Because mental, physical and social health are vital and interwoven, it takes a whole community to move well-being forward. As JFCS and JFS continue to respond to the mental health needs through their counseling departments, they also provide case management services that help families cope with day-to-day challenges, along with broad-based education initiatives.

To promote healthy living to Jewish youth and young adults the agencies coordinate Healthy Youth-Healthy Communities. This program works to eliminate the stigma attached to mental illness and addictions and provides education about preventative health measures.

The agencies also present an annual fall conference as part of the Mental Health Education Project (MHEP). This year the ninth annual conference, “Coping in Challenging Times” will be held Sunday, Oct. 25, from 12:30-6 p.m. at Temple Israel. The conference is free and open to the public.

“The first conference was in 2001 and we hoped that it would become an annual event,” said Laurie Kramer, MHEP Conference Coordinator. “But we didn’t realize that we’d get many, many new people each year, along with hundreds of returning participants. It shows that there are always families who need education and community support – perhaps because they are coping with mental health issues for the first time, perhaps because they are finally able to get past the stigma. And it also shows there are others who want to show, by their ongoing participation, that we are a community of people who care.”

To register for the conference or for more information, visit www.jfcsmpls.org or call JFS at 651-698-0767.

We hope that you will join us at the conference as we continue opening both doors and minds to the challenges, as well as the successes, of those living with mental illness.

* * *

Betsy Sitkoff is Program Manager of the Jewish Community Health Awareness Initiative.