"Mental Health awareness raised in campaign"

The Bernardsville News posted my letter to the editor Thursday.  I’ve made progress this week.

I met today with Pam Mastro, the Somerset County Mental Health Administrator.  Pam has an open door policy and will take phone calls from anyone with a question or need about mental health.  She is eager to help roll out a education and awareness program in our town.  Her email is mastro@co.somerset.nj.us.

Earlier this week I met with Mary Lynn Bradshaw and Barbara Barklay.  They are coordinators for the Stephens Ministers program at the Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church.  The program is non-denominational, and is open to anyone in the community.  The Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church has this program as well.  A quote from their brochure:

Our congregation’s Stephen Ministry equips lay people to provide confidential, one-to-one, Christian care to individuals in our congregation and community who are experiencing difficulty in their lives.

One of the things I am focused on is how does someone make that first phone call for help.  Because of the many obstacles to seeking care, I think the Stephen Ministers are a good model of lay people, in the community, that are available and can help refer the person to the right place for care.  Each volunteer has 50 hours of training.  The have a list of doctors and therapists within the community, who are all credentialed, and have been endorsed by the local program.

I see the benefit of a group like this, and am wondering if a more secular version of this could also be created for people perhaps not comfortable with a Christian oriented ministry.

More discussion will be coming.