Supporting Mental Health Workshops

Oct 4, 2021 | UA News

Mental health has been a long-standing challenge in our local community. According to the CDC, problems with mental health are very common, with an estimated 50% of all Americans diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder at some point in their lifetime. Approximately half of people struggling with their mental health do not seek help, and this number is even higher among people of color.

For many, COVID-19 resulted in job loss, sickness or death of a loved one, disrupted routines, financial challenges, and loneliness which in combination had a negative impact on people’s mental health. More specifically, research shows that younger adults, racial/ethnic minorities, essential workers, and unpaid adult caregivers reported experiencing worse mental health outcomes, increased substance use, and elevated suicidal ideation since the start of COVID-19.

In response to this growing need in our community, International Gospel Fellowship will be offering a series of mental health workshops for their church and the Greater Hartford community. Urban Alliance is able to support these workshops with consultation, grant support, printed mental health resources and donated supplies. These workshops provide a valuable resource that will offer information, skills and connections to community programming that can help people who are struggling.

“We were recently awarded a grant from Urban Alliance to support our series of workshops addressing mental health needs. These workshops will be taking place the 2nd Saturday morning of each month. We were grateful to receive support from Urban Alliance for this important workshop series.”

– Pastor Esther Mwangi  

Stay tuned for more information about dates and topics!


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The staff at Urban Alliance are familiar with Pastor Frank because he is a regular attendee to many of the trainings Urban Alliance provides on subjects like domestic violence, addressing childhood trauma, and better counseling techniques. โ€œThatโ€™s been so valuable to me to be able to bring that back, not only in my counseling but also in my teaching and preaching ministries, โ€œ shared Termine.

Pastor Frank was also one of the original members of the Micah group, a group of pastors that meets at Urban Alliance to discuss and strategize about challenging issues that face the church today. One of those earlier discussions on justice, incarceration, and returning citizens was particularly memorable. โ€œWe all lamented the fact that these men and women were coming out of prison into our churches and just kind of being thrown there,โ€ said Termine, โ€œWe could do better than this.โ€ That discussion planted the seeds that eventually led to the creation of Second Chance Churches – an opportunity for churches to provide support and mentoring to returning citizens that continues today.

When we asked Pastor Frank what he would say to another church that was unaware of Urban Alliance, he said, โ€œIf you are looking to get out in the community and make a difference in the community, Urban Alliance is a super way to do it. Weโ€™re a small church โ€ฆ we canโ€™t do everything. Urban Alliance is a pathway to get our people involved in ministries that are already doing it, doing it well, and just need extra volunteers.โ€

Pastor Frank Termineโ€™s story embodies many things we are trying to accomplish at Urban Alliance: supporting organizations in the communities they serve with training, resources, and opportunities to make a difference. Pastors and non-profit leaders face a wide range of challenges and, therefore, need a wide range of help and resources. Your support can help turn stories of struggle into stories like you find at Calvary Church.

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