Greencastle Presbyterian Church has always wanted to make an impact locally when it came to mental health, according to Pastor Wes Kendall.
Now, it has a golden opportunity, as the church, 653 S. County Road 100 East, Greencastle, has opened a Community Resource Room through a partnership between the church and Lifeline Youth & Family Services.
"Back in 2002, we became more aware of the growing mental health crisis in our country and even here locally. We had considered applying for a mental health grant back then. We continued to hear of the need for local mental health providers to have access to a safe, comfortable space to meet with clients. That included a few members in our church who serve our wider community as CASA volunteers or work with some of our local mental health providers. They all told us the same thing. Sometimes finding a space to meet with students and their families is one of their biggest challenges," Kendall told The Putnam County Post.
Last year, Greencastle Presbyterian Church received a grant from its denomination to begin renovating the room last year and the team felt it would bless someone, Kendall said.
"I mentioned our hopes for this room to a member of our church who works for Lifeline. She told me she had literally just been on a call with her supervisors about their lack of office and client space in our county. From there, it just became sort of a God-thing. It's a blessing to know how much of a blessing it will be to Lifeline Youth & Family Services," Kendall said.
On March 1, there was a ribbon cutting for the room, and Kendall said the room has been used four of five working days.
"That's exactly what we hope it will be used for. We want community groups - especially life skills specialists, therapists, and other community mental health staff - to use it for client visits and even staff training. Family Support Services and other groups have also reached out about using the space for training or building greater community awareness about issues facing our community," Kendall said.
Kendall said it is "so nice" to be able to offer the community room.
"For twenty-five years that space served our community through Round Barn Daycare. Losing that ministry was a real loss for our community and for us, and my hope was always that we'd find a way to offer another type of ministry. It's such a gift to see it being used again by others, especially for families and teens facing challenges," Kendall admitted.
He said it it is also "encouraging" to know how much the Lifeline staff appreciates the space.
I"t's also encouraging to know how much the Lifeline staff appreciates the space. I can already tell it's taking at least one burden off their shoulders. I know in talking with local mental health counselors, it's such a relief to know they'll have a space that is quiet, confidential and warm. We've told them to use it even when they just need to take a break too," Kenall said.
As for whether or not this could help spur more partnerships across the county between churches and organizations/businesses to address mental health, Kendall said it is already happening.
"There's a lot of overlap between mental health and some of the other challenges facing our community, especially with recovery groups, overcoming addiction, and even addressing housing insecurity. Gobin is doing some great work through their Transformers program to address many of these things. I know St. Andrew's is about to open a similar space to ours, and Lifebuilder has done a great job in supporting Recovery Raw. When it comes to mental health specifically, I just think the need is so large that it will take churches and organizations partnering together. The Center for Congregations out of Indianapolis has made mental health one of their primary target areas right now. They typically receive about twenty grant applications state-wide when they focus on an issue. For mental health, they received around 150 grant applications. It's that big of a challenge right now. So, part of our responsibility is just to overcome the stigmas and silence surrounding mental health. But, I also think access is a huge challenge for many. When we began working on this idea, we were hearing it can take some individuals or families up to four or five months to even get access to a therapist or mental health counselor, if they're lucky. So, I sure hope this is just the first step for our church and other churches to increase access to mental health in our community," Kendall said.
