Mental Health


The Ministry of Healing and Wholeness was created to deepen our experiences, efforts and programs at LOC to foster healing and wholeness with a focused importance on addressing loneliness and mental illness.  Half of us will experience a mental illness in our lifetime and one in four of us currently struggles.

Our hope is to reach out to our faith family and Delano community to reduce stigma and provide education, prayer, support and resources.
 

We're starting out the year with a month spent praying together: privately, as a family, and as a congregation. The theme for  January will be "31 Days, 31 Ways 2 Pray 4 Families", from author Catherine P. Downing. She writes from her strong base of Christian faith and a mother whose son has a chronic and serious mental illness. Her introduction to this exercise explains it best:
"Families who walk alongside their loved ones in the labyrinths of mental illnesses are often hesitant to ask for prayer. They might feel others will judge them or their loves one, offer uninformed advice or initiate the gossip chain. But friends who observe or are aware of their journey don't necessarily need specific details to pray effectively."

Please join us in a daily prayer you will find on the Light of Christ Facebook page, in a daily email, or at this link. There will be printed copies of the entire month of prayers in the Narthex for you to take home, as you desire. This theme will also be featured in our Sunday services.
If you or someone you love lives through the ups and downs of mental illness, we pray for healing and peace that comes from nurturing and being rooted in our faith and trust in our God.  
Catherine Downing wrote a blog on sparksofredemptpivegrace.com called Mental Illness, Prayer and Extravagant Grace in which she shares her four personal prayer principles. We will highlight one each week of the month.  
John 17:33: (Jesus) "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."  Amen!

Currently our support groups are on hold until we are able to gather in person. Please reach out to Sue Fink at billandsue2931@gmail.com for a listening ear, help finding resources, or prayer.

 

24 hour Suicide Hotline -  call 988
There’s also an option to text on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website
If urgent, call 911.

 

Crisis Text Line  Text “MHFA” to 741741  www.crisistextline.org/ 
A 24/7 connection to trained volunteers who will provide confidential advice, support and referral. 

 

Minnesota Warmline- Mental Health Minnesota    651-288-0400     
Provides a peer-to-peer approach to mental health recovery, support and wellness. Connect with people who are here to listen 7 days a week, call 9am to 9pm or text “Support” to 85511.     Online chat is available on their website: mentalhealthmn.org

 

National Alliance on Mental Illness Minnesota  NAMIMN.org   651-645-2948
Education, support groups, classes, further resources. You can make a donation to NAMI at this link: https://namimn.org/get-involved/donate_now/.
 

Mental Health Minnesota  mentalhealthmn.org
Mental Health Screenings, Peer Support, Resources and Referrals, Education and Advocacy


Seize the Awkward    seizetheawkward.org

A website for teens and young adults who are concerned about the mental health of a friend. How to start a conversation and get help.

 

Veterans Crisis Line  Call 988 and Press 1 or text to 838255.   www.veteranscrisisline.net
Free, confidential support for Veterans in crisis and their families and friends.  

 

VA Health Centers:
St. Cloud VA Medical Center: 320-252-1670; https://www.va.gov/st-cloud-health-care/
Minneapolis VA Medical Center: 612-467-4010; https://www.va.gov/minneapolis-healthcare

The St. Cloud and Minneapolis VA Health Care Systems operate a comprehensive behavioral health program. They are regional centers of excellence for Veteran-focused inpatient and outpatient mental health care. Ask a care coordinator about treatment options suited to your unique needs.

 

County Human Services
Counties offer many services and information online or by phone.
Wright County      763-682-7400    (www.co.wright.mn.us)
Hennepin County  612-596-9438   (www.hennepin.us)
Carver County       952-442-4437   (www.co.carver.mn.us

 
Crisis Nursery  
www.lssmn.org
The Wright County Area Crisis Nursery provides short-term child care to families during medical emergencies, child care challenges or other difficult situations.

The 24-hour Crisis Nursery phone line is 320-406-8606.
Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery: 763-591-0100.


Substance Use Disorder
StartYourRecovery.org is an important resource for individuals who may be struggling with substance use disorder. Start Your Recovery was developed by bringing together experts in substance misuse treatment from leading nonprofit, academic, and government institutions. Through this resource, individuals can hear stories from people with similar experiences, discover the answers they need for recognizing and dealing with substance misuse, and locate support. 

Al-Anon is a support group for loved ones who have been affected by another person's drinking or substance abuse.   There are groups that meet locally, including at Light of Christ. 

AA is a fellowship of people who come together to solve their drinking problem. There are groups that meet locally, including at Light of Christ.

A comprehensive directory of local substance use disorder treatment and support resources can be found at the link below. This directory combines data from multiple government and non-profit directories in a single, easy-to-navigate interface.  https://startyourrecovery.org/treatment/rehab-centers/minnesota

Department of Health and Human Services - Youth Mental Health
https://www.hhs.gov/

This site provides a number of resources about youth mental health including actionable steps we can take to support our Youth's mental health. 

Church Library
Light of Christ’s  library is open during office hours (currently Mon-Thurs 7:30am-4pm and Fri 7:30am-12pm). See the “Resources for mental health” section. Click here for the list of available books.  Check out a book by filling out the card with your name and number or email and leave it in the box.

Help yourself to the Mental Health Resources on the display cabinet in the Narthex.  

 

 

 

Caring Corner articles providing education on mental health can be found on our Blog.   Using the search feature on that page, you can find all of our articles by searching on 'Mental Health', or if you have a specific topic of interest you can search on that as well (ex.  'anxiety' or 'substance abuse').  Links to some of the blogs are also listed below. 

We will be adding to these regularly, so check back for new articles.   If you have any suggestions or requests for specific subjects, contact Sue Fink - billandsue2931@gmail.com

The "Caring Corner" is a weekly article in the church's newsletter, The Beacon. It is written by members of the Healing and Wholeness Committee.   We hope to provide timely words of encouragement, prayer, education and resources to help navigate the challenge of mental illness.

You can view the weekly newsletters from our Newsletter/ Beacon page.

Due to the pandemic, more seniors are increasingly willing to seek mental health care, but recent research shows that more than 60% do not know for certain that Medicare provides mental health care coverage. 
 
There is help for senior citizens who are suffering from mental health issues, to learn about the benefits and coverage that are readily available to them. Medicare can be very confusing, making it extremely challenging to know what is covered vs. what is not.
 
Medicare Plans offers a comprehensive guide, which aims to help Medicare recipients identify the different types of outpatient and inpatient services that are covered, eligibility, and most importantly how to get help paying for services and medications.
 
You can view the guide here: https://www.medicareplans.com/mental-health-care-outpatient-for-medicare/