Developing Interfaith Mental Health Coalitions to Enhance First
Responder Skills of Faith Communities, April 2015
Suicide Awareness and Prevention Resources
Websites and Hotlines

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-TALK (8255)
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) www.afsp.org

National Institute of Health (NIH) www.nimh.nih.gov

National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) www.nimh.nih.gov

National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (NSSP) www.mentalhealth.org/suicideprevention

Suicide Prevention Voices of Education (SAVE) www.save.org

Centre for Suicide Prevention www.suicideinfo.ca

Suicide Prevention Resource Center: www.sprc.org/
o “After a Suicide: Recommendations for Religious Services & Other Public Memorial
Observances”---free PDF download

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: www.samhsa.gov
o Many free resources may be ordered (magnet, info cards, etc)
o Suicide Safe app (based on nationally recognized Suicide Assessment Five-Step Evaluation
& Triage (SAFE-T) card)
o Resources in Spanish and other languages

Suicide prevention and response videos for faith communities: www.inmi.us/resources.html

Interfaith Network on Mental Illness, The Caring Clergy Project (www.caringclergyproject.org)
Programs:

To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA) www.twloha.com
TWLOHA is an international organization who hope to raise awareness of depression,
suicide, self harm, and addiction as well as connect people to services that can help them
with these issues.

Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program www.yellowribbon.org

SoulShop www.simisynod.com/cms/images/docs/events/soulshopflyer.pdf

Question Persuade and Refer: www.qprinstitute.com (training done by a certified QPR trainer)
Books: Suicide and Faith Community:
Clark, David C., Clergy Response to Suicide Persons and their Family Members, Exploration
Press, Chicago, 1993.
Clinebell, Howard, J. Jr., Basic types of Pastoral Counseling, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1966
Gerkin, C.V., “Crises Ministry,” in Dictionary of Pastoral Care and Counseling, Expanded Edition,
e.d R. Hunter, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2005.
Hewett, John H., After Suicide, Editor: Wayne E. Oates, Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1980.
Oates, Wayne E., The Christian Pastor, Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1964.
Kneiper, “The Suicide Survivor’s Grief and Recovery,” Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior,
1999, Vol. 29, No. 4.
Shneidman, Edwin S., The Suicidal Mind, Oxford University Press, New York, 1996.
Townsend, Loren, L., Suicide: Pastoral Responses, Editor: Daniel G. Bagby, Abingdon Press,
Nashville, 2006
Mental Health Awareness
“We are each of us anointed, touched with holy purpose, made to be bearers of the Spirit and
full incarnations of God’s love and grace in the world. We are the Acts that give birth to the
sacred. Through our lives, in our strength and in our frailty, the Spirit moves, seeking ever to
build communities of healing and growth for us all, souls in the hands of tender God.”
Craig Rennebohm, Souls in the Hands of a Tender God, page 192
Our faith communities can be welcoming, safe, caring places for persons living with a mental illness and their
family member(s). There are three nationally designated times to begin or continue an awareness program.
1. Month of May: Mental Health Awareness Month (www.mentalhealthamerica.net)
Resourced by Mental Health America; also includes a Children’s Mental Health Sabbath.
2. September : Recovery Month (www.recoverymonth.gov)
Resourced by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); includes national
publicity and widespread state and local efforts and events.
3. 1st Full Week October: Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) resources (www.nami.org)
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) sponsors MIAW, which generally begins on the first
Sunday in October. NAMI FaithNet, an outreach network of members and friends of NAMI, has
designated Tuesday of MIAW as a national day of prayer.
Activities to consider:
 Invite speakers to share their story of recovery
 Bulletin and/or newsletter articles
 Organize a conversation on a mental health topic i.e. children’s mental health, mental health
awareness, substance use
 Set up a literature table
 Create or host a mental health skit to raise awareness
 Share in a candlelight vigil
 Place a copy of the annual poster in a prominent place for the week or month of focus
 Sermon materials
 Prayers—be intentional to include social-emotional struggles
 Establish a mental health team
 Partner with other faith communities, providers and persons who struggle with mental illness to raise
awareness, provide trainings, etc.
 Consider membership in national and local organizations, dues support ongoing efforts, development
and provision of materials that are “ready to use”:
NAMI
Interfaith Mental Health Coalition, Chicagoland (IMHC
NAMI Faithnet
www.interfaithmhc.org; Facebook page: Interfaith
Pathways to Promise (Facebook page:
Mental Health Coalition)
Pathways To Promise, Community)
Local Providers
 Give away a collection regularly to a local or national organization
Where to find “ready to use material” online:
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)* www.nami.org
NAMI Faithnet www.nami.org/namifaithnet/
Mental Illness Awareness Week www.nami.org/miaw/
Mental Health Ministries* www.mentalhealthministries.net
Pathways to Promise* www.pathways2promise.org
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration www.samhsa.gov
DBSA: Depression & Bipolar Support Alliance www.dbsalliance.org
IMHC 10/2014
Programs: Mental Health and Faith Community
Mental Health Awareness
NAMI (www.nami.org)
NAMI Faith Net (www.nami.org/namifaithnet)
Mental Health Ministries (www.mentalhealthministries.net)
Pathways to Promise (www.pathways2promise.org)
Mental Health 101 (www.pathways2promise.org)
Mental Health First Aid (www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org)
Books: Mental Health and Faith Community
Albers, Robert H., et al, Ministry with Persons with Mental Illness and Their Families, Minneapolis, MN: Fortress
Press, 2008)
Canda, Edward R., et al, Spiritual Diversity in Social Work Practice: The Heart of Helping, second edition, New York,
NY: Free Press, 1999
Carter, Rosalynn, Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis, Rodale Books, 2010
Davidson, Lori J., et al, The Trail is the Thing, The University of Kansas School of Social Work, 2010
Govig, Stewart D., In the Shadow of the Steeple: Pastoral Presence for Families Coping with Mental Illness,
Binghamton, NY: Hayworth Pastoral Press, 2011
Gregg-Schroeder, Susan, In the Shadow of God’s Wings: Grace in the Midst of Depression, Upper Room Books,
1997, AND Creating Caring Congregations
Gunderson, Gary, Boundary Leaders, Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 2004
Hayes, Larry, Mental Illness and Your Town: 37 Ways for Communities to Help and Heal, Ann Arbor MI: Loving
Healing Press, 2009
Hayes, Steven C., et al, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, New York, NY: Guliford Press, 2012
Kehoe, Nancy, Wrestling with Our Inner Angels: Faith, Mental Illness & the Journey to Wholeness, Jossey-Bass,
2009
Koenig, Harold G., MD, Spirituality in Patient Care: Why, How, When, & What, Danvers, MA: Templeton Press, 2013
Pargament, Kenneth I., Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy, New York, NY: Guliford Press, 2007
Rennebohm, Craig with Paul, David, The Companionship Series (3 parts), 2012, available at
www.pathways2promise.org :
Mental Health Ministry: An Introduction
The Way of Companionship
Organizing a Congregational Mental Health Team
Rennebohm, Craig with Paul, David, Souls in the Hands of a Tender God: Stories of the Search for Home and
Healing on the Streets, Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press, 2008.
Simpson, Amy, Troubled Minds:Mental Illness & the Church’s Mission, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2013)
Stroebel, Shirley H., Creating a Circle of Caring, North Carolina Association for Mentally Ill: 1997
Swinton, John, Resurrecting the Person: Friendship and the Care of People with Mental Health Problems,
Nashville,TN: Abington Press, 2000.
Toews, John, No Longer Alone: Mental Health and the Church, Menno Media Press, 1995
Walsh, Froma, editor, Spiritual Resources in Family Therapy, second edition, New York, NY: Guilford Press, 1999