Mental Health Connect

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Helping people find their way to better mental health

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN

The approaching stretch of holidays and the shorter, winter days can be a real challenge for people struggling with anxiety, depression or other mental health challenges. And while Minneapolis has a wealth of community resources, knowing where to begin can be overwhelming.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in four adults in America will struggle with a form of mental illness in any given year. That’s approximately 61.5 million people. One in 17, or about 13.5 million people, live with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder. Mental illness has a presence in every community and many families. It doesn’t discriminate by age, gender, ethnicity, income or education.

Mental Health Connect 06Photo right: Kristina Swanberg, mental health navigator with Mental Health Connect, in conversation at Peace Coffee in the Longfellow neighborhood. (Photo by Margie O’Loughlin)

Recognizing how widespread this problem is, Bethlehem Lutheran Church (41st St. and Lyndale Ave.) launched a new ministry last January to address the barriers people face when trying to access mental health services. Called Mental Health Connect, its goal is to connect people in the community to a full spectrum of mental health services, education, resources, and support.

One of the many ironies of mental illness is that, on average, the time lapse between onset of symptoms and treatment is 8-10 years. If you or a family member are struggling with what you suspect is mental illness, one of Mental Health Connect’s two staff people may be able to connect you to vital resources.

Kristina Swanberg is a mental health navigator with the program. A graduate of St. Mary’s University with a dual degree in political science and sociology, she has two years of experience as an outreach specialist at Vail Place, a program focused on recovery issues. Swanberg said, “I’ve learned to listen carefully, and to direct people to the services they need.”

Swanberg and her co-worker Liz Timm, a certified peer specialist, can meet clients at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, at clients’ homes, or out in the community. The Mental Health Connect model is unique in its mobility. Its services are offered free of charge; no income verification is required, and no one is ever turned away.

“Every session starts the same way,” Swanberg explained. “We meet wherever the client feels most comfortable, and I ask, ‘What is it that you’d like to work on in your life?’”

She has received a wide range of answers to this question over the last ten months. “I got fired from my job, and I’m too depressed to figure out how to get a new one.” Or, “I lost custody of my children. I really want to get my life together, but I don’t know where to start.” Or, “I just don’t know what’s going with me right now.”

Here are some of the signs of deteriorating mental health:

—feel very sad or withdrawn for a period of more than two weeks;

—trying to harm oneself, or others, or thinking about doing so; —uncharacteristic risk-taking behavior;

—sudden, unexplained bouts of anxiety;

—significant, unexplained weight loss or gain;

—serious mood changes that affect relationships;

—repeated use of drugs and/or alcohol; and

—noticeable difficulty concentrating and/or staying on task.

"People can get pushed around in the mental health care system,” Swanberg said, “and that creates distrust. When you call Mental Health Connect, you’ll be talking to a real, live human being and because there are only two of us, we won’t shuttle you from department to department. Either Liz or I will help you identify what resources you’re looking for, and two weeks later we’ll call to follow-up.”

As the first point of contact, Swanberg can be reached at kswanberg@bethlehem-church.org, by phone at 612-312-3377, or through the Mental Health Connect website at www.mhconnect.org.

Mental Health Connect is likely to receive extended funding after its first 18 months expire in June 2016. While the program is a ministry of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, it is non-denominational and is available to concerned family members as well as to individuals suffering the effects of mental illness.

As Swanberg said, “Our model is very community-based.”

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