Women of Reform JudaismPacific District
  • Home
    • About Us
    • Tributes
    • Pacific District Statements
    • Jane Marcus Social Justice Fund
    • Camp Newman 2017 Bucket Brigade
  • President's Message
  • About Us
    • History >
      • Past Presidents
    • Mission Statement
    • FAQ
    • Officers / Area Directors/Committees
    • VP & Departments >
      • Organizational Chart
      • Job Descriptions
    • Nashim Society
    • Bylaws
    • Policies and Procedures
    • Find a Sisterhood
    • Find Us On Social Media
    • Contact Us
  • Resources
    • Calendar
    • PD Board Nominations
    • Speakers Bureau >
      • Speaker Request Form
      • Speakers Bureau Guidelines
      • Sisterhood's Evaluation
      • Speaker's Evaluation
    • New Sisterhood President Guide >
      • Yammer
    • Sisterhood Board Training
    • YES Fund >
      • YES Fund Tea
    • District Dues
    • Sisterhood Leadership Contact Update Form
    • Reimbursement Voucher
    • Kavod Awards
    • District Logo
    • Style Guide
    • WRJ Acronyms
    • Social Action >
      • Social Action Rings
      • Mental Health Overview
    • WRJ PD HUC Connections
    • Sisterhood Resources >
      • Fundraiser Ideas
      • Icebreakers
      • 2015 PD Passover Recipes
    • Share
    • Useful Links
  • Area Events
    • Pacific Northwest Area Events
    • Northern California Area Events
    • Southern California Area Events
    • Pacific Southwest Area Events
    • Area Event Planning Guide
  • PD Conventions
    • 2020 PD Convention >
      • Special Guests
      • WRJ YES Fund
      • Social Action Project
    • Past Pacific District Conventions >
      • 2018 PD Convention
      • 2016 PD Convention
  • Pacific District Store
    • Clothing
    • Pins, Lanyards & Totes
  • Winning Ideas
    • 2020 Kavod Award Winners
    • 2018 Kavod Award Winners
    • 2016 Kavod Award Winners
    • PD 2015 Or Ami Winners
    • 2014 Kavod Award Winners
    • PD 2013 Or Ami Winners
    • 2012 Kavod Award Winners
    • PD 2009 Or Ami Winners
    • Other Winning Ideas >
      • Sew Green >
        • Constructing a Bag
        • Tag Pattern
  • FWC
    • 2018
    • 2017
Picture

MENTAL HEALTH OVERVIEW

Mental Illness is the disability that crosses all age groups, cultures and economic backgrounds; 1 in 4 will experience it in their lifetime. It is the illness that isolates because of fear and shame, even among family members. The stigma of mental illness manifests itself even in our Jewish communal life, where often it is seen as a weakness, not an illness, causing victims and their families to hide this disability from the community and delay or deny medical treatment. 

In 2012, Temple Isaiah, Lafayette, and Congregation Beth Am, Los Altos Hills, partnered on a URJ grant to develop and distribute communication tools for Congregations to help them address the challenges of mental illness in our communities.
  • Communicating One on Many: A facilitator guide to be used by congregations to help them design and launch support groups for individuals or family members of the mentally ill.
  • Communicating One on One: A training guide/brochure for visiting/communicating with those who cope with mental illness.

These guides were developed with clergy support from their own congregations and the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center. These guides also incorporated the comments and stories of individuals from their synagogues and from other support groups in the SF Bay area.

These unique materials were presented at the December 2013 URJ Biennial meeting along with a workshop highlighting Temple Isaiah’s and Beth Am’s congregational work to reduce the stigma of mental illness. Eight additional congregations across the URJ landscape participated in the workshop at the biennial in San Diego last November and have provided some limited feedback based on their use of the materials thus far.  

The goal of this project was to open the eyes and ears of all sisterhood members and their congregations to the silent suffering that exists. Beth Am Women and Women of Isaiah are working to reduce the stigma of mental illness so that affected people will speak up and speak out, and get the help and support they need. The Guide and Brochure are the first steps toward this goal which can be accomplished one congregation at a time.  

These materials are available below for download and use by all interested sisterhoods and congregations.

For more information on this award winning program, contact Jane Marcus at jane.e.marcus@gmail.com or Diana MaKieve at dimakieve@gmail.com.

Downloadable Brochure

Useful References

Mental Illness Support Group Guide
Picture
Picture
Picture
©  Women of Reform Judaism Pacific District, 2020. All rights reserved.