First Corinthian Baptist Church expands free mental health clinic with help from Mount Sinai
NEW YORK - July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, and a Harlem church is expanding its own free mental health clinic, adding psychiatrists to the staff.
At First Corinthian Baptist Church, you will find faith and the freedom to express your feelings. The congregation opened the HOPE Center with help from Mount Sinai's staff to offer group and individual counseling, and now psychiatry, all for free.
"We are just super excited to be able to have the community that we serve be reflected in the therapists that are providing the services here," said HOPE Center executive director Dr. Lena Green.
In the past three years, the clinic has seen increases in clients, called innovators, seeking help for substance abuse and loneliness. Of the 375 they served last year, most innovators needed support for depression, anxiety and trauma, which Green said often stems from the systemic inequity people in Harlem face daily.
"If you had something that you were perhaps managing on your own, I think after the pandemic, you saw that you were really unable to manage those challenges or symptoms individually or at home or in private," Green said, "and folks were really seeking out help."
In 2018, Keshanda Collazo lost her job with the police department after she learned of her multiple sclerosis diagnosis.
"I never really had a moment to really sit there and think about how it affected me mentally because I was trying to recover physically," Collazo recalled, "and I think when the pandemic happened, I had a lot of time to think."
Collazo wanted to be strong for her daughter, but she could not find an available therapist through her insurance. She turned to her church home.
"She made me comfortable," Collazo said of her therapist. "It was like I was strolling with a friend."
Now Collazo and her daughter both enjoy activities the HOPE Center offers. The clinic hosts two programs for teens to talk through their problems among peers and take therapeutic photos to express themselves. Church leaders continue to encourage elders to open up as well.
"For many people of color, but specifically looking at the Black community," Green noted, "they are more apt to go to where they feel most comfortable getting services, so we know that that is the church for many folks."
Wednesday, July 26 at 11 a.m., a series of chair yoga and meditation classes for seniors starts in the sanctuary, showing how a simple breath of air can ease them into mental health care.
There is currently a three-month waitlist for the HOPE Center's clinic. More staff members start in September.
Also in September, the clinic will host multiple community events, including an African-American Day Parade on Sept. 17, an annual wellness and self-care fair on Sept. 23 and a plant-based cooking class on Sept. 30.
To learn more about the HOPE Center's services, click here.
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