Using faith to help with mental health struggles

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WSFA) – Whenever someone comes to Eugene Jacobs for advice, they usually have an answer. He’s the pastor of Union Springs Missionary Baptist Church in Talladega, and mentoring is just another part of the job.

One day, however, he received a question to which he did not know the answer: “I am struggling with addiction. How can I get help?”

“They started to lose faith in me, to trust me to be able to help them as a spiritual leader,” Jacobs said. “And then the longer it took me to find that help for them, the more time they had for other influences to come in.”

Jacobs decided he never wanted to be in that situation again. She became involved in a program sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration called the Faith-Based Support Specialist that is designed to give faith leaders the tools they need to support people with addiction.

“I just needed the information, and I was really sold,” Jacobs said. “Our job is to bridge the gap between faith communities and mental health communities because we believe that prayer, prevention, treatment and recovery work together.”

In places like Dallas County, faith unity is one of the best ways to mobilize. According to the independent research organization PRRI, 89% of Dallas County residents are religiously affiliated compared to the national average of 77%.

Miah Tolbert works is the executive director of Dallas County Court Services and sees the need for faith-based intervention firsthand.

“Faith-based programs are so important because faith is such an intricate part of who we are. It’s woven into the fabric of not only our communities, but our nation,” Tolbert said. “The people who are in the pews of our synagogues or wherever our places of worship are, they have people who have addiction or mental health and need their services.”

Former Alabama Department of Mental Health coordinator Pamela Butler also recognizes the reach that faith-based programs can have. When there is nothing else around, there is usually a church even in the most rural areas.

“By having the faith-based community to come in, first of all, we’re going to get that message out to a wider group of people,” Butler said. “They bring new partners to their community. So-and-so church is now part of that recovery and resource system in that county.”

If you would like to participate, the Faith-Based Support Specialist will be hosting a Support Specialist Training Conference on December 5th and 6th at Selma’s Wallace State Community College from 8am to 4pm both days.

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