Mental Health Issues and Challenges Facing Metro Detroit’s Diverse Faith Traditions

Written by Gail Katz on . Posted in Past Events

 

WISDOM Faces

 

 

“Mental Health Issues and Challenges Facing Metro Detroit’s Diverse Faith Traditions”

 

Wednesday, May 16th

6:30 PM to 9:00 PM

at The Community House in Birmingham

(380 S. Bates)

The panel will include experts in the mental health field representing the Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim faith traditions. The presentation will focus predominately on youth of multiple faith groups, the challenges that they face, and the stigma attached to dealing with mental illnesses. Information will include steps that teachers, parents, family members, and clinicians can take to ensure that mental health issues of youth in specific faith traditions are addressed.

Nacha Leaf (Jewish), Clinical Social Worker/Therapist at the Jewish mental health agency called Kadima, in Southfield.

Sameera Ahmed  (Muslim), Director of the Family & Youth Institute and a Clinical Assistant Professor at Wayne State University in the Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience.

Rev. Sandra Gordon (Christian), Assistant to Pastor Kenneth Flowers at the Greater New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit. Former Co-chairperson of the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program. 

Mona Belsare (Hindu), Vice President of the Michigan Asian Indian Family Services which serves the South Asian community, and a psychiatric social worker in the ER at Beaumont Hospital.

These panelists will address specific mental health issues face by the youth of their faith tradition, suggestions for helping the family members struggling with their child’s issues, and ensuring that the mental health issues faced by the Christian, Jewish, Hindu, or Muslim families are dealt with in counseling and in the child’s classroom.

This program is sponsored by the Family and Youth Institute, the Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit, Kadima, The Race Relations and Diversity Task Force of the Birmingham Community House, and WISDOM (Women’s Interfaith Solutions for Dialogue and Outreach in MetroDetroit).

The event is free! Coffee and cookies will be served. For further information or to register, please contact Sheri Schiff, sheri1228@yahoo.com

WISDOM Mission Statement

To Provide concrete modeling of women from different faith traditions working together in harmony for the common good.
To Empower women to take a more active role in furthering social justice and world peace.
To Dispel myths, stereotypes, prejudices and fear about faith traditions different from our own.
To Nurture the growth of empathy and spiritual energy that result from our projects and interfaith dialogue.

Join WISDOM

WISDOM is a Non-Profit Organization. Get involved with WISDOM!

WISDOM’s challenge is to bring together people from different faith traditions, ethnicities, races, and cultures in an atmosphere of safety and respect to engage in educational and community service projects. Let’s change our world through the positive power of building relationships!

WISDOM Membership Form (PDF)