News - September 2020

In addition to the seemingly endless interruptions the COVID-19 global pandemic has had on our world – from a direct impact on those it has affected, to fear of contracting the virus, to separation from loved ones, and an overall upheaval it has caused to our social, work and financial lives – the crisis has also taken a serious, sometimes deadly, toll on the mental health of society. No one is more aware of that fact than Deacon Ed Shoener.

The National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) is a nonprofit, grassroots, self-help, support and advocacy organization of consumers, families, and friends of people with severe mental illnesses. Local affiliates such as the NAMI Pennsylvania Scranton Area Chapter and state organizations such as NAMI Pennsylvania identify and work on issues most important to our local community and our state.

With the pandemic increasing rates of depression and anxiety among all populations and especially those struggling with mental illness, organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have issued warnings about an increase in deaths by suicides. With September as National Suicide Prevention Month, the biggest thing Catholic parishes and institutions can do to prevent suicide is to talk about mental health, according to people who minister both to people with mental illness and their families and to people who have lost loved ones to suicide.

We inspire people to speak up about mental illness and the need for openness and compassion. We support initiatives that provide better treatment for people living with a mental illness. We support research to find cures.