To the Editor:
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I attended the “You Are Not Alone” Mental Health Forum sponsored by We the People Warwick. I knew this was another outreach effort to promote dialogue and forge connections within our community, but I did not anticipate being quite so very moved.
Listening to these Warwick area presenters, I learned of the individual losses, family tragedies, personal struggles, sacrifice, and resolve that led many of them to choose mental health care as a profession. I also learned that, despite having chosen different careers, many of our community service providers (law enforcement, fire fighters, teachers) have become first responders to our emotional and psychological emergencies, as well.
All of the speakers shared solutions for our community, such as groups they founded, connections they created, or resources we could access, but the greatest commonality they shared was compassion, a “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it”. Our community is being held together by the intense desire of these people - from high school senior to war veteran - to relieve the suffering of others. And they are witness to the amount of suffering that truly exists among us - students, migrant workers, war veterans, church congregations, and their families - especially prevalent as we emerge from the pandemic.
This Mental Health Forum exposed the mental health crisis as it exists in our area, and introduced the professionals and many volunteers who provide care. Calls for awareness, understanding, communication, destigmatizing, and engagement swirled around the room at the close of this presentation. The need for follow-up was clearly identified, with a major emphasis on prevention for families and support for the care providers; all moving along the path towards creating a more compassionate community.
Nancy Nachtigal
Warwick