VANCOUVER—The head of a ministry for people with mental illness intimately knows the challenges their loved ones face.
Sharon Smith, executive director of Sanctuary Ministries, grew up with a mother with anxiety and married a husband who committed suicide.
“We go into these things because they are part of our lives,” Smith told The B.C. Catholic after addressing the diocesan Catholic Women’s League convention May 1.
“I haven’t been just this professional who sits on the other side of the desk. You deal with people differently when you know them.”
Smith, who became involved in mental health services when she was 20, has spent most of her career as an occupational therapist. She co-founded Sanctuary Ministries in 2011.
“For some of us, this is an ordinary day. We woke up this morning and we started a normal routine. The alarm clock went off. We got out of bed. We dressed, we put the coffee maker on,” she told more than 300 CWL members.
But “for roughly one in five of us sitting in this room, this day began as a struggle. We opened our eyes and for just a second, everything was okay. And then our mind connected with our emotions and we realized it’s not okay. We feel empty, we feel flat, miserable, anxious,” she said.
“This is the reality for one in five of us who may live with depression, anxiety, bi-polar mood disorder, schizophrenia. It is a hard, courageous path.”
Smith emphasized that recovery is possible, thanks to faith and a supportive community.
“The first part is talking about mental health in a way that is not separating us and them, and having conversations where we can all be vulnerable, where we can let the mask down and share our stories.”
She suggested that, rather than rushing out of the church after Sunday Mass, people take the time to connect with fellow parishioners and “share the stories of our lives, even the ones that our difficult, like mental health stories.”
Terresa Augustine, director of church engagement for the organization, said Sanctuary Ministries provides training and resources to Christian churches who want to support people with mental illness.
“A church or parish might reach out to us because there has been a critical incident in the community and they don’t know what to do,” she said.
Sharon Ciebin, the past president of the diocesan CWL, was touched by the presentation, saying it taught one way “to be the hands and feet Christ wants us to be.”
The convention was held at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish gymnasium April 30 – May 2. Speakers included Della Oberhoffner of Domestic Abuse Services, Dr. Paul Sugar on palliative care, and members of the Talitha Koum Society on serving women in recovery.
