“Helping the Hurting: A Conference for Faith Congregations,” was held on Friday, January 22, 2010 at the Midlands Technical College Airport Campus. The event was sponsored by Mental Health America of South Carolina and was the fourth faith–based conference presented by the organization.

The purpose of “Helping the Hurting” was to educate pastors and church leaders about the issues surrounding mental illness to help them better identify and refer those in their congregations who may be struggling with a diagnosable mental disorder. An individual who is suffering from some type of mental or emotional distress might turn to their pastor or church leader before seeking help from another source, such as a mental health professional.

At Friday’s conference, Dr. Craig Stuck, a Columbia psychiatrist with USC Medical School and Palmetto Health, presented “How to Recognize Depression and Anxiety” and Renee Bellamy–Coletrain, MSW, faculty member at Midlands Technical College spoke about the connection between substance abuse and mental illness in her presentation, “Addiction: Why People Self–Medicate with Alcohol, Drugs, or Prescription Medicine.” Reverend Charles Polluck, chaplain for Palmetto Health Baptist, presented “Pastoring the Whole Person: Mind/Body/Spirit.”

The highlight of “Helping the Hurting” was a large resource fair with over 25 mental health service providers participating. Organizations such as the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, Three Rivers Behavioral Health, Palmetto Health Behavioral Care, Crossroads Counseling, Dorn VA Center, and NAMI Mid- Carolina were available to provide information and resources for conference attendees.

Mental Health America of South Carolina is a state–wide, non–profit organization that exists for the purpose of education and advocacy for the mentally ill in our state. The organization has 22 affiliates at the local level in counties across the state and prides itself on a growing housing program for the mentally ill in rural areas of our state.

In the past 20 years, MHASC has built 600 independent housing units in counties such as Orangeburg County, Clarendon County, and Kershaw County. Mental Health America has also carried out a large scale suicide prevention and public relations campaign in the past three years and has adopted the children’s mental health program “Don’t Duck Mental Health” with the engaging duck mascot called “IC HOPE.” For further information about MHASC visit www.mhasc. org and Facebook and Twitter.