SJA's Mental Illness Ministry

Ministry Receives Grant

Initial thanks go to Gene Sylvester for telling St. Joan about the existence of a grant, sponsored by the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, one that seemed uniquely adaptable to the Mental Illness Ministry. After submitting a proposal, on November 11th The Mental Illness Ministry of St. Joan of Arc was formally advised that it had been named a recipient of this grant. The Council of Churches was initially awarded a three-year grant by the US Department of Health and Human Services to implement the Compassion Capital Fund Project. The grants are authorized to local faith and community based organizations fulfilling a specific, and heretofore unfulfilled, need in their community.

The purpose of the CCF Project is to:

Develop strong, community-minded congregations, organizations and groups
Provide support as groups envision their role in meeting human needs
Develop the skills and capacity needed to transform that vision into an effective and accountable program.

The receipt of the grant was immediately celebrated by providing funds for twelve members of St. Joan of Arc to attend the Minnesota NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Conference, held in Minneapolis on November 13, 2005

The funds from the grant are specifically granted for use in the area of training. To ensure that the outreach programs are well thought out and executed, there is a partnership with Hamline University to assist grantees with 70 hours of professional instruction.

St. Joan’s Mental Illness Ministry will have two seats at Hamline University. The opportunities will be shared to allow a number of St. Joan parishioners to participate in individual classes and to share what they learn with the ministry as a whole. The goal is an orderly growth in planning and implementing the ministries internal education and growth and outreach with services of excellence to the larger community. The seminar topics range from Program Development to Marketing/Communications.

The grant will also include money to use for consultants to train members of the ministry for development of support groups, resources and educational components. Parts of the consultant's training may be shared with the community as a whole.

This grant comes at a particularly auspicious time as the ministry, after an initial growth spurt, is evaluating its efforts and working to focus activities in the most meaningful way. With the aid of this grant, participants will be receiving professional training and mentoring, as programs and direction become firmly established.

Please check the website, bulletin and Arc Angle for further information.