By Gloria Stravelli
RED BANK – A hidden consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic is a mental health crisis of depression, loneliness, isolation and despair, according to the Rev. Terrence Porter, pastor of Pilgrim Baptist Church, whose goal is to connect those struggling with community resources.
“All throughout the pandemic it’s been my heart’s desire to do something for our community, for so many people who have lost loved ones. Not just to COVID, but during the virus, when they were unable to grieve and find peace,” Porter said in an interview Nov. 2.
“Then I learned that over the last 19 months addiction and alcoholism” have become pandemics, too, he said.
According to Porter, more than 102 friends, or members, of Pilgrim Baptist died as a result of COVID-19.
“We started losing members of the congregation… in January, then the pandemic went on lockdown in March and we were experiencing loss of life,” he said. “So we know we have a little ways to go to get on other side of the pandemic. I wanted the community to know there are legitimate resources that are available to you at no cost that can help you navigate if you find yourself in a difficult position,” he said.
Porter said he wants to make the community aware which agencies have programs available for navigating mental wellness, addiction or grief issues.
To provide these resources, Pilgrim Baptist hosted “An Evening of Remembrance and Hope,” a memorial program held Oct. 30 at the church and also livestreamed. Following the event, counseling and other resources were available to attendees.
Porter said the goal of the program was to bring resources together so that someone in need of support could call one phone number and have 24/7 access to multiple agencies that could offer help. The mental health counseling outreach is being led by the Mental Health Association of Monmouth County in collaboration with the Parker Family Health Center.
Partners involved in outreach to the community also include the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, which has a dedicated phone line for those struggling with opioid abuse, 833-644-2273, and other community resources that are equipped to help address the losses due to the pandemic and the residual impacts.
“It’s all about collaborations and working together to meet the growing mental health needs of our community,” said Wendy DePedro, president and CEO of the Mental Health Association of Monmouth County, which was available to provide counseling following the service.
The nonprofit is a resource for the Parker Family Health Center to refer clients for mental health and social service needs, DePedro explained.
“When people reach out for assistance at Parker Center they have a resource for their clients’ mental health and social service needs,” DePedro said. “Another focus is the fact that we offer bilingual counseling, that’s an important piece of this. We are able to provide counseling in Spanish.”
During the Oct. 30 memorial program, Porter acknowledged the initiative requires partnerships with providers in the community.
“We are here today as are representatives from all the Monmouth County area and we’ve come together for one purpose tonight and that is to recognize that so many of us have suffered loss over the past 19 months,” Porter said. “We’ve lost friends, we’ve lost colleagues and we’ve lost family members and the one thing the COVID crisis, the pandemic, has robbed us of is the ability and opportunity to grieve our loss as a community, as congregations and houses of worship.
“Today we’re here with so many partners from around the county that believe we can do more together than we can do in isolation,” he said.
Porter called grieving “part of the human dynamic that many of us have difficulty understanding.”
“But it’s that which strengthens us when we come together and grieve together. So we’re here tonight to remember that there are still better days ahead,” he said.
Porter welcomed Suzanne Dyer, executive director of the Parker Family Health Center, to the event and thanked the facility for partnering to offer COVID vaccines and “physical wellness” to the community in addition to the mental wellness that will come with the MHAMC partnership.
“The pain of the pandemic has affected us all,” Dyer said. “We are thankful for this opportunity to come together to share our grief, our loss and our despair. And as a group, as we continue to rise as one, we put our fears aside as we struggle to ease the challenges faced by ourselves, our friends and our community.
“The blessing of the pandemic is the hope we find each day sharing our individual gifts with each other for the common good,” she said.
Among others who spoke was Sen. Vin Gopal (D-11), who acknowledged the heroism of health care workers and the important role played by community resources like Pilgrim Baptist and the Parker Family Health Center that “lift everyone up.”
“We think about our doctors, nurses, health care workers,” he said. “While we were home they went in each and every day, not knowing what kind of virus they could bring back to their families.
“We remember so many people who struggled with hunger, housing, struggled with health care, no job opportunities, all while a virus raged around them,” Gopal said.
“We also have the largest number of mental health cases that we’ve ever seen,” he added. “I can’t tell you the number of folks who have come forward with depression, alcoholism, anxiety and… all because something happened in this pandemic that was unexpected for them.”
But he noted a bright spot in the darkness, the “incredible goodness” of many who reached out to others to offer help to both neighbors and strangers alike.
The article originally appeared in the November 4 – 10, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
