Inclusion Programming

Does this congregation have an inclusion committee?

Yes

Developing Our Program

Congregation Rodef Sholom is dedicated to caring for and supporting all members of our community in times of need and in times of joy. Our caring community has established comprehensive practices to ensure all who enter our community feel at home, accepted and welcomed. We feed and care for the sick and elderly, and actively integrate awareness and inclusion of interfaith, LGBTQ, and those with disabilities. We offer structures that support any who are suffering, and strive to support all those in need. However, a more formal awareness and response to the unique circumstances and needs of those suffering from mental illness was missing.

This awareness began in 2014 in response to a Kol Nidre sermon delivered by our Senior Rabbi Stacy Friedman that focused on stigma reduction and inclusion of those with or caring for loved ones with mental illness.

After the sermon, we held two congregation-wide meetings to brainstorm ways to approach the issues of mental illness in our community. Additionally, many congregants came to our clergy to discuss ways that mental illness have touched their family. With clergy and staff leadership, a volunteer steering committee was formed, and a mission statement was drafted for the Mental Health Initiative (MHI): to end isolation and stigma of mental illness in our community. Three lay-led teams were initially formed to focus on specific areas for action: education; youth; and community connection. Last year, the Mental Health Initiative was formally branded as REAL - Real Life, Real People, Real Connections.

Number of people involved in the effort: 300

Involving People with Disabilities

Our REAL Mental Health committees include congregants both with and without lived experience.

Funding This Effort

The REAL Mental Health Initiative is supported by The Laszlo N. Tauber Family Foundation. This funding has allowed us to hire a Mental Health Initiative Program Coordinator to oversee this program.

Helpful Agencies & Organizations

We worked with a stigma reduction consultant, Lisa Smusz from Smusz & Associates consulting to learn the best practices in stigma reduction. We have also worked with Each Mind Matters - California's Mental Health Movement, and partnered with local agencies including National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Bay Area Jewish Healing Center, Buckelew, and Jewish Family and Children's Services (JFCS).

Spreading Awareness About Our Work

Outreach is an important part of our Initiative. Over the past three years our Mental Health Initiative has become well-known in our Rodef Sholom community and beyond. This has been achieved in many ways.
- Each bi-monthly issue of the Voice (our newsletter) includes an update on the activities of the REAL MHI.
- In promoting our annual speaker series, we have reached out to the larger community through synagogue promotion, advertisements in local Marin newspapers, direct mail, email, social media, and through partnership with local agencies
- The REAL Mental Health Initiative has formed new community partnerships (Center for Open Recovery in SF, Spectrum LGBT services, Beyond Differences) and has strengthened its existing partnerships (NAMI Marin, Buckelew, JFCS)
- We routinely send press releases to local papers letting them know about our programs and events
- Our Program Coordinator and Director of Synagogue Engagement regularly seek out opportunities to present at state-wide conferences to talk about the work we are doing
- Each month congregants and broader community members contact the MHI REAL Program Coordinator and Rodef Sholom because they have heard about the work we are doing and are interested in getting involved. These contacts have included:
o Congregants who are interested in joining one of our existing MHI teams
o Congregants wishing to create new committees focused on new aspects of the MHI
o Members of other synagogues reaching out to learn more about our speaker series
o Calls from congregants looking for mental health resources for family members
o Therapists within the community interested in partnering with us and being a referral source
o Congregants asking for space to host an Al-Anon meeting
o NAMI Marin, asking us to host another 12-week family-to-family course next year
o Many congregants reaching out to clergy and us in response to this initiative
- Each May, REAL plans community-wide events in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month. In 2017, this included:
o A mental health-focused community-wide shabbat service, including clergy sermon focused on mental health awareness and guest speaker(s) with lived experience sharing their own stories. The service was advertised to the full community to continue to expand the reach of the REAL MHI.
o Commemoration of the anniversary of our Tree For Life, the interactive art installation unveiled at our 2016 Mental Health Shabbat to promote community engagement and stigma reduction. The tree has grown to be a part of our synagogue's aesthetic and serves as a symbol of sharing, connection, and openness.
o Hosting the premiere Marin County screening of The S Word Documentary: Opening the Conversation about Suicide at the Lark Theater in Larkspur on May 4h. The film is a celebration of stories of people with lived experience with suicide. The screening includes an introduction and audience Q & A with the film's director, Lisa Klein. The Lark's assistance with promotion - advertising the film to its website, including it in their newsletter and putting the film on their marquis - helps increase REAL's visibility within the greater Marin community.
o Mental Health Awareness Month community gathering featuring Hannah Hart, wildly popular YouTube personality and author of Buffering: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded. Hannah is a digital influencer with more than 2.3 million followers, providing REAL with an opportunity to spread our message to a new and bigger cross-section of our community.