Community Mental Health

Everyone needs advice, and everyone gives advice. In a world of dysfunctional families, churches, and societies, professional counseling is in great demand as a solution to our problems. The weak link in this solution is the inability to determine a counselor’s qualifications apart from his professional accreditation. Academics can give you knowledge, but no learning or books can give you wisdom. There are no graduate degrees in love or compassion. You cannot get a PhD in virtue. However, these things are available to everyone freely through Christ.

All it took was one night and one bad decision for fifteen-year-old Violetta Chen-Samuels’ life to go off the rails. After driving drunk and causing the accident that kills her little sister, Violetta is incarcerated. Under the juvenile justice system, her fate lies in the hands of those she’s wronged—her family. With their forgiveness, she could go home. But without it? Well....

Wellness has been defined in broad strokes for centuries—until now. This book clarifies a holistic perspective of what it means to be healthy while revealing common roadblocks to resilience and the resources needed to prevent each one. It’s not enough to provide self-care training to public safety. We must acknowledge and respect the time and effort their loved ones give to their communities as well.

En 2001, Kathy Baldock, una cristiana evangélica conservadora y heterosexual, conoció a Netto Montoya, una aborigen americana lesbiana, mientras estaba haciendo senderismo en las caminerias cercanas a su casa en las montañas de Sierra Nevada. Su amistad desafió las creencias culturales y religiosas de Baldock sobre las personas gay, lesbianas, bisexuales y transgénero.

The opioid epidemic has hit people in communities large and small and across all socioeconomic classes. What should each of us know about it, and do about it? Unstitched moves listeners from feelings of helplessness and blame into empathy, ultimately helping friends, family, and community members separate the disease of addiction from the person underneath.