May is Mental Health Awareness Month
Services where people are
Services where people are
| Corinda Rainey-Moore is a clinical team manager with the Mental Health Center of Dane County. |
By Jonathan Gramling
In difficult economic times, the stressors that people experience are heightened, especially
if they work in an industry that is experiencing severe cutbacks in employment. The threat of
foreclosure on one’s house can also be an intensive stress inducer. And with prolonged stress can
come emotional problems, which in turn can lead to mental illness.
May was Mental Health Awareness Month and it is important to know that mental health
services are just a phone call away or may be available just down the block. Corinda Rainey-
Moore is a clinical team manager for Cornerstone CSP, a community support program of the
Mental Health Center of Dane County. And in this time of difficulty, she wants people to know
that there is always hope. “People worry about what it means to have a mental illness that there
is no hope, there is no treatment, that you can’t be cured,” Rainey-Moore said as we sat in her
community-based office on Fordham Avenue. “There is hope out there for people who have
mental illness.”
Rainey-Moore is particularly concerned that African Americans will not be availing
themselves of services precisely at a time when African Americans are disproportionately
adversely affected by the economic climate.
“I know for the African American community sometimes if you seek help, it is seen as a
weakness,” Rainey-Moore said. “I want people to know that it takes a lot of strength to go out and
actually ask for help. But also it takes determination and perseverance because there are long waiting lists that people have to get on unfortunately. But if
people are persistent and they know who to advocate for and who to go to, then they will get the services that they need. There aren’t a lot of African Americans
out there providing services in this field. I want people to know the services are out there.”
African Americans may be leery of having another stigma attached to them in addition to those that they encounter due to prejudice and racism.
“Particularly for African Americans, if you have a mental illness, it is kind of like a double-whammy,” Rainey-Moore said. “So you have two things against you and
just not one.”
Much of the stigma comes from erroneous traditional beliefs that mental illness affects an individual’s entire being. Propelled by the mental health services
consumer movement that began in the 1970s, mental illness is looked at more as a temporary, localized illness.
“Mental illness is just a small piece of people’s lives,” Rainey-Moore emphasized. “People with mental illness have hopes and dreams just like anyone else.
It works just like diabetes. If you have diabetes, it’s not all of who you are. It’s part of what is going on in your life. But certainly, there is more to people than just
their illnesses. What we try to do in our profession is look at people as a whole, finding out what their hopes and dreams are and try to help people achieve those
hopes and dreams and certainly let people know that there is hope.”
Part of that holistic approach of Cornerstone is to help people to resolve some of the underlying issues that may be causing the stressors and the mental
illness. “Our goal is to try and keep people in the community and help them be productive members of society by helping them find employment if that is their
hope and dreams or going back to school or maintaining their apartment in the community,” Rainey-Moore emphasized. “We do intensive case management
services to people in the community so that we can keep them in the community and not have them be institutionalized.”
While it does have waiting lists, depending on the type of service needed, there is no charge for Mental Health Center services. For the uninsured or
underinsured, the Mental Health Center absorbs the cost. For those who qualify for medical assistance or health insurance, the center bills for the insurer for the
services.
Rainey-Moore reiterated that the services out in the community and that the services are culturally-relevant to meet the mental health needs of African
Americans and other people of color. “Cornerstone and Blacksmith House mainly provide community support to anyone as long as they are an adult with severe
and persistent mental illness,” Rainey-Moore emphasized. Service is just a phone call away. If Rainey-Moore can’t provide the service, she can give direction on
how to access the mental health services that are just right for the individual.
F or more information, call Corinda Rainey-Moore at (608) 280-3180 or e-mail her at corinda.rainey-moore@mail.mhcdc.org.
people are persistent and they know who to advocate for and who to go to, then they will get the services that they need. There aren’t a lot of African Americans
out there providing services in this field. I want people to know the services are out there.”
African Americans may be leery of having another stigma attached to them in addition to those that they encounter due to prejudice and racism.
“Particularly for African Americans, if you have a mental illness, it is kind of like a double-whammy,” Rainey-Moore said. “So you have two things against you and
just not one.”
Much of the stigma comes from erroneous traditional beliefs that mental illness affects an individual’s entire being. Propelled by the mental health services
consumer movement that began in the 1970s, mental illness is looked at more as a temporary, localized illness.
“Mental illness is just a small piece of people’s lives,” Rainey-Moore emphasized. “People with mental illness have hopes and dreams just like anyone else.
It works just like diabetes. If you have diabetes, it’s not all of who you are. It’s part of what is going on in your life. But certainly, there is more to people than just
their illnesses. What we try to do in our profession is look at people as a whole, finding out what their hopes and dreams are and try to help people achieve those
hopes and dreams and certainly let people know that there is hope.”
Part of that holistic approach of Cornerstone is to help people to resolve some of the underlying issues that may be causing the stressors and the mental
illness. “Our goal is to try and keep people in the community and help them be productive members of society by helping them find employment if that is their
hope and dreams or going back to school or maintaining their apartment in the community,” Rainey-Moore emphasized. “We do intensive case management
services to people in the community so that we can keep them in the community and not have them be institutionalized.”
While it does have waiting lists, depending on the type of service needed, there is no charge for Mental Health Center services. For the uninsured or
underinsured, the Mental Health Center absorbs the cost. For those who qualify for medical assistance or health insurance, the center bills for the insurer for the
services.
Rainey-Moore reiterated that the services out in the community and that the services are culturally-relevant to meet the mental health needs of African
Americans and other people of color. “Cornerstone and Blacksmith House mainly provide community support to anyone as long as they are an adult with severe
and persistent mental illness,” Rainey-Moore emphasized. Service is just a phone call away. If Rainey-Moore can’t provide the service, she can give direction on
how to access the mental health services that are just right for the individual.
F or more information, call Corinda Rainey-Moore at (608) 280-3180 or e-mail her at corinda.rainey-moore@mail.mhcdc.org.