Action on Behalf of the Jewish Mentally Ill (1999)

WHEREAS, kol y'israel aravim zeh ba zeh is among the most vital concepts of Judaism; and

WHEREAS, mental illness strikes 1 in every 5 families, including Jewish families; and

WHEREAS, the stigma concerning mental illness is part of the devastation of the disease; and WHEREAS, The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism has a religious and moral obligation to educate and sensitize the clergy, the synagogue community and the media concerning mental illness and its profound effect upon individuals and families;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism:

• establish a campaign to promote destigmatization of mental illness by encouraging the clergy to speak about mental illness and its textual references on the Shabbat of Mental Illness Awareness Week; and
• calls on its regions to work with local social service agencies to develop in-service training programs for the clergy to instruct them in the classifications and symptoms of mental illness and to assist them in addressing the problems of the mentally ill and their families within their community; and
• develop methods to encourage synagogues to help reintegrate the mentally ill back into the synagogue community; and
• develop program models for matching congregants and the Jewish mentally ill who need to be welcomed back into the community (i.e. accompany the individual to synagogue, invite the person to Shabbat dinner); and
• develop USY programming and/or guidelines to define the categories and demystify the behaviors of those afflicted by mental illness.