After paying off its mortgage, Mt. Zion partners to offer mental health services

Oct. 6--Beginning Tuesday, those facing mental or emotional challenges can turn to Mt. Zion Baptist Church for more than spiritual guidance.

The 109-year-old church, home to the city's largest Black congregation, has partnered with Anesis Family Therapy, which will open an office within the church. Each Tuesday, anyone -- whether affiliated with the church or not -- can visit the clinic for help with mental health issues like depression, anxiety or substance abuse.

Already before the pandemic, Rev. Marcus Allen had seen a need for counseling services in his community and congregation.

"I'm not afraid to admit that I don't have a psychology degree ... or licenses to be able to counsel people on mental health issues," said Allen, who leads the church, though he's received training to recognize warning signs.

"I can give them the spiritual guidance that they need to pull them out of what they're going through, but they also would need some type of clinical evaluation to see where they are mentally."

And the pandemic has only increased the need, as people struggle to cope with everything from the loss of a job to the loss of a loved one. The toll has been especially heavy for Madison's Black and Latinx residents.

"There's a lot of grief in our community," Allen said. "There's a lot of people who don't have jobs who are unable to pay their bills so they've got to deal with this stress and that anxiety." And with in-person services suspended to avoid spreading the virus, many are "suffering in silence," missing their usual opportunities to connect with others.

Meanwhile, ongoing police violence and systemic racism create additional stress for Black Americans. On numerous occasions, Allen has found himself talking to someone on the edge of a breakdown.

"I want to do more than just give them a card and tell them to call a psychologist or call a clinic. I want to be able to grab them by the hand, walk them down the hallway and put them in the office of someone that can provide the help right there on the scene in the church."

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Across the country, Black Americans are less likely to seek counseling than white Americans. But Allen has worked to counter that trend in his own congregation, seeking to reduce stigma by sharing the message that one doesn't have to "face life alone" from the pulpit, on social media and in his daily conversations.

Clinic opens Tuesday

A Monday afternoon ribbon-cutting ceremony will officially inaugurate the new clinic, which will be open each Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. beginning on Oct. 6.

Anesis, a state certified clinic offering mental health, substance abuse and case management services for adults, children and teens, will staff the clinic with a crisis stabilization worker and a clinician.

Myra McNair, owner and founder of Anesis, said in a press release that her "family-oriented agency" is "setting out to make an impact within our community."

The clinic will be open to all and services will be provided free of charge, Allen said. The church has secured funding to cover the clinic's costs through the end of the year and is working to raise money to keep services free going forward.

"It'll only be by the help of the community, if they can really get behind us and support this effort," Allen said, adding that he doesn't know of any other church doing something like this. "I think this is something that's unique and something that's new ... that's going to help and change a lot of people's lives."

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Community Life Center in the works

The mental health center's opening comes just over a month after the church announced it had paid off its mortgage. Even before Allen arrived in Madison in 2016, church leaders had a vision of paying off the debt, and the new pastor decided in 2018 to push toward that goal. When the pandemic hit earlier this year, bringing new economic strain, the church kept up its fundraising, both among members and externally.

In July, when the church had just $75,000 left to raise, an anonymous donor gave $150,000, asking that the remainder go toward constructing the Community Life Center that has been in the church's long-term plans since the early 2000s. When built, the next-door center will provide a permanent home for the social services the church provides to its diverse south side community.

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Among those services are a food pantry, currently situated in a nearby house, where community members can get food at all hours. The only requirement, Allen said, is hunger.

The church's Academic Learning Center, meanwhile, offers after-school programming for children from kindergarten to fifth grade. Now, Allen said they're working with University of Wisconsin-Madison education professor Gloria Ladson-Billings to create a socially-distanced opportunity for a limited number of students to do their virtual school work at the church.

Other programs include a faith-based mentorship program for children aging out of foster care and partnerships with One City Schools and the African American Opioid Coalition.

Helping the community in this way is part of the church's obligation, Allen said, noting that the Bible calls believers to treat the neediest people as they would treat Jesus.

But he said it's also essential to the survival of the church, already more than a century old.

"It would be impossible for Mount Zion to be a healthy church and live inside of a sick community," Allen said.

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