Sitting and Suffering
Last year, there was a woman in our community who’d spent months on our waiting list for behavioral health services. When we were finally able to bring her in, our staff discovered that she had been considering hurting her family members. Thankfully, we were able to treat her before any harm came to her or her family.
Cases like this highlight the critical need to get community members struggling with mental and emotional health issues off of these waiting lists. Myriad studies have shown that, like other resources, mental health services continue to be significantly inaccessible to low-income families. IMAN’s current behavioral health waitlist is four months for English speakers, and six months for Spanish speakers. This is far too long to wait for someone who is sitting and suffering through pain and trauma.
My team of specialists and I give our all in support of each patient who walks through our doors. We assist individuals and families in processing and healing from years of untreated trauma and devastating pain. We celebrate their tremendous progress when they leave us after receiving care.
But there are still far too many people on that list.
Your support means increased access to health services for those who would otherwise continue to sit and suffer alone. Please help us reach and exceed our ‘Off the List, On the Love’ Ramadan Drive goal. Your tax-deductible, zakat-eligible donations are crucial acts of love and solidarity as we push toward a world where waiting lists like this don’t have to exist.
Salaam,
Natali Rehman
IMAN Behavioral Health Manager