By Christina Gray
St. Augustine Parish is not leaving the emotional well-being of the community to chance. The South San Francisco parish just concluded the second of two free workshops intended to help participants recognize and respond with hope and resources to common mental health challenges.
An April 27 workshop attended by registrants from 14 different parishes focused specifically on grief and bereavement; the July 27 workshop addressed anxiety, depression, suicide, dementia, and support for family caregivers.
The mental health series was an intentional decision made by the pastoral council earlier this year to mark the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, according to longtime St Augustine pastor Father Raymund Reyes.
“The pastoral council was praying about how we could make this a significant Year of Hope for a lot of people,” he said. The context of the first workshop on grief and bereavement was developed when Pope Francis was dying. “We were losing our Holy Father, and at the same time, there had been a lot of recent deaths in the parish,” said Father Reyes.
The National Center for Disease Control and Prevention defines mental health as a “state of well-being that enables us to cope with the stresses of life, realize our abilities, learn well, work well, and contribute to our community.” The latest data from the Center indicates that the prevalence of depression among U.S. adolescents and adults increased 60% over the past decade.
The three-hour July event in the parish hall was promoted under the banner, “Mental Health Matters” with the goal of “raising mental health awareness and cultivating the healing power of hope.” It was led by two professional speakers with the assistance of two sponsors, St. Mark Medical Transport and ANX Hospice Care. As in April, nearly 100 people from both within the parish community and beyond it, participated.
“We’ve been surprised by the number of people outside the parish who registered,” said Father Reyes.
Dr. Melanie Akalal, a psychiatrist with The Permanente Medical Group in Antioch, Calif., said that, “if we have hope, it leads to higher levels of subjective well-being.” Akalal became embedded in the St. Augustine’s community when she performed as a member of a visiting choir. She returned to help participants recognize the signs and symptoms of two of the most common mental health conditions, anxiety and depression, and understand when and how to seek professional help.
People who are hopeful tend to see life’s opportunities, and they can more easily achieve the things that make them satisfied with life, she said. They can also respond to challenges with resilience and suffer fewer negative consequences when there are setbacks.
Good lifestyle choices can give us what we need to “deal with whatever life brings us,” said Akalal. They include a healthy diet, adequate exercise and sleep and management of stress without the use of drugs and alcohol. Also, positive social interactions, practicing an attitude of gratitude, journaling, and engaging in activities one enjoys are important.
Longtime parishioner and retired registered nurse Jocelyn De La Torre led a presentation about dementia, the umbrella term for a range of different types of dementias including the most well- known, Alzheimer’s Disease. Her mother died of vascular dementia at 63, and she has been an administrator and case manager of residential care facilities.
“I’ve had people say to me, it’s a good thing that my mother just had dementia, not Alzheimer’s,” she said. Alzheimer’s is in fact just one of the many types of dementia. It represents nearly 60% of dementia patients.
De La Torre directed the majority of her presentation to the needs of the often-invisible family caregiver, whose own mental health can be challenged by the rigors of living with and loving someone with the disease. For their sake, she described dementia-related behaviors, tips for communicating with dementia patients, strategies for self-care and community resources.
While the event did offer hope and healing in specific medical ways, De La Torre ended her presentation by reminding participants of their greatest source of hope.
“Do not ever forget prayer,” she advised. The rosary is a perfect calming prayer, she suggested. She also paraphrased a quote that has been attributed to St. Ignatius.
“Pray as if everything depends upon God,” she said. “Then work tirelessly to do God’s work.”
To learn more about St. Augustine Parish, visit staugustinessf.org.
