In public health, we know that partnerships with community organizations are essential to the work of community health and healing. Historically, churches have provided many of the direct social services which we in public health often advocate for, and faith leaders continue to be a cornerstone of our community in Granville and Vance County.
At present, there is also a shortage of mental health professionals in rural America and stigma continues to prevent individuals from discussing mental health issues and accessing mental health care. Public health and healthcare agencies need to work with trusted community organizations, especially local churches, to address these concerns.
In 2025, a team of organizations—including representatives from The North Carolina Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services, GVPH, UNC Gillings, and Vaya Health—established the Faith in Mental Health certificate program.
The goal of the certificate program is two-fold:
Because churches come in a variety of sizes with a range of staff and resources, the program includes three different certification levels. This makes the program doable for local churches of different sizes and capacities. All churches can identify a level that works for their congregation.
For more information, please download the one-page overview of the program or the extended description of the different certificate levels.
Since launching our program in 2025, over 60 different churches have participated in the program, including over 100 different individuals from those churches.
We have also hosted community-wide forums on faith-informed responses to depression and anxiety, substance use and addiction, and youth mental health and wellbeing.
Individual churches in our network have started new mental health-related support groups, developed mental health resource libraries, hosted topical discussions at their church, and even started their own mental health ministry.
