CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – A Cedar Rapids church is continuing a tradition of holding an annual Mass for those affected by mental illness.
People at St. Patrick Church prayed and sang Sunday afternoon, and for some, the time spent in the pews was a way to strengthen themselves to face everything else in life.
“I myself … have struggled with mental health issues for a number of years,” said Di Kovarik, a longtime member of the planning committee for the Mental Illness Awareness Mass. Kovarik travelled from Cresco, Iowa, about two hours away, to attend the event and share her own journey with mental illness.
“I’ve had two voluntary admissions to the psychiatric facility, and then my last one was an involuntary admission,” Kovarik said.
This was the 15th year for the Mass, organised by St. Patrick Parish and the Linn County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
According to NAMI, one in five American adults experience some form of mental illness. NAMI says that for people living in a rural area, like Kovarik, access to treatment is “severely limited,” with people having to travel twice as far to get to the nearest hospital.
“We’ve all dealt with different tragedies and challenges,” said Mona McCalley-Whitters, another member of the planning committee for the fair and a representative of NAMI Linn County.
McCalley-Whitters said mental illness is something people are talking about more openly than they used to, but the stigma is still there.
“We just want to break down those barriers so that everybody can get treatment, no matter what your socio-economic status is, no matter what your race is, no matter what your background is,” she said.
McCalley-Whitters said NAMI provides resources for those who need them, adding that the fair is a spiritual offering that she said some people use to become more resilient.
For Kovarik, at least, it works.
“This has really given me strength and I come back every year,” Kovarik said.
