Mental health is health. It’s an axiom that more and more people are starting to accept.
Now SunServe is starting a program to help people have better mental health.
AFFIRM is a free, eight-week program designed to help LGBTQ people deal with mental health challenges that are part and parcel of being part of the community. The group starts Aug. 13 and runs through Oct. 1 and will meet at SunServe’s Wilton Manors campus.
The group will have the same members each week, meaning participants can form bonds and share experiences in a safe and understanding environment. The first step is getting people to show up and open up.
“AFFIRM is aimed to reduce stress, anxiety and depression,” SunServe’s Nicholas Makris said. “Just reaching out can be anxiety-driven enough. What helps most of all is having that live person to talk to. People can always call SunServe. People aren’t being talked to; they’re being included.”
The program was developed by the Center of Excellence LGBTQ+ Behavioral Health Equity, and SunServe is one of only ten organizations in the U.S. to be part of the pilot study.
The program’s goals include reducing stress and anxiety, teach healthy decision-making, and develop coping skills. Markis and his colleague Michelle Santos developed the program with the needs of the LGBTQ community in mind.
“It’s all about the connection, forming and building the connection,” Santos said. “It’s a safe space.”
All members of the LGBTQ acronym face unique challenges. AFFIRM wants to address those unique issues. “Typically, people go to groups thinking they're the only ones who are going through a situation,” Markis said. “Then they come to group and realize they are not alone. That makes it easier to talk about.”
Santos and Markis have been working to develop AFFIRM, and know this is a special, and personal, project.
“For me, SunServe is a place I wish I’d had growing up as I struggled with things. Now there is a place that is fully accepting and can help in any way that is needed. I see others like me. There is hope. We are successful, queer individuals who have gone through it.”
