RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — You can find the spirit high on any given Sunday morning at Cedar Street Baptist Church of God in Richmond’s predominately Black Church Hill community. Now the historic church led by Pastor Anthony Chandler, Sr. is about to do a new thing, ministering to the mind and emotions as well as the soul.
“I think we just need to get rid of the stigma that therapy is bad,” Chandler said.
The Lilly Endowment has awarded the church a grant for nearly $1.25 million to spearhead mental health services at the church, free of charge.
Anika Hines is an Assistant Professor in Health, Behavior and Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). She’s also a member at Cedar Street and took the lead in writing the grant application.
“This is about the area, this is not about Cedar Street,” Hines said.
She says Cedar Street will partner with smaller churches in the area to meet this critical need in the surrounding community.
“To do mental health first aid training,” Hines said. “So that’s basically how to recognize signs and symptoms and how to be a good listener and a good friend to someone who might be going through a mental health challenge. And also, to point them to resources.”