Mental health support group eyes potential growth
EL CENTRO — Since its founding a year ago, the peer-led mental health support group that meets weekly at the Imperial Valley LGBT Resource Center has become a welcome resource for its participants.
That especially rings true for co-facilitator Brianna Jaime-Bruner. By helping to lead the meetings, Jaime-Bruner said she has developed a growing sense of empowerment and a desire to raise awareness about mental health issues, including her own.
“Knowing that I have a responsibility now pushes me to work on my own recovery,” Jaime-Bruner said. “It’s not just for other people; it’s also for myself.”
Lately, Jaime-Bruner’s sense of empowerment has prompted her to attempt to expand the scope of the support group.
In recent months, she and co-facilitator Kelly Ranasinghe, an El Centro-based attorney, have attempted to reach out to local public safety agencies to better understand the level of mental health firstaid training first responders have.
The facilitators are hoping to enlist the aid of local first responders to further help raise awareness of mental health issues and the role first responders have when they encounter individuals experiencing mental health problems.
Jaime-Bruner said she is also hopeful first responders who may be living with a mental health condition may be willing to participate in the support group meetings to discuss their own experiences and further help destigmatize mental health illnesses.
It is estimated that one in five adults in the United States will experience a mental illness within a given year, the National Association on Mental Health website reported.
For youth ages 13 to 18, approximately one in five will also experience a severe mental disorder at some point. For children aged 8 to 15, that figure is 13 percent, NAMI reported.
Because of the trends concerning youth, Jaime-Bruner said she would like to help local students establish peer-led support groups at their respective campus. Toward that end, she has reached out to local school districts to determine if such an effort is feasible.
“It should be just as much of a priority,” she said. “It could literally save someone’s life.”
Though the local mental health support group has seen its number of participants fluctuate over the past 12 months — from its original five members to a high of about 15 — it regularly has attracted about 10 people.
Its level of participation makes it one of the most popular support groups hosted by the LGBT Resource Center.
The center counts domestic violence, transgender, youth, anger management and Narcotics Anonymous among its support groups, and has licensed professionals available at no cost for those seeking counseling and therapy as well.
The group’s participation levels have surprised Jaime-Bruner, who said she wasn’t certain anyone would show up when the group initially formed.
“It’s not easy to come out and meet with a bunch of strangers,” she said.
Outside of the resources Imperial County Behavioral Health Services provides its clientele, no other peerled mental health support group exists in the Valley, Jaime-Bruner said.
The lack of such options is what had compelled Jaime-Bruner to partner with the LGBT Resource Center to establish the support group. About 20 years ago, she was diagnosed with agoraphobia, panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder at the age of 18.
The center’s Chief Executive Officer Rosa Diaz was hoping to establish such a support group and had been searching for a facilitator with lived experiences when she met Jaime-Bruner, whose son was doing community service at the center.
“She will push you, and when she wants to get it going, it gets going pretty quick,” Jaime-Bruner said of Diaz.
Aside from becoming a certified NAMI support specialist, Jaime-Bruner has also become a certified crisis counselor by the non-profit Crisis Text Line, which provides free crisis intervention via text messaging.
Yet she acknowledges that she is hardly considered an authoritative source on mental health issues in the eyes of many stakeholders in the community.
That may soon change, as Jaime-Bruner indicated she would like to potentially pursue a career as a mental health professional.
“It is something where I have a passion, and I want to help more people,” she said.
The support group meets at 6 p.m. Wednesdays at the center, 1073 Ross Ave., Suite E.