Caring For Yourself: NBA Group Offers Mental Health & Wellness Toolkit for Community Leaders and Care Providers

Our world is full of community leaders and care providers offering support and care to others in their community. But how often do these same leaders take steps to care for themselves? This question helped inspire NBA’s 2023-2025 Mental Health Equity Cohort to assemble the resource Soul Medicine: A Toolkit for Community Leaders and Care Providers.

“Our toolkit gets to be a guide that can further resource ourselves and our community in being the sanctuary we’ve needed to feel safer, seen, and heard,” said cohort member Rev. Whittney-Marie Murphy.

The story behind the toolkit is rooted in the larger mission of the Mental Health Equity Cohort, which was formed to create a supportive and imaginative space for Disciples mental health and justice professionals. The cohort set out to build a resource for the church at large to “assist with addressing issues of wellness equity and mental health justice.” After exploring different ideas, the group decided to create a toolkit resource for people just like them: community leaders and care providers.

“Personally and professionally, I believe offering this toolkit supports clergy and care providers but also contributes to broader societal change,” said cohort member Joi McCreary. “It is empowering communities, enhancing understanding, and supporting resilience with healing. Additionally, I feel this toolkit advocates and contributes to creating a more benevolent environment where everyone, regardless of background or identity, can feel held communally and access resources to thrive mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.”

The toolkit offers practical, heart-centered support for people serving from within marginalized communities, as well as Disciples of Christ clergy, leaders, and lay persons. Each chapter of the toolkit consists of tools these individuals use and need as people doing the expansive work of caring for communities in a variety of roles and as people belonging to marginalized communities. Rather than offering abstract ideas alone, it provides grounded tools meant to sustain caregivers in the everyday realities of ministry, leadership, and community care.

The Soul Medicine toolkit is a free resource available to download from the NBA website. To learn more and download the resource click here.