Our name
Being Alongside (BA) is the operational name for the Association for Pastoral Care in Mental Health, (APCMH), a Christian based, voluntary association of individual members and affiliated groups who recognise the importance of spiritual values and support in mental health.
Our origin
BA was founded in 1986 through the pioneering effort of Christian parents whose son was mentally ill.
They wanted to raise awareness of the spiritual needs of people with mental health problems both in mental health services and in churches.
Our vision
… is that faith communities should be:
– places where people belong and in that belonging mental health needs are recognised and met.
– places where mental health needs encourage people to come together and also challenge, enlighten and enrich the community.
– places where we recognise that action needs to be taken to achieve this vision, so that people with mental health problems take their rightful place in inclusive communities where we all learn from each other.
