Across all religious groups, people of the Islamic faith have some of the lowest recovery rates from mental health challenges. That’s according to studies looking at Muslim communities in different parts of the world.

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Some things have deepened those challenges, like the pain of experiencing Islamophobia or the reverberations of violence happening abroad — like the Israeli wars in Gaza and Lebanon, and the escalating conflict and humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

A new mental health facility at the Islamic Center of Detroit marks an important milestone for people of the Islamic faith. Staff at the center believe it to be the first mental health clinic located within a mosque nationwide. The facility, called My Mental Wellness, offers free on-site and virtual therapy to people of all ages. 

Director of My Mental Wellness Danish Hasan and one of the center’s therapists, Takween Dwaik, joined The Metro to discuss the work they’re doing. 

One of the challenges that comes with providing mental health support to the community is a different cultural understanding around therapy in the Muslim world, Hasan says. This has also caused My Mental Wellness to think about how they’re communicating and introducing the services they provide to people.   

“Considering our location being in the heart of Detroit, neighboring Dearborn, there is a huge diaspora from across the Muslim world. And one of the things that we’ve realized is therapy is a concept that is so distant from them,” Hasan says. “The western world has really furthered the conversation regarding therapy. But in so much of the Muslim world, people are either struggling silently in their homes, or because of the stigma they’re being institutionalized in mental facilities, or they’re being taken to religious leaders, and this middle ground that we have in the western world of therapy doesn’t exist.”

He says that while that cultural gap poses some difficulties for the clinic, it also reinforces the importance of their work.

“We not only have to reduce the stigma, but also introduce the concept of therapy, and also do it in a faith-based approach.” 

Use the media player above to listen to the conversation.

More headlines from The Metro on Nov. 12, 2024: 

• Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. is a printer who moved to Detroit about a decade ago to practice his craft. He’s now building a studio on the East Side, and he recently pulled together his work in a book called “Citizen Printer.” The Metro’s Producer Sam Corey sat down with Kennedy to discuss why he loves printing, how Detroit influences his work and why he thinks it’s important that his art thrusts the ugly sides of history into the faces of his audience. 
• The city of Ferndale is known to gather for communal events. Whether it’s a city-wide yard sale or Ferndale Pride, Ferndale residents turn out. This weekend, the Jingle and Mingle Underground Holiday Market will make an appearance and quickly vanish like Santa in the night. Organizer Mark Loeb joined the show to discuss this year’s market
• Every generation thinks the musical era they grew up with is the best. But was that actually the case with the ’90s? Think about the R&B, the diversity of genres from Seattle grunge, the fact that it’s known as the golden age of hip-hop. No one can actually prove one era is better than another, but we can pay homage to the good music of each decade. Gary Graff joins the show to talk about his latest book, “501 Essential Albums of the ’90s.”

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

With just a few days left before the 2024 presidential election, many people are feeling at least a little bit stressed – by the deluge of ads and information about the election, by the deep division that is represented in the campaign and on the ballot, or by a sense of fatigue. 

Arash Javanbakht, psychiatrist and director of the Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic (STARC) at Wayne State University, and Rheeda Walker, licensed clinical psychologist and co-author of “Calm in Chaos: A Quick-Relief Guide for Managing Anxiety and Overwhelm in Loud and Uncertain Times,” joined Created Equal to talk about election-related stress, how much worse it has gotten in recent years and how we can manage it a bit better. 

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Javanbakht explained that political perspective has been exaggerated in importance from an aspect of opinion to an aspect of identity. This means that many voters are feeling the stress of the presidential election as if they were personally working on a campaign.

He also explained that this hinders our ability to have political disagreements civilly and that many people’s election stress comes from the fear of losing community because of political differences. 

Walker discussed the cumulative nature of stress and that many people are simultaneously worrying about the election alongside family, health, and economic stressors. She also mentioned Michigan’s positioning as a swing state, and the unique stress this may cause residents.  

 Walker also encouraged voters to seek balance and avoid inundating themselves with stressful information, even as they advocate for important political causes. 

“Be informed so that we can be intentional about saving our families, saving our communities, saving our countrymen, but we can’t do that if we are overwhelmed with the negative information,” Walker said. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation with Javanbakht and Walker.

Guests: 

• Arash Javanbakht is a psychiatrist who serves as the director of the Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic (STARC) at Wayne State University. He’s also the author of Afraid: Understanding the Purpose of Fear and Harnessing the Power of Anxiety. 
• Dr. Rheeda Walker is a licensed clinical psychologist who studies suicide science and African American adult mental health. She is a co-author of the book, “Calm in Chaos: A Quick-Relief Guide for Managing Anxiety and Overwhelm in Loud and Uncertain Times.”

Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.

There’s a new mental health center located inside the Islamic Center of Detroit.

ICD held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday for its faith-based My Mental Wellness center, which is open to all.

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It’s believed to be the first mental health center inside a mosque in the U.S. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says ICD has come a long way from its humble beginnings.

“ICD is now the center of this community, and I’ve been here for food programs. I’ve been here for youth programs, been here for recreation programs, and now opening of a mental health clinic is going to serve the whole community,” he said. “It’s just a terrific day for Detroit.”

The clinic provides free on-site and virtual therapy and counseling sessions, as well as ASL services, career coaching, annual health fairs, and initiatives for the special needs community.

My Mental Wellness has served 200 people so far. ICD hopes to add additional health care services for the community in the near future.

For more information, visit mymentalwellnessicd.org.

Reporting by Nargis Rahman, WDET

Other headlines for Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024:

• Detroit is looking for a new top cop. Police Chief James White is set to become the CEO and president of the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network after the group’s board of directors voted to appoint him to the role at their meeting on Wednesday.
• The Michigan Education Justice Coalition Youth Collective is hosting its second virtual statewide candidate forum on Monday, Oct. 21, called Student Strong.
• Six local Black tech founders have been awarded a total of $120,000 in grants from the “Community Regrant” program from Black Tech Saturdays and Rocket Community Fund. Each recipient received $20,000 for projects that will help bridge the digital divide in the city of Detroit.
• The Wayne County Treasurer’s Office and the city of Detroit are hosting a foreclosure prevention seminar for seniors and individuals with disabilities on Saturday, Oct. 26, at Perfecting Church, 7616 Nevada Ave., Detroit. Call 313-244-0274 to schedule an appointment and Lyft Service to the event. 

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is holding annual community walks across the country this weekend, allowing people to remember loved ones who died by suicide while also working as a community to create more mental health support. 

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Over the past 10 years, the suicide rate has increased 16%. The vast majority of the suicide deaths were men, and most were firearm-related.

To discuss the Metro Detroit Out of the Darkness Walk taking place on Belle Isle this Saturday, volunteers Alicia Lyon and Max Olive joined The Metro.

Olive said the most challenging moment he faced in his life was when his cousin died from suicide, three years ago.

“And going through it at the time, it’s so difficult, right? You wonder how someone could think that way, why that would be an option. And it takes a lot to understand that that is something you’ll never understand,” Olive said. “And what you can do, and what I think it did really well for us, is it galvanized us as a family. So I’m closer with my cousins and my uncle now, more than ever. And I think so highly of him, and my involvement in this is a way to really honor Ryan. And he was such a gorgeous, hilarious soul and owned the room.”

You can register for the walk online ahead of time or in-person beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday. If you or someone else needs support, a trained counselor can be reached by calling or texting the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation with walk volunteers Alicia Lyon and Max Olive.

More headlines from Oct. 14, 2024: 

• New Detroit is a racial justice coalition that formed in response to the ‘67 rebellion. On Thursday, the organization is hosting its third annual Just Lead conference, recognizing community leaders and organizations that are working towards racial equity. New Detroit Director of Transformational Change Rebecca Irby and Director of Community Engagement Marshalle Favors joined the show to discuss the conference.  
• The Tigers lost to the Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of the American League Division Series, ending a miraculous season for the team. To help us recap the series and look ahead, we’re joined by Tigers staff writer for The Athletic, Cody Stavenhagen. 
• Womxnhouse Detroit is a collection of women creatives in the city who aim to spread their knowledge and crafts with interested folks while welcoming more people to the arts. This conversation is a continuation of an interview we did on The Metro last week featuring the co-founder of Women House Detroit Asia Hamilton, ceramics artist Michaela Ayers and fiber artist Cat Washington.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Over the past few years, the number of 911 calls involving individuals struggling with mental illness has increased in Detroit.  

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The number of mental health care workers responding to those calls has increased, as well. Those mental health care responders more frequently enter crisis situations along with police officers in Detroit and around the state. But there are also officials who respond to those situations without police officers at all.  

The Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network (DWIHN) established a mobile crisis service last year to provide immediate care to people in need of help. Today, the organization is operating its mobile crisis service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  

To discuss this, DWIHN’s Mobile Crisis Director JaKeya Kellom and Public Affairs Manager Michael McElrath joined The Metro on Wednesday. Kellom says calls to DWIHN’s crisis services have increased from 30 in December to 141 in the month of July.

“I think sometimes when you see an increase in numbers you may think, ‘well is that a good thing, is that a bad thing?’ But for us it’s a good thing because that lets us know there are individuals learning how to use our service, and knowing that it’s available,” Kellom said.

Use the media player above to listen to the full interview with Kellom and McElrath.

More headlines from The Metro on Aug. 28, 2024: 

• Only 45% of Michigan’s Class of 2024 seniors completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, according to the Michigan FAFSA Tracker. Jill Marecki, director of the nonprofit Detroit Regional Dollars for Scholars, joined the show to discuss the organization’s scholarship program and an award from the Educational Credit Management Corporation to help students sign up for FAFSA.
• For football fans, it’s an exciting time as we’re getting closer to the kickoff of the NFL season. So close in fact, NFL teams just made their final roster decisions on Tuesday. Justin Rogers, founder of the Detroit Football Network joined The Metro to discuss what we can expect this season.
• Detroit’s District 7 City Council Member Fred Durhal joined the show to discuss the recent opening of the new Tireman-Minock Park, as well as the Motor City Match program to help local entrepreneurs.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

When Lori Tucker-Sullivan’s husband Kevin died from cancer, she took it upon herself to merge her life-long passion of writing with music, a hobby she shared with her late husband. Though her husband was not a musician, the subject of her writing became clear after she heard Yoko Ono talk about life after her husband, John Lennon, was killed. Ono continued to build a name for herself as a multimedia artist and activist, and that inspired Tucker-Sullivan to explore other stories of women in the spotlight who lost their husbands.

Tucker-Sullivan interviewed widows of rock musicians who navigated the complicated aftermath of their partner’s passing. Some of these women’s lives were upended by legal battles, other’s reputations were distorted because of who their husbands were. Like Yoko Ono, many of these women were committed to defining their own narrative. In Tucker-Sullivan’s book “I Can’t Remember If I Cried: Rock Widows on Life, Love, and Legacy,” she documents and shares those stories. She joined Created Equal to discuss what lessons she learned from these women who persevered through all the commotion.

Subscribe to Created Equal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Guest

Lori Tucker-Sullivan is a music writer and author. She says these women and their stories are a good reminder that life goes on. “…regardless of the depth of your loss, you can keep going, you can find purpose, you can find new love.” She goes on to say, “I hope they take from it that people who 10, 15 years on still have grief in their lives, but it’s not the central focus of their lives.”

Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.