While Roanoke is slowly becoming a hub for community organization and social change, Sherman Lea believes there still is growth to come in the mental health field. Lea is the founder and executive director of New Hope Support Services, LLC that seeks to strengthen Virginia communities by targeting often overlooked mental health issues.
While the label of “mental illness” varies in type and degree from person to person, a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) study conducted in 2016 estimates that roughly one in five adults, or about 44.7 million people suffer with some sort of mental illness. NIMH estimates only half of those affected with a mental illness actually receive treatment.
While Lea’s resume might not suggest a trajectory that would lead to therapy, he says he “always felt like a mental health advocate.” His first foray into therapy was as an intern at a prison. Lea worked with clinical social workers and participated in therapy groups with prisoners.
“It changed my life,” he said. He learned to feel empathy for the prisoners whose struggles were often symptomatic of some relation to mental illness or a traumatic event. “I definitely think that there is a correlation in our community between mental health and crime.”
As a result, Lea went back to school to study psychology. His journey came full circle when he became a clinical social worker in the same prison. That job led Lea to become a probation officer. Lea’s newfound passion for therapy and mental health advocacy culminated in the creation of New Hope in 2008. Despite being a relatively young organization, New Hope already has nearly 10 locations to serve the various communities of Central Virginia.
Lea has an ambitious agenda. He would like to expand to Texas, Arizona and D.C. However, Lea said he would like to serve “as many communities as I can” and to look wherever the need is. Roanoke is a drop off point for many outpatients from other facilities in Virginia due to the many resources available her for the mentally ill.
Aside from handling many patients from other cities and facilities, Roanoke still faces problems with its own population, Lea said. Many of the homeless in Roanoke suffer with mental illness, he said. “That’s a really big issue in Roanoke.”
To help deal with the rising demand in Roanoke, Lea recently opened another New Hope facility. “I wanted the office to be located in Northwest … to start conversations to eradicate the stigma around mental health,” Lea said. “Unfortunately, the stigma around mental health is more apparent in the black community,” he added. “A lot of times black people, especially with mental health, don’t talk about their issues because historically (it has) been perceived as a sign of weakness.”
While the negative connotations around mental health still abound, Lea is optimistic the “national conversation” underway will change things. “I think we’re moving in the right direction,” Lea said. He suggests that mental health should be an everyday concern just as exercise and a quality diet. And just as with diet and exercise, poor maintenance leads to destructive results. When these things just go untreated, they can fester on a person and cause many different negative behaviors – from crime, to abuse, to suicide,” Lea said.
Making people comfortable with their own issues, and just having a non-judgmental conversation are a few ways to bring mental illness to the forefront of the discourse.
New Hope is doing its best to keep the momentum of the mental health advocacy conversation moving. They plan to begin holding “town hall” style meetings where community members can discuss mental health in a proactive and productive way.
“When people are mentally healthy their lives are better,” Lea said.
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