Stay Updated on Latest News from the Well Community
Six Must-Know Facts About Suicide
September is noted as “Suicide Prevention Month,” though at the Well, every day we stay keenly aware of its ever-looming threat. Though suicide is often considered a taboo topic, the facts about it are too important to keep quiet. According the American Foundation for Suicide prevention, 4,193 Texans lost their lives to suicide in 2021. [1] Each life that’s cut short is one too many. […]
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A Well World: Mental Illnesses are Brain Disorders
Our society has chosen to distinguish mental health from physical health. It’s easy to understand why, but it also muddles our thinking a bit. After all, mental disorders are the symptoms of an unhealthy brain—a physical organ of the body. By categorizing mental health as a different thing than physical health, we perpetuate misunderstandings on various levels. For example, there is a huge disparity in […]
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Interconnected: The Trifecta of Mental Illness, Poverty and Physical Challenges
“It’s all very interconnected,” says Alice Zaccarello, Executive Director of the Well Community. “Our members have a trifecta. They live with serious mental illness, all live in poverty and many have physical health conditions.” Each of those things is difficult, but when wrapped together they become an interwoven struggle that makes it incredibly difficult to pursue stability and wellbeing. Dealing with a mental health struggle […]
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An Ingrained Desire to Serve
For Grace Pulis, serving at the Well had always been ordinary. Grace’s father, Joel Pulis, founded the Well Community in 2002, and she was born not long after. Her early memories are filled with Well Community members and with seeing her family interact with people in the Oak Cliff community who were dealing with serious mental illnesses. Grace clearly recalls her parents driving “daddy’s friends” […]
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A Well World: Crisis Care Access for All
A Well World: Crisis Care Access for All The Well has never served its members in a vacuum. Since our beginnings two decades ago, we’ve been grateful to be able not only to offer a place to belong for individuals dealing with serious mental illnesses but to point them to other resources and services that can help them pursue mental health stability. I’m excited that […]
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Taking Every Opportunity to Serve at Jacob’s House
The weekly meals Caitlin Miles has prepared for Jacob’s House aren’t just about food-they’re about community. “It’s about sharing our common humanity and vulnerability,” she explains. At the beginning of the pandemic, Caitlin’s parents, Suzan and Phil Sprinkle, began focusing their volunteer efforts on serving the men of Jacob’s House, the Well Community’s boarding home for men. Caitlin, who was part of their quarantine bubble, […]
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Jacob’s House: A Place of Stability
Stability is a primary goal for the Well and our members, and Jacob’s House is our primary example of how that can happen. Founded in 2007 to address the serious shortage of affordable, safe housing for men living with mental health conditions, it has been home to several dozen men over the years. In the past few years, there has been little turnover, offering the […]
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June 2022 A Well World: Conduit of God’s Love
Conduit of God’s Love When the Well Community was founded 20 years ago, it came out of a church outreach to the southern Oak Cliff area. Joel Pulis, his family and his friends at Cliff Temple Baptist Church saw the crying needs of those in their neighborhood living with chronic and severe mental illnesses. They believed that each of these adults was loved by God […]
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Offering Spiritual Support: Conveying God’s Love Through Personal Connection
Since the Well Community was founded 20 years ago, it has been unique in that it has offered not only practical resources but spiritual support for individuals whose lives have been altered by serious mental health conditions. Begun by Joel Pulis, his family and some members of Cliff Temple Baptist Church, the Well has, from the beginning, been a community where members seek to strengthen […]
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Five Ways to Offer Spiritual Support
Strong faith can play a powerful role in mental health. This is often particularly true for those living with serious mental illnesses; however, the daily challenges of these conditions often make it especially difficult to cultivate a vibrant spiritual life. Many of these same challenges can also prevent individuals from seeking support to help them build their faith as they pursue stability. That’s why providing […]
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