WELCOME TO THE INTERFAITH CENTER FOR HEALTH ISSUES (IFCHI), a division of the Minnesota Institute of Public Health (MIPH). Officially established in 2004, this division’s origins date from the mid 1970s when MIPH realized that many people, coping with such health concerns as substance abuse, violence, mental illness and other issues, sought guidance, direction and support from their local churches, synagogues, temples and mosques. Naturally, lay and ordained clergy wanted to be helpful but their training and experience usually did not include this realm. Still, faith leaders knew their congregants were experiencing life difficulties with a number of issues around health and safety, and they sought effective ways to be supportive, educative and helpful.

Those of us in the Interfaith Center for Health Issues believe that faith communities can and do play an important and unique role in a variety of health and safety issues. That role is part of a comprehensive community response to the issues of our time and is what the Center works to enhance.

STAFF AND HISTORY. Jerry Jaker and Roger Svendsen are the co-directors of the Center located in Mounds View, Minnesota. The Center is a division of the Minnesota Institute of Public Health, which is a 501c.3 nonprofit founded in 1972.

In a previous career as parochial school teacher and school administrator within the Archdiocese of the Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota area, Jerry noticed the growing, unmet need for faith communities to help their members, families and the larger community in which they live. At the time Jerry was working in schools, Roger was Special Assistant of Alcohol and Drug Problems/Issues to Minnesota Governor Al Quie. Roger convened a special task force of faith community leaders to examine the rising challenges presented by alcohol and drug problems. After that meeting, Jerry and Roger, together, convened a series of faith community leaders’ meetings, dialogs, and eventual print resources and training experiences designed to assist faith communities to effectively address health and safety issues.

TODAY, TOMORROW AND BEYOND. With leveraged assistance from private and public grants and initiatives, MIPH through its Interfaith Center, developed:

• training curricula for faith leaders in substance abuse issues,
• lessons for confirmation class students,
• family standards and guidelines for engaged couples in faith-based marriage preparation programs
• alcohol and gambling policy thoughts for pastoral councils
• and a host of state-of-the-art public health science-based talking points for clergy preparing sermons on topics such as depression, HIV, gun violence, senior citizen medication education, abuse and neglect, problem and compulsive gambling, among other issues.

We ensure the public health science message, and faith leaders and workers intersect the doctrine of their religious beliefs based on public health truth.

When President Bush championed the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (WHOFBCI), our Interfaith Center received a surge of requests for assistance. As a result, we updated curricula, produced and disseminated a video entitled People of Faith, Partners in Prevention, and have prepared and are preparing numerous other resources for faith-based communities that are and will be referenced on this website.

Our sense is that, faith-based communities understand the importance of health and well-being as part of service to one another. They wish to serve, but want to be assured that their advice, counsel, information and referral skills as well as guidelines and standards they communicate, reflects both public health truth and their faithful beliefs.

The Interfaith Center for Health Issues is a work in progress. We are committed to helping faith-based groups safeguard the health and well-being of their communities.

Let us know how we may help you.