Intersect Network - Access Services

Intersect

Faith and Mental Health

Supporting people at the intersection of faith and mental health.”

Primarily in Bucks and
Montgomery Counties

Consultations and trainings
are available for any location

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Coming Together

Intersect’s mission is to support those at the intersection of faith and mental health.

Run by a team of staff prepared to train, consult and collaborate with human services providers and members of faith communities, it is our goal to equip the community to help the community.

Many community needs go beyond the reach of faith leaders, county workers, providers and others alone.

Providing holistic care, a core tenet of our philosophy of care, involves partnership and collaboration between community groups.

By bridging the gap and bringing people together, Intersect Network connects these important facets of the community to develop strategies and plans to address community needs that can otherwise go unmet.

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Tackling Tough Issues

Navigating the intersection of faith and mental health forces us to tackle issues that are traditionally hard to talk about. Through Intersect, we are working to help faith communities and service providers engage complex topics like suicide intervention, spiritual support as a secular provider, and a biblical view of mental illness.

As the Intersect Network learns and grows, they continue to provide training to the local community and expand beyond that to other communities that need to make these connections.

“A lot of faith communities recognize that they have people in their congregation who are living with mental illness but they’re not sure how to help them best. Intersect can serve as a consultant to these communities. Social service agencies often struggle to see people holistically and to include a spiritual component in care, which many people bring as an important part of their lives. Intersect can provide consultation to people in social services to help them be more effective supporters for people from a holistic perspective."
Jess Fenchel
Senior VP and COO
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Fostering Collaboration

The Intersect Community Needs Facebook Group is a care portal for faith communities who are looking to meet local needs in Bucks and Montgomery Counties. This is just one way we work to foster collaboration.

This page posts needs specific to the individuals supported by Access Services and may include needs for time, material resources, and/or monetary donations.

We encourage you to share this page with your family and friends. While we started this page to provide concrete service opportunities to local faith communities, we encourage any community members who are interested in giving back to join!

Multi-Faith Coalition

The Montgomery County Multi-Faith Coalition cultivates trust and collaboration between people from diverse faith communities and service organizations by acting as a convener to promote dialogue and resource sharing for the common good.

Led by a team of volunteers representing faith communities, human services organizations, and Montgomery County government, it is our goal to strengthen our collective efforts to improve the overall health of our region.

Upcoming Events

Newsletters

Want training and resources?

To learn more about specific trainings and resources that Intersect offers, please sign up for our newsletter.

Intersect Team

MDiv, CPRP

Dave Eckert

Strategy Director

Robert L. Givens III

Intersect Care Portal Coordinator

Juli Apple

Intersect Trainer

Ty Williams

Intersect Trainer

Mark Boorse

Community Connector

John Buckley

MDiv, CPRP

Dave Eckert

Dave Eckert is the Senior Director of Intersect, an initiative within Access Services that supports those at the intersection of faith and mental health through consultation, training and the fostering of collaboration between faith communities and mental health providers.  He has spent over 20 years working for Access Services within various roles including Director of a Mobile Psychiatric Rehabilitation program and agency Chaplain.  In addition, Dave has served as one of the pastors at Grace Community Church in Chalfont, PA for the last 15 years.  Dave holds degrees in Social Work, Biblical Studies and Divinity.  He lives with his wife and three children in Montgomery County, PA.

Strategy Director

Robert L. Givens III

Robert L. Givens III is the Founder and Owner of RG 360 Consulting, a social venture that exists to foster cultures of collaboration in communities throughout the U.S. by providing leadership training and capacity building services to coalitions and participating organizations. In addition to his role as an entrepreneur, Robert is the Strategy Director of Intersect at Access Services. Robert has spent his entire career leading and supporting cross-sector coalitions to address a wide variety of longstanding local, state and national challenges facing vulnerable populations every day. As a result, he has a deep understanding of the social sector’s many strengths and weaknesses. He leverages this expertise on behalf of his clients and his community to cultivate impactful, sustainable partnerships that are committed to doing good together. Robert earned his B.S. in Finance from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Intersect Care Portal Coordinator

Juli Apple

Juli has worked in social work for over 20 years in various roles including the fields of intellectual disabilities and children & youth.  Juli especially enjoyed working with children as well as foster and adoptive families, directly supporting them through casework and training. She has also had the experience of working at a church. The Intersect program allows Juli to draw from both backgrounds to help meet the needs of people in her community.  Juli earned her B.A. in Psychology/Sociology at Hope College in Holland, MI and her MSW at the University of Pennsylvania.

Intersect Trainer

Ty Williams

Tyrone (Ty) Williams serves as the Crisis Community Liaison and Trainer at Access Services. In this role, Ty facilitates Hope 4 Tomorrow assemblies and supports the Mobile Crisis program at community events. Additionally, Ty provides Mental Health and Prevention trainings (Mental Health First Aid, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer)) at colleges, high schools and other organizations in Montgomery County, PA. Ty is a member of the Montgomery County Suicide Prevention Task Force.

Intersect Trainer

Mark Boorse

Mark is a husband and father of 2 grown children. Mark is currently the Director of Program Development and has served at Access Services in a variety of programs over the past 35 years. He has walked with people experiencing mental illness in both his family and his congregation. Over the course of 20 years, he has served as both a deacon and an elder at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Harleysville.

Community Connector

John Buckley

John is the Lead Pastor of Upper Perkiomen Community Church (UPCC) in East Greenville, Pennsylvania. He loves to preach to all ages, but his passion in life is helping people to love God and others through mentoring and discipleship. John is also passionate about helping those who struggle with mental health, as well as those who love and live with those challenged by it. He has a son who has battled it his whole life along with the many folks God has brought along John’s path needing support, resources and direction. He praises God daily for all He has done to see this church impact so many lives.

John has been married for 32 years to his high school sweetheart Sandy and has four children. John was born in California and grew up in the Midwest. He received his bachelor’s degree in Pastoral studies and has had the privilege to serve as a lay pastor in two churches in the Midwest before coming to PA in 1995.

Contact Us

If you are interested in helping us develop faith-community relationships by raising awareness and providing resource assistance and support to congregations and organizations in your community, please contact our Chaplain, Dave Eckert.

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