Menbere T Abere, our FaithNet Lead Coordinator is a mother of two, a boy and a girl. Menbere is from Ethiopia and moved to the US in 2016. Menbere joined NAMI Santa Clara County in September 2017 to take the family-to-family training because of the lived experience of her family members and she has been volunteering in NAMI Santa Clara County as a facilitator for the family-to-family training. She has also been working as a FaithNet coordinator with the African ancestry team since its inception.
Menbere believes that the purpose of her pain is advocating for those with mental illness by sharing the knowledge she has gained with close family members (siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.), her community and Health Providers’ System to fight the stigma surround mental illness.
Menbere believes that having faith in a higher power, hopes that her work will help all who are in need, and love for what she is doing. She says when faith, hope, and love combine, they keep her going against all odds. Menbere’s guiding bible verse is “And now abide faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.”