Event Recap: Mental Health (5.16.13 Salon)

Salons at Stowe
May 16, 2013
How prevalent is mental illness in our community? Is mental health treatment accessible to all? How can we support individuals and families struggling with mental health issues?


FEATURED GUESTS:
Sara Frankel, J.D., National Alliance on Mental Illness

Harold L. Schwartz, M.D., Hartford Hospital Institute of Living

Inspiration to Action:

• Consider your language: don't label someone as "psychotic," but recognize the individual living with the illness.
• Join the NAMI Walk in 2014 and Stomp Out Stigma.
• Work to get mental health awareness curriculum in schools.
• Teach empathy.
• Encourage early intervention.
• Work to ensure follow through on screening diagnosis.
• provide support for military returning from service.
• Speak out against violence.
• Work to bring a public face to mental illness - individuals living with mental illness can demonstrate positive experiences.
• Provide access to services - make it easier to get treatment.
• Advocate for a mental health system that actually works.
• Emphasize the collective cost of stigmatization.
• If you have a management position or are in a position of authority, give someone a chance.
• Keep the discussion going.
• Define mental illness within the context of cultural norms.
• Help someone that doesn't have a support system.
• Educate yourself on issues, tell your legislators to do better.
• Practice empathy.

 

Explore the links featured on our Takeaway Sheet for more information and ways you can take action!

5.16.13 Mental Health Salon Takeaway by HBSC1811

Artists for World Peace concert and art show on May 18, 2013

Join the CitySingers of Hartford this Saturday, May 18 at 7pm, for a performance of A Chorus of Peace at the Wesleyan University Chapel (221 High Street, Middletown), and an Artists for World Peace art show at the adjacent Zelnick Pavilion. The events benefits Artists for World Peace.

The CitySingers performance is generated by the chanson melody “L’homme Armé” (“The Armed Man”), a popular song originating in the 15th century. This and other texts in the program are filled with imagery about what it means to be equipped to protect and strive for peace. A Chorus of Peace includes excerpts from the contemporary Welsh composer Karl Jenkins’s stirring composition based on “The Armed Man” as well as 15th-century composer Antoine Busnois’s setting of this melody. Through creative expression of choral and instrumental music combined with ethnic dance from the Sankofa Kuumba Dance Ensemble, CitySingers offers this performance as a symbol of peace for all. Members of the dance ensemble will wear the International Peace Belt during the performance. Tickets are available at the door. Suggested donation: $15.

 The art show in the Zelnick Pavilion, from 5 pm to 10 pm, will feature the work of seven contemporary artists: photographers Claudia Hehr, Chris Dei, and Kate Clay; fine art printer Antoon Taghon; painters Kamar Thomas and Kathi Packer; and mixed-media artists Wendy Black-Nasta and Ashby Carlisle. The work of Artists for World Peace and its International Peace Belt inspired much of the art on display. The show is free and open to the public.

 

The Artists for World Peace Foundation is a nonprofit organization that creates opportunities for artistic expression to foster world peace and raise funds to benefit humanitarian causes. To learn more about Artists for World Peace, please visit www.artistsforworldpeace.org.

Mental Health Salon on May 16, 2013

How prevalent is mental illness in our community? Is mental health treatment accessible to all? How can we support individuals and families struggling with mental health issues? 

Join the Stowe Center and featured guests Harold I. Schwartz, M.D. (Hartford Hospital Institute of Living) and Sara Frankel, J.D. (National Alliance on Mental Illness) for Mental Health: Stigmas, Stereotypes and Solutions. 

The Salon will begin at 5p.m. with refreshments in the Stowe Visitor Center. The facilitated discussion will begin at 5:30 p.m. and end by 7 p.m. Admission is free. RSVP by calling 860.522.9258 ext. 317 or emailing Info@StoweCenter.org.

Looking to learn more about mental health? Read Schizophrenic. Killer. My Cousin. by Mac McClelland in Mother Jones about mental health statistics and one family's encounter with schizophrenia.

Girlcott Recap and Celebration on May 9, 2013

In March 2013, numerous organizations joined forces for the first annual CT Girlcott, an initiative to raise awareness about body image and the relationship between women and makeup. The event asked women to “girlcott” (as opposed to boycott) make-up for the month of March and to donate the monies spent on cosmetics to organizations and programs that help support women and girls in Hartford and internationally.

This Thursday, May 9, join guests Rabbi Donna Berman (Charter Oak Cultural Center), Dr. Mala Matacin (University of Hartford Women for Change), RozeLyn Beck (YWCA Hartford Region), and Amanda Roy (CT Humanities) as we reflect on accomplishments and strategize for CT Girlcott 2014. We'll enjoy refreshments 5-5:30 p.m. and discussion 5:30-7 p.m.

For more information, please visit the Girlcott Recap and Celebration! event on Facebook or the Stowe Center website.

CT Girlcott 2013 was presented by Charter Oak Cultural Center, YWCA Hartford Region, Connecticut Humanities, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, The Women’s Education and Leadership Fund at University of Hartford, Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, University of Hartford Women for Change, The Ethel Walker School, University of Saint Joseph, Trinity College Women and Gender Resource Action Center, Jodi Cup of Health, Connecticut River Academy and many dedicated individuals.

danceEnlight "OFFERING" Benefit Concert on May 4, 2013

Looking to take action on food justice and hunger issues following our April 25 Salon? Join the Charter Oak Cultural Center and danceEnlight for OFFERING, an annual charity event that unites local dancers, singers and musicians, this Saturday, May 4, 2013. The beneficiary of this year's event is End Hunger Connecticut!, which works to eliminate hunger in our state through public education, outreach, administrative advocacy, and legislation.

A master dance class will beheld at 10:30am for $10 (free for performers). The main performance will be at 7:00pm, and admission is $20 general admission, $15 for seniors/Charter Oak and Let's Go Arts! members,  and $10 for students.

Click HERE for more information, or contact Lorelei Chang at lorelei@dancEnlight.org.