Mental health

Living Proof: Multi Arts Evening to Shine a Light on Mental Health Issues

March 2, 2018 by Inside Press

The Mental Health Association of Westchester (MHA), The Lagond Music School, and Music & Miles: Changing Minds are thrilled to join forces for a new multi-arts evening of energizing performances shining a light on mental health issues and the power of the arts as a vehicle in sharing one’s story of healing in the face of adversity.

To be held on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, Living Proof will feature individuals sharing their personal and inspiring stories of resilience, creating hope and meaning for others who are experiencing mental health issues.

The evening of expressive arts will benefit the Miles Applebaum Music Scholarship Fund at The Lagond Music School and The Mental Health Association of Westchester. Performers include the Bruce Williams Quartet, Brianna Mae Clements, John Gillispie, Rebecca Haviland, Elizabeth Erin Kemler, Bianca Muniz, and Radioactive Zebra. Presenting artists include Anabelle Hiller and Nathaniel Galka. The evening will be emceed by radio DJs Coach and Bruce Figler of 107.1 The Peak, a media partner of the event.

The Miles Applebaum Music Scholarship Fund was established to honor and remember Miles Applebaum, a guitar student who studied at The Lagond Music School and later the Boyer School of Music and Dance at Temple University. Miles died by suicide at the age of 21 in 2014, and the Scholarship Fund was created to carry on his dream by providing aspiring musicians the opportunity to ignite their passion and study music at Lagond Music School, a nonprofit musical haven for students of all ages.

“The idea of Living Proof resonated for me that no matter what challenges we face, we can tap into our strength and courage to push through the hardest of times while giving hope and healing to others who have struggles of their own,” said Shari Applebaum, Miles’ mother and a Suicide Bereavement Specialist at MHA. “There’s no better way to honor Miles than through music and the arts which was the fabric of his life.”

Proceeds will also benefit The Mental Health Association of Westchester (MHA), a community-based non-profit that provides behavioral health services, community education and advocacy work. “We are honored that MHA has been chosen as a beneficiary of this powerful event and are excited to partner with these wonderful organizations to raise awareness of mental health issues in our community,” said MHA CEO Charlotte Östman, LCSW-R. “We believe strongly in the power of sharing our voices and stories and are thrilled to see mental health take center stage at Living Proof.”

“The Miles Applebaum Scholarship Fund is particularly dear to Lagond Music as we worked side by side with Miles for years. Miles’ passion for the music he loved is something we should never forget,” said Rosanne Lana, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Lagond Music School. “As performers, I feel the Applebaum family has allowed us to rejoice in our calling as artists, entertainers and storytellers.”

Doors open at 7:30 p.m., and the event features a selection of hors d’oeuvres, spirits and desserts followed by performances, a silent and live auction and the presentation of the 2018 music scholarship. $100 general admission; $40 tickets for attendees 25 years and younger. For more information and tickets, visit www.musicandmiles.org

For more than 70 years, The Mental Health Association of Westchester has promoted mental health in Westchester through advocacy, community education and direct services. MHA offers a range of services that are recovery-oriented, trauma-informed and individualized to promote recovery and wellness. To learn more, visit www.mhawestchester.org.

Lagond Music School is a charitable organization dedicated to music education and live music performance. Lagond seeks to identify and serve a diverse community of students, and provide a stimulating, creative environment that generates enthusiasm and motivation for music. It is innovative and dynamic, taking a professional approach in teaching not only the technical and theoretical knowledge of music, but the application of it in the professional world. For more information, visit www.lagondmusic.org.

Music & Miles: Changing Minds celebrates life and supports music education and performance while raising awareness for mental health and suicide prevention among teens and young adults. Proceeds raised by Music & Miles: Changing Minds benefit The Miles Applebaum Music Scholarship Fund at Lagond Music School, as well as behavioral health nonprofits. For more information, visit www.musicandmiles.org.

Benefiting Mental Health And Music Education: A Call for Entries Announced

November 12, 2017 by The Inside Press

For ‘Living Proof’: A New Multi-Arts Evening of Performances

TARRYTOWN, NY (November 2017)—The Mental Health Association of Westchester (MHA), The Lagond Music School, and Music & Miles: Changing Minds are pleased to announce a call-for-entries for Living Proof, a new multi-arts evening of energizing performances.

To be held on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, Living Proof will feature individuals sharing their personal and inspiring stories of resilience, recovery and mental health issues. The evening of expressive arts will benefit the Miles Applebaum Music Scholarship Fund and The Mental Health Association of Westchester while demonstrating the power of the arts as a vehicle in sharing one’s story of healing in the face of adversity, as well as a significant tool for recovery.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Miles Applebaum Music Scholarship Fund, established to honor and remember Miles Applebaum, a guitar student who majored in music performance at Lagond Music School and later the Boyer School of Music and Dance at Temple University. During Miles’ year studying music abroad, his studies were interrupted by an onset of symptoms associated with trauma and depression. Ultimately, the depth of his emotional pain proved too powerful for his gentle soul, causing him to take his life in 2014 at age 21. The Scholarship Fund was established last year to carry on Miles’ dream of providing aspiring musicians the opportunity to ignite their passion and study music at Lagond Music School, a nonprofit musical haven for students of all ages.

Proceeds will also benefit The Mental Health Association of Westchester (MHA), a community-based non-profit that provides behavioral health services for more than 12,000 children, teenagers, adults and families each year. In addition to its direct services and advocacy work, MHA hosts numerous suicide prevention, intervention and post-vention trainings and discussions throughout the year.

Expressive arts submissions may be in the form of a monologue, essay, music, dance, poetry, improvisation, photography, drawing or painting. Applicants who wish to be considered for the performance may find more details and the application form at www.musicandmiles.org. The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2017. Applicants who are chosen to advance will be notified, and, if selected, an interview will be scheduled to meet with representatives from the agencies.

Debut of two Groundbreaking MHA of Westchester Services

September 28, 2017 by The Inside Press

Suicide bereavement services offered by a specialist who has experienced her own personal loss to suicide

Each person experiences the loss of a loved one to suicide in their own way and in their own time. Through our new Suicide Loss: Outreach, Support and Healing service, we are able to offer compassion, understanding and support from a trained specialist who has also experienced personal loss to suicide.

Support is provided in a variety of ways and may include: connections to support groups in the community, sharing resources such as books, managing tasks at hand, discussing expectable reactions to a loss to suicide, how and what to share, and supporting family members – especially children. Suicide Loss: Outreach, Support and Healing services are provided at no cost.

Continue reading about Suicide Loss services>>>

Groundbreaking Telehealth service now at MHA

This summer, MHA debuted a groundbreaking behavioral health service that enables clients to meet with our psychiatrists via two-way, real-time interactive audio and video equipment.

Featuring HIPAA-compliant computer and web cam configurations, Telehealth stations are located in MHA’s White Plains, Yonkers and Mount Kisco clinics and offer improved access to care for clients who are in crisis situations and those who engage in clinical walk-in services.

Continue reading about Telehealth>>>

This news was provided as a courtesy to MHA of Westchester.

Judy Collins Helps Break the Taboo at MHA of Westchester Fundraiser

December 1, 2016 by Inside Press

“Break the taboo, tell the story,” Judy Collins told attendees of “An Evening of Conversation and Song,” the October 13th fundraiser for the Mental Health Association of Westchester at the Emelin Theater.

Collins, or “Judy Blue Eyes,” –- the legendary singer/songwriter of now classic American songs including “Both Sides, Now” and “Send in the Clowns,” –- proceeded to do just that, as she shared stories of her struggles with alcohol … “I was safe in New York with my therapist and half gallons of vodka.”

With depression…”While the outer self is looking so terrific, the inner self is saying: help, help.”

And finally, the different circumstances surrounding the suicide of her son and her own suicide attempt recovery. “The music saved me,” she shared. “It always has…Art makes it possible to survive on this planet.”

And so has the understanding that failure is ‘ok,’ she said.

“Scientists will tell you they learn the most from their failures,” Collins said. “There is no guilt in suicide…it is all about the process of getting from one point to the other.”

There are people who know that ‘truth,’ she added. And advised: “Be part of that clan” who offer “a bridge to life.” She commended the staff and volunteers of the MHA “for the miraculous work you do.” Following Judys’ talk, attendees enjoyed a reception and book signing.

For more information, please visit mhawestchester.org.

Grace Bennett, Publisher and Editor of the Inside Press, was recipient of a 2015 Media Award from the MHA of Westchester and a media sponsor for this event.

Judy Collins with Armonk resident Shari Applebaum

The Youth Mental Health Project

November 18, 2016 by Janine Crowley Haynes

The Youth Mental Health Project (YMHP) is a newly formed 501(C)(3) mental health organization focusing on children and young adults. Its founders, Wendy Ward and Randi Silverman, are passionate about getting the conversation started in our communities. “We don’t think of mental illness as a childhood illness,” says Silverman. “Yet, one in five have a diagnosable mental health condition, and suicide is the second leading cause of death in young adults,” Silverman adds. This is, no doubt, a difficult topic to broach, but YMHP plans on bringing that message to the forefront through a multi-pronged approach.

Eli Silverman, YMHP Founder/Chairman Randi Silverman, YMHP Founder/Executive Director Wendy Ward & Producer Carina Rush of No Letting Go

The organization stemmed, in part, from the personal family struggle of Randi Silverman when her son, Eli Silverman,* began exhibiting symptoms of a mental health disorder at a young age. “It took seven years for a diagnosis,” says Silverman. The family’s story is bravely illustrated in a film, No Letting Go, which won 20 international awards, including the Reading Film Festival 2015 People’s Choice Award and the Southampton International Film Festival 2015 Feature Screenplay Award.

YMHP is focused on changing the narrative to ignite a grassroots dialogue. Through various mediums, they seek to inform and educate community stakeholders, parents, and others about the importance of children’s mental health nationwide. Promoting mental health literacy programs is one avenue. YMHP believes early intervention and prevention is key in lowering the incidence and severity of mental illness.

fullsizerender — Launch party for the Youth Mental Health Project on November 15th.

Dismantling the stigma surrounding mental illness is also important. Silverman is a breast cancer survivor. “Remember when the ‘C’ word was a taboo topic? No one talked about it,” says Silverman. Today, over the years, strides have been made and people came forward, raised money and, now, cancer is no longer a shameful diagnosis. “I would like to see the same happen for mental health issues,” says Silverman.

To find out more about YMHP and their important mission, please visit the various links below.

By Janine Crowley Haynes, Chappaqua resident and author of My Kind of Crazy: Living in a Bipolar World

www.ymhproject.org

https://www.amazon.com/No-Letting-Go-Kathy-Najimy/dp/B01ATCA5CG

Eli Silverman Photography: www.espicture.com