Mental health advocates set positive tone
Published 9:59 am Monday, April 24, 2023
- The Mega-Brain inflatable will be on display for people to view during the May 20 annual Wellness Walk hosted in Long Beach by Peace of Mind Pacific County.
Mental health awareness advocates are gearing up for a busy four weeks.
May is Mental Health Month, and supporters of Peace of Mind of Pacific County plan a slate of activities.
Their president, Nikki Fortuna, outlined the agenda — her voice full of enthusiasm for their continuing two-pronged campaign to overcome the “stigma” of talking about mental illness while providing resources to help people.
Peace of Mind Pacific County
Website: www.pompc.org
Email: info@pompc.org
Phone: 360-643-3448
They have adopted a new mantra, “Shame dies when stories are told in safe places,” from Ann Voskamp, a Canadian farm wife and Christian blogger with an international following.
As well as providing “safe places” for promoting “brain health” and wellness year-round, Peace of Mind’s agenda for May includes:
• annual Wellness Walk May 20;
• Hope Floats auction;
• Rocks for Mental Health;
• Dining Out program.
Vision comes to life
Fortuna said the walk will take place at the Bolstad beach approach in Long Beach simultaneously with two other events, the Long Beach 4×4 Club’s “go topless” day and the Peninsula Lions Club’s annual Surf Perch Derby.
The walk had been sparsely attended in prior years, but last year, when it coincided with the auto club’s event, it attracted a larger crowd. Fortuna believes the mutual support from two other groups will further increase turnout.
‘We have grown in ways that we couldn’t have imagined.’
Nikki Fortuna, president, Peace of Mind
In conjunction with the walk, visitors will be able to walk through an inflatable brain and learn about its function. The display is provided by Medical Inflatable Exhibits, a Texas-based health educator.
“This is a vision we had from four or five years ago — someone saw this at a conference,” Fortuna said.
A health insurance company, Amerigroup, has fronted the $11,000 needed to bring the brain to Long Beach. The 12-foot by 14-foot inflatable is more than 8 feet tall. It is accompanied by a medical educator who shares details about the brain’s workings, touching on trauma, disease and treatments.
Other events
Preparation for the Hope Floats auction is under way. Some 65 community members are busily painting bright colors on 78 floats or retired buoys and converting them into one-of-a-kind artistic display pieces.
“It was such a hit last year, we brought it back,” Fortuna said. It raised $3,200. “It was our largest single fundraiser we have ever had.”
The floats will be displayed in storefronts and government offices and be available for bids in an online auction May 1 to May 18. This year’s target is $5,000, which would be a significant portion of the group’s annual budget. The auction site web address will be announced.
The Rocks for Mental Health program, where colorfully painted rocks are spread around community locations, will run during May, as will a dining-out fundraiser in which 13 area restaurants will donate a portion of their proceeds to Peace of Mind.
15 equal partners
Today’s group morphed from a peninsula chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness formed in 2004. Its leadership transitioned from NAMI into a local independent nonprofit group with a new name in 2016.
“We have grown in ways that we couldn’t have imagined,” Fortuna said.
“I am so blessed to have such an incredible team of volunteers.”
‘Shame dies when stories are told in safe places.’
Ann Voskamp, Canadian wellness blogger
Multiple annual projects and monthly support groups have a different hands-on leader.
“They don’t require any micro-management — someone takes ownership and runs with it,” said an appreciate Fortuna. “We have 15 on our board that has grown from being three or four people doing all the work to 15 equal partners. They allow me to be the ‘figurehead.’”
Candy Rutledge leads the Hope Floats auction, Sigrine Vally coordinates the dining-out program, and Karen Freeze is in charge of the colorful rocks.
Six support groups have a leader. Trish Berrong leads art-and-healthy-mind sessions. A twice monthly men’s support group is co-chaired by Brad Webb and Mike Swanson. A music and movement gathering and a coffee hour are also offered. Details of are on the Peace of Mind website at www.pompc.org.
More to come
As its efforts have expanded, the group has partnered with the Dylan Jude Harrell Community Center, the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program, Timberland Regional Libraries and the Wellspring Community Network.
Dylan’s center hosts a children’s art program twice a month. “That has been a spectacular program for us, and it has been expanding,” Fortuna enthused. “We are all about getting the message out about normalizing talking about emotions and feelings, and with kids this has grown exponentially.”
Events don’t end in May. The group plans a Family PJ movie night in December, seeking to replicate last year’s success at which a showing of Disney’s “Inside Out” attracted 150 people, and a “Blue Christmas” gathering for those alone or experiencing depression during the holidays.