By Derrick Keith, Band Member, The Last Gold Leaf

When I was sixteen my parents bought be my first guitar as an Easter present. I never thought of myself as a musician. I was the kind of kid that spent endless hours locked away in my room, pencil in hand, drawing feverishly, seeking desperately to express the fanciful worlds in my head into images on a page. In fact, even as I began writing songs I never imagined I would seek to make a career out of music.

Picking up that guitar unlocked an urgency in me. I found that others could identify with the loneliness and depression that informed my music. And that made us all a little less lonely, the days seem just a little bit brighter. I was hooked and there was no looking back. I set out to find that connection on a larger and larger scale.

If I were to try to sum up my goal as a songwriter in one word I think it would be “fearless.” I believe my role as an artist is to bring light to those dark places in our psyche that we become afraid to talk about. The unpretty things: addiction, poverty, hunger, betrayal. It seems as if our culture is almost engineered to isolate ourselves from one another. But it’s in recognizing our griefs, our failures, in forgiving that we can tear down the walls we built originally to protect us. The walls we found cut us off from our lifelines.

I have seen friends, family members, lovers, strangers in deep hurt. In need of help. Become helpless. But I believe in the power of music to heal. To foster community. To open up wounds to draw the infection out. I seek to bring to the surface the ugliness so we can accept one another.

That’s why I reached out to the Mental Health Association of Minnesota (MHAM). Music can raise the questions, but MHAM has the resources to help heal the wounds. None of us can do it alone. According to the National Institute on Mental Health’s website, In 2012 18.6 percent of adults ages 18 and above were diagnosed with mental illnesses. That’s almost 2 out of every 10 people. And that’s just the people seeking help.

If you or a loved one you know have questions, seek help.

The Mental Health Association of Minnesota is proud to support the band The Last Gold Leaf in their upcoming EP release party for their new album Opaque. Through this release party for the EP Opaque, The Last Gold Leaf hopes to generate awareness of mental health and point people in the right direction to find treatment and services for mental illnesses.  Staff from MHAM will be at the party to share information about mental health and our services. A portion of the proceeds from this event will benefit the Mental Health Association of Minnesota.

Guests include: Parachute Empire, The Lost Wheels, and Kara Doten

Featuring photography by Haythem Lafaj

Location
The Stu
77 13th Ave NE
MInneapolis, MN

Cost: $11

Purchase tickets here.

By Jennifer Ilse, Co-Artistic Director, Off-Leash Area

I have sweet memories of my brother Craig, 11 years my elder. Accompanying him to Boy Scout meetings, camping, swimming, pine cone fights, building snowmen… Though at times he staked out his rightful place as older tormenting brother, he clearly adored me, loved to teach me and show me the world and the things he loved in it. At age 19 he developed acute paranoid schizophrenia, and that was the end of that chapter of our lives together. I was confused, terribly embarrassed by his behavior in front of my friends, and I missed my old Craig dearly.

I watched our parents’ frustration and grief as they struggled with understanding what to say, what to do, what to feel. And I kept my own emotions well constructed in front of them and everyone else.

As the director of a dance and theater company, art is my most comfortable form of expression of the deepest places in my soul. And hence was born Maggie’s Brain from my memories of this period of intense struggle. This was in a small town in the mid-70’s – a time and place where most people didn’t know what schizophrenia was; it was still believed that “cold” mothers were the cause, and nobody ever talked about mental illness except in hushed and generally misinformed whispers. Thankfully my parents were able to find significant emotional and practical support through the local chapter of NAMI, and as a result Craig was able to get into a network of support that enabled him to have a safe and fruitful life.

Though Maggie’s Brain is not a replica of my family’s story with mental illness, it is born from those intense memories of confusion, guilt, anxiety, love, and grief. I researched and talked with many people who have experienced mental illness personally and professionally, and from all of our experiences created a version of this journey. The social and political environment for mental illness has also improved significantly since that period of time. But the struggle, the frighteningly intense emotions, the desire for communication and understanding, are part of everyone’s journey whose lives are touched by mental illness. Maggie’s Brain is my artistic expression of that journey.

You can see Maggie’s Brain at The Cowles Center in Minneapolis, January 24-26, 2014. I hope you can come.

DATES/TIMES/TICKETS
At the Cowles Center for Performing Arts
January 24/25/26, Fri/Sat 8pm & Sun 7pm
FULL DETAILS at www.thecowlescenter.org
Tickets: Adults $25, Students/Seniors $23/ Under 21 $19
Group rates available
Reservations: Reserve online at www.thecowlescenter.org or call the box office at 612-206-3600.

There will be a discussion with the artists, mental health professionals, and those directly affected by mental illness after the show on Friday, January 24 and Saturday, January 25 as part of The Cowles Center’s Meet the Company Talk-Back Series.

You can find out more about Off-Leash Area’s work at their website.

Don’t forget! Tomorrow, November 15 is Give to the Max Day through GiveMN.org!

The MHAM Board of Directors will match all donations given to MHAM through GiveMN up to $10,000! Your donation will go further and you will be helping people with mental illnesses remain healthy and independent. Go to givemn.org/story/Mental-Health-Association-of-Minnesota right now to schedule a donation for November 15, or join us on Give to the Max Day to help us reach our $25,000 goal.

MHAM is behind in its fundraising goals for 2012. While we receive some corporate and foundation money, we are far more reliant on individual donations to provide our services throughout the state. Remember – with our generous Board match, your gift of $10 becomes $20, a gift of $25 becomes $50, and a gift of $100 becomes $200. Please join us on November 15 and improve the lives of people living with mental illnesses.

MHAM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We meet all standards of the Charities Review Council. We do not sell or share our donor lists.

We’ve had a few hot days in Minnesota, and hope you all are beating the heat.

Individuals on certain medications may be more vulnerable to heat stress. Persons taking regular medication should consult with their physician.  Some medications cause an adverse reaction in hot weather, such as reducing a person’s ability to sweat. If you are on such a medication, or if you know someone who is, please take a look at these strategies for managing heat stress.

To avoid heat-related illness:

• Avoid, as much as possible, working or playing in the hot sun or other hot areas.  If you must be out in the sun, wear a head covering and sunscreen.  A wide brimmed hat or visor will not only protect your head from intense rays of the sun; it will also provide a shield for your eyes.
• Shut blinds and open windows slightly during the day to release trapped hot air.  Use air conditioners if you have them.
• Wear lightweight clothing.
• Drink plenty of water and fruit juices; avoid alcohol, carbonated or caffeinated drinks.  Because the body loses fluids in the heat, drinking lots of liquids helps to avoid dehydration.
• Eat frequent, small meals; avoid high-protein foods
• Take cool baths or showers—cold water can lower body temperatures 25 times faster than sitting in an air-conditioned room
• Spend time (even 2 hours will reduce the risk of heat-related illness) in an air-conditioned environment or basement; cover windows to block direct sunlight; turn lights on low or off; use fans to blow hot air outside.  Public libraries, community centers or other similar locations may be a good option for spending some time away from the heat.
• Do NOT direct fans to blow in at you.  Fans can actually increase heat stress.
• Do not leave older people, children, or pets, alone in cars.

Non-emergency questions about how to stay cool—call 2-1-1 or for emergency heat-related health problems—call 9-1-1