Submissions are due by October 1, 2010. To learn more click here: Look Closer Call For Submissions Information.

Last year, over 100 submissions were received from throughout Northern Michigan and from as far away as San Juan, Puerto Rico and Vienna, Austria. You may view the submissions at our Virtual Recovery Center Postcard Gallery. Enjoy!

This project is funded through a federal block grant through the Michigan Department of Community Health.

This special event is FREE for adults with mental illness who receive services from Northern Lakes CMH as well as the staff who are privileged to serve them. The day will focus on the recovery movement at Northern Lakes CMH, what we have accomplished so far, and how we are movin’ forward with more changes.

We will:

• Recognize the efforts of people who are “Walking the Talk” in moving recovery and anti-stigma efforts forward with Recovery and Anti-Stigma Awards.
• Look at new ways YOU can get involved in the recovery movement.
• Learn something new and have some fun.
• Socialize and meet new people.

Marty Raaymakers will be the keynote speaker. There will be continental breakfast and luncheon included.

Come join us for a day of information and fun! You may use this Movin On Up 2010 Celebration Registration Form to register by this Friday, September 3, 2010.

I found it rather educating to hear folks answer the question of why they chose to attend our session after Steven had asked them. There were so many different answers to this question and it led to an amazing discussion on what people thought stigma was and how it affected their lives in so many different levels and in so many different ways.

• What kinds of stigma do you encounter on a daily basis?
• How does it make you feel?
• How can you change it as only one voice/person?

All of this consumes me at so many different levels. I’d like to hear your thoughts on these questions. Maybe your thoughts can help someone else. I’m hoping it will help continue to show that even though we might all not know each other, we all face it and deal with it daily and we might even stigmatize others daily without even knowing it. How? Why? When? Think about it and how you can help others. Leave your thoughts and help someone else.

To learn more, check out the Men’s Health Week web site. You can also explore topics on men’s health by entering the Northern Lakes CMH interactive Health Education Answers site and choosing Men’s Health.

Learn & Lead to Succeed is the theme and the topics will be:

• Discover The Leader Within… Inspire, Lead, Succeed
• Strategic Sharing and Advocacy
• Stepping Out and Sharing Your Gifts as a Volunteer or Employee

If you are receiving services or supports from Northern Lakes CMH, you are invited and encouraged to attend! The conference is free, and includes continental breakfast and lunch. Transportation from Cadillac, Houghton Lake and Grayling will be arranged for those who need it.

The conference runs from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Registration deadline is Friday, June 11, 2010. Here is the Registration Form. If you have trouble downloading the form and printing it out, you may also call Cindy Petersen at 231-935-3099 or Rosemary Rokita at 1-800-337-8598 for more information.

Representatives and flag bearers from each county addressed the group from the capitol steps. The statements made from our counties were:

Crawford – In Crawford County we are very afraid about more budget cuts. We are afraid that there will be longer waiting lists for mental health services in Michigan. We are afraid people won’t be able to recover and get their lives back. We are afraid more people will end up in the emergency room or on the streets instead of getting treatment. We are valuable people – and treatment and support should be a right, not a privilege.

Grand Traverse – I have a mental illness and my recovery was to take my medications and it changed my life. I started to go to clubhouse and they helped me a lot with my illness. I want to keep going to clubhouse and continue to see my doctor. I thank the CMH people for helping me with my illness.

Leelanau – Last year we lost our day program for senior citizens. We are afraid we will lose more if the budget keeps getting cut. We are afraid that some of us may not be able to recover as a result. Mental health matters!

Missaukee – In Missaukee County, we feel that Advance Directives are very important. Where would we be without caring individuals, friends, and family? Without my sister where would I be today?

Roscommon – I’m afraid to meet people or be around groups of people because of my mental illness. It’s bad when someone like me is even afraid to see my regular doctor because they know I have a mental illness and automatically start to stigmatize me and the problems I have, saying it’s because of my mental illness.

Wexford – I have a 7-year-old daughter who is not with me because the judge says I have a mental illness and supposedly not capable to raise her. I also lost my fiancé the first of this year which is still very traumatic for me. I look at life this way – God won’t give you what you can’t handle. If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Many thanks go out to all who braved the weather and attended the event. Despite near-freezing temperatures and relentless rain, everyone’s dedication and commitment to advocate on behalf of people with mental illness and developmental disabilities and ensure they have a voice is priceless.

Women are very different from men. While we share many common traits as human beings, we don’t share all of the same health concerns. Some conditions are more common in women. Here are some good sources to learn more – including some practical, easy things you can add into your life right away:

Women’s Mental Health: What It Means To You is a great publication by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Office on Women’s Health. Click womenmentalhealth to access this 22-page booklet which is packed with helpful information of specific interest to women.

Another fantastic resource to support women’s health can be found in the Health Education Answers section of our web site. Click here and then choose “Launch” to access this interactive site!

Morey will receive a $100 prize in addition to the honor of being selected.

According to MACMHB Executive Director Michael Vizena, the goals of the show are to help destigmatize mental illness, developmental disabilities and substance use issues by showcasing the multi-dimensionality of people who use community mental health services and to highlight the recovery potential of the arts.

“Art, for me, is an expression of what life, death, relations, isolation, and stagnation is and/or means to me in a variety of instances. Drawing is my most practiced medium. My goal is to be able to draw a noise or a mood without anyone focusing on specific objects. Social functions are my favorite theme,” said Morey.

The traveling art show will begin its two-year schedule at the MACMHB spring conference in Dearborn on May 17-19, 2010. The show will then be publicly presented at various venues around the rest of the state through 2012.

At the end of two years, the artwork will be auctioned and the proceeds will be used in other efforts to increase awareness of the prevalence of mental illness and developmental disabilities. “We hope the overall effect will be to alleviate stigma and normalize help seeking behaviors throughout Michigan,” according to Vizena.

Three representatives from the Cadillac Arts Council served as judges in choosing the artwork to represent the Northern Lakes CMH service area. They were Phyllis Olson, member of the Cadillac Area Artists Association who is a lifelong artist and has been one of the organizers of the annual Cadillac Art Fair for most of 40 years; Dean Sandell, President of the Northern Michigan Art Guild who has education, training and work experience as a landscape architect and is also a painter/potter/photographer; and Jim Smith, Vice-President of the Cadillac Area Artists Association, who works in oils, acrylics, watercolor, and pencil.

The judges described Morey’s piece as “a fascinating emotion-filled work, with inquiring eyes that draw the viewer in – seeing, searching, looking back.”

Sandell indicated, “The process of making a piece of art was clearly in play for each artist.” He added, “The process of making art allows an opportunity create a new focus, think in a manner outside ordinary ways and give expression to our new or developing awareness.”

Cindy Petersen of Northern Lakes CMH said, “We are pleased to have representatives from the art community partner with us in selecting the piece to represent our area in the statewide show. We will be scheduling the show to come to Northern Michigan sometime during the next two years and look forward to the opportunity to showcase the work of Robert Morey and the other artists from around the state.”

If your organization is interested in hosting the traveling exhibit in northern Michigan, please contact Petersen at (231) 935-3099.

The film festival is sponsored by the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services and Community Access, a supportive housing organization. The festival is focused on mental health recipients and the arts.

To See What I See is a 20-minute documentary which highlights the Northern Lakes Community Mental Health Stigma Busters Project, where people who have experienced mental health issues use art, “photobiographies,” and writing to inspire others to understand them, to hope, and to spread the word that recovery from a mental illness is possible.

The movie was written and directed by Mary Pierce of Traverse City and edited by Jeff Morgan of Prometheus Motion Pictures, with technical advice from Deb Freed of Freed Communications of Suttons Bay and Cynthia Petersen of Northern Lakes Community Mental Health. Shawn Semelsberger of Traverse City narrated the film.

Pierce said, “I was humbled to be a part of this experience and the opportunity to work with people who were so willing to share the most difficult experiences of their lives – for their own healing and the healing of others with mental illness. They demonstrated a determination and fortitude, through their artistic achievements, in the face of challenges.”

Morgan said, “Working on this project is one of my proudest moments, and I feel so privileged to be a part of this message. Slowly but surely we can all start evaluating each other by who we are and what we do, not by the labels given to us.”

The film was produced by Northern Lakes CMH with the support of a mental health services block grant from the Michigan Department of Community Mental Health, provided by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Mental Health Services.

To See What I See is available for purchase or download at FilmBaby.com.

A second film on recovery from a mental illness, “Look Closer: See Me For Who I Am,” was recently released by Northern Lakes CMH on FilmBaby.com and on the Northern Lakes’ YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/NorthernLakescmh. More information may be accessed at www.NorthernLakesCMH.org.