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EDITORIAL: Mental health event shows need in area

Daily Star, The (Oneonta, NY) - 1/29/2015

Jan. 29--Sell-out shows don't happen around here too often, unless a big-name act is being brought in from outside the area. So it's notable that a local conference scheduled for Saturday has already reached its capacity.

"Hope & Healing: Perspectives on Mental Illness" is a joint presentation of the local chapters of the National Alliance on Mental Illness; Delaware County NY Connects; the Roxbury Arts Group and the David Byrd estate. The panel discussion at host venue the Roxbury Arts Center coincides with an exhibit of artwork by Byrd, whose paintings were inspired by his time working at a VA hospital with patients with mental illness.

Byrd retired to Sidney Center and quietly produced a body of work that, once discovered, drew attention from a Seattle art gallery, whick flew the artist to the West Coast for an exhibit and artist's talk in 2013. The artist died shortly thereafter. Commenting on the emotional intensity of Byrd's work, Seattle gallery owner David Kucera wrote, "The entire process of creating this exhibition has provided one of the most moving experiences of my career."

Conference coordinator Jessica Farrell said the response to the conference has been overwhelming, and that this response speaks to the abundance of mental health issues locally.

"The need is just so great in our community," Farrell said. "Almost every person I talk to about this says, 'Oh, my sister has schizophrenia' or 'My uncle has bipolar disorder.'"

As great as the need is, the conference is offering a positive focus, as its title suggests.

"It's inspiring to hear stories of people coming through dark times and coming out the other end," Farrell noted.

While we are acutely aware that our rural area has limited resources to help people with mental illness, this conference puts a focus on the services that are there -- including some that people might not even be aware of.

For example, members of a recently established 24-7 Mobile Crisis Assessment Team will be present. The team was created to serve as a bridge between area residents in crisis and regional health care providers, as an alternative to having traditional first responders handle such instances.

And since the conference is open to the public, not just to officials, speakers on the panel will be there to listen, too.

"We're going to learn how to make services better," Farrell said.

It is all too easy to sit around and complain about a lack of services for people with mental illness. We commend the organizers of this event, not just for taking a different approach to the topic by incorporating art and music, but for taking a positive and proactive approach.

"There is hope, healing and recovery," conference speaker Kate Hewlett told The Daily Star. And it is events such as this one that help make such things possible.

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(c)2015 The Daily Star (Oneonta, N.Y.)

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