UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA STATE OF MIND TOUR
Cassie DeVries, Pondera County
State of Mind the statewide theatre and public dialog tour started its journey in Conrad on September 25th 2024. The tour is aimed at community listening and tackling the stigma around mental health in rural areas. The day started at Conrad High School where a team from State of Mind met with about 20 high school students. There they discussed with students what the students felt were the top needs for them from the community. State of Mind spent about 90 minutes with students and then that afternoon met with staff and discussed things that were said. Certified Prevention Specialist Cassie DeVries and Amy Shaw director of the Pondera County Health Department were able to attend this session. The State of Mind crew also asked the staff what they felt was both positive and what could be worked on for not only the students but they themselves. All of this was then taken and put into a production that was shown to the community that evening. It is very hard to put into words how amazing this production was. State of Mind addresses issues from an angle that you don’t even realize they are coming from. They bring you just slightly out of your comfort zone in addressing issues and stigma with you making you feel completely uncomfortable. They use music and interactive theatre to bring these hard topics to light. You leave feeling like you have a new perspective on how to address hard issues in your community. I would highly recommend this program for your community.
Gina Lamb, Phillips and Valley County
Sober October was the theme for this month in Phillips County, promoting self-care tips, non-alcoholic drinks & recipes, and the benefits of taking a break from addictive substances &/or stopping altogether, mostly shared as Facebook Posts on the Phillips County Prevention page.
State of Mind @ Glasgow, MT – What an amazing two-day experience to be a part of!! The Fort Peck Fine Arts Council, Glasgow Public Schools, Prevention, and Youth Connections teamed up to bring State of Mind, Workshops & Performance to Valley County.
Day one started out with an interview on KLTZ Glasgow “Live Under the Big Sky”, with Josh Aaseng – State of Mind Producer of Community Partnerships; Jenny Fuller – RTAL, Youth Connections Coalition & Gina Lamb – Prevention Specialist, EMCMHC.
This FREE project, brought to us by the University of Montana: Co-Lab for Civic Imagination, gave students the opportunity to reflect on what they like/love about their school/community by creating Song Titles for tracks on an album (these got very creative!). Students were able to voice what they need to feel safe & healthy by forming recommendations in “Care Commitments”, that were shared with school staff and local health providers, in an adult workshop following the student workshop.
Later that evening, the live performance was presented as an album where community attendees chose which “tracks” played next. Among them were the student-formed “Care Commitments” that were read aloud to the audience.
Wrapping up the two workshops and live performance was the “Coffee & Connection” the following morning. This allowed attendees, to any one or more of the events to share in a community conversation of “What do we do now?” Connections were made between school staff, behavioral health professionals and community members, with the hope of moving forward and collaborating in the future, for the well-being of the community and its youth.
State of Mind has been a wonderful opportunity for this rural area of Eastern Montana, starting a conversation amongst community members, school staff and health professionals! It has opened doors for other communities to bring in FREE, quality expertise and entertainment… book them today, you can’t beat live theatre!!
For information or to book State of Mind, contact [email protected]
