January 21, 2025 • 32 mins
In this show we discuss mental health with representatives from StoryStitchers, a St. Louis-based nonprofit using social justice arts and youth programming to address mental health issues and gun violence. Project coordinator Emeara Burns and intern Houston Himes share insights on their mental health campaign, which includes creating public service announcements (PSAs) to destigmatize mental health care among young African Americans.
They talk about their organization’s impact through creative expression, school assemblies, and community engagement. The episode also highlights the importance of recognizing mental health triggers and seeking help, while sharing resources like the 988 crisis hotline and the City of St. Louis Behavioral Health Bureau.
[00:00] Introduction to Mental Health
[00:30] Welcome to St. Louis In Tune
[01:24] Introducing StoryStitchers
[03:23] StoryStitchers' Impact and Community Response
[04:30] Personal Journeys with StoryStitchers
[07:30] The Mental Health PSA Campaign
[09:43] Resources and Support for Mental Health
[13:31] Assemblies and Community Engagement
[26:48] Final Thoughts and Encouragement
[29:50] Closing Remarks
Takeaways:
- Mental health is essential for coping with life stresses and contributing to the community.
- Story Stitchers utilizes art and creativity to address mental health issues in youth.
- The importance of open discussions about mental health to help reduce stigma in communities.
- Engaging with young people through poetry and music fosters healing and self-expression.
- Resources and support are available for mental health crises, including the hotline 988.
- Everyone experiences mental health challenges, and it's crucial to seek help and support.
- St Louis Story Stitchers Facebook Page
- Home - Saint Louis Story Stitchers
- Perception Isn't Always Reality: Mental Health - Saint Louis Story Stitchers
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- World Health Organization
- National Alliance on Mental Illness
- Story Stitchers
This is Season 8! For more episodes, go to stlintune.com
#mentalhealth #storystitchers #psa #victimstovictors #mentalhealthawareness #stlouismentalhealth #988lifeline
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
According to the World HealthOrganization, mental health is a
state of mental well beingthat enables people to cope with
the stresses of life, realizetheir abilities, learn well and work
well and contribute to theircommunity. But in the United States,
the National alliance onMental Health Illness estimates that
almost one in five adultsexperience mental health problems
each year. In this episode ofSt. Louis in Tune, we're going to
(00:23):
be talking to representativesfrom Story Stitchers about their
mental health campaign that isdone through public service announcements.
(00:45):
Welcome to St. Louis in Tuneand thank you for joining us for
fresh perspectives on issuesand events with experts, community
leaders and everyday peoplewho make a difference in shaping
our society and world. I'mArnold Stricker along with co host
Mark Langston. Mark is onassignment today and we are glad
that you've joined us today.You can listen to previous shows@stluntune.com
(01:06):
please help us continue togrow by leaving a review on our website,
st luntune.com, apple Podcastsor your preferred podcast platform.
And as I talked at thebeginning, mental health, everybody
has mental health, butsometimes mental health can be just
like physical health. It canbe out of whack. And our guests today
(01:28):
are part of a campaign calledSTL St. Louis Story Stitchers. And
you can get more informationon them@storystitchers.org and they've
been involved in a PSAcampaign. We have Amira Burns, she's
project coordinator for theproject and intern representative
Houston Himes is here to talkabout exactly what they've been doing
(01:49):
and how long the program'sgoing to be going.
Thank you so much for having us.
How you doing?
Good. So I appreciate you guysbeing here today. A lot of people
don't know about StoryStitchers so let's first start there
and then I want to get intoyour backgrounds, how you got involved
with Story Stitchers. Okay, sowhat is Story Stitchers?
So Story Stitchers is a nonprofit organization. We're known
(02:13):
for our high quality socialjustice arts. In our creative youth
programming, we focus on youthand young adults ages 16 to 25. And
we've created a platformtogether. Actually we've created
this platform for the last 10years that give you the opportunity
to use their voices, theirgifts, their talents, the arts to
(02:36):
express themselves and tocreate like this community healing
type of, type of vibe that wegot at the center going on now.
Yeah, for sure.
Add anything to that, Houston?
Yeah, the best way to describeit is it's non conventional in ways
of tackling mental health.Like we're Talking about today gun
(02:59):
violence, as she said before.And we recognize that through art
and creativity, we can reallymend a community together and put
people in situations andpositions in which they never thought
of before if they were neverpart of this. So, if anything, we're
just opening the door foryoung kids to recognize their path
(03:20):
and creativity while alsohealing as well.
And what's been the responseto your efforts over the course of
time? Not just this particularcampaign, but over the course of
time, what has been theresponse in the community?
Personally, I have seen youthtell them their stories through poetry,
through song, through dance.And the communities that we go in
(03:44):
are very heavily impacted bythese stories because they, too,
go through them. Like, I had afriend that did a poem about a friend
that got shot on his way tohis bus stop, and there was a mother
there that had lost her son at19 years old, and she cried, and
(04:04):
we were able to hug her anduplift her, you know, so it's those
type of responses and alsojust uplifting our community. Like,
when we go and do certainsongs, it. I feel like it definitely
gives our community hope andhelping people to realize that these
problems that we face, wecan't. We can't beat them alone.
(04:26):
Right?
We have to do it together right.
Now for each one of you. Howdid you get involved with Story Stitchers?
A little bit about yourbackground, and why did you get involved
with Story Stitchers?
So I'll go ahead and start. SoI met a good friend of mine who's
part of Story Stitchers. Hisname is Tray Don. Shout out to Tray
Don. That's my guy.
He's also a part of this psa.
(04:46):
Yes.
Okay. Shout out to him.
He actually participated inour songs firsthand. So he did the
chorus to. What's the name ofthe song?
Victor. Not Victor.
Victor. Not Victor.
He's not the piano player.
No, no, no, no. That would be Brandon.
Correct. Okay. Okay.
But, yeah, I got in touch withStory Stitchers through him. He was
just. He recognized how I'mgrowing in my creativity and ways
(05:08):
that I want to express myself.And he got me in touch with Amira
and Brandon and some of theother people that are a part of Story
Stitchers. And honestly, beinga part of that group has given me
the freedom to express myselfin ways that I never really thought
of before, because I grew upas an athlete for the most part,
(05:30):
so that was just the way thatI expressed myself. And then after
college, I had to finddifferent ways to express myself
because I wasn't doing Anysports anymore, primarily baseball.
So I recognized that music andfilm and poetry was definitely ways
that I would love to expressmyself and bring people together
and inspire people throughcreativity and art and.
(05:52):
Do you realize the importanceof that now? But did you get that
in school?
Did I get that in school?
Did you get the music andpoetry and express.
No, actually.
So it's interesting, isn't it,that a lot of times in schools, because
of costs, we want to get ridof those programs that allow individuals
(06:12):
to express themselves?
Yes.
Yeah.
Okay. Amira.
That's actually funny becauseI learned about Story Stitches through
school. Well, really, it wasthrough some friends that I went
to school with, but we went toan art school, so.
Okay.
You know, we were alreadydoing our thing.
(06:33):
You're at the VisualPerforming Arts?
Yeah, we were at Central andwe were doing, like, talent shows
and stuff together. And theywere actually the first, like, some
of the first youth to evercome to Story Stitchers, like the
first Teen Council. And theyinvited me one day because they saw
that I started doing poetry.And they're like, we need some more
(06:53):
poets. And I remember it waslike my first poem that I took serious
because it was about MikeBrown. And I was upset because it
felt like, you know, thepeople who our youth look up to are
the same people that they'rescared to go to for help, you know?
So I did that poem and, like,I don't know, from there it's been.
(07:19):
It's been me and stories.
The rest is history.
Yeah. Like, literally. Andthat was, like, almost 10 years ago
now. It probably be, like 10years next month, actually. So.
Yeah, let's dig into theprogram. It's. You have, like, what
I would call the main theme.I'm a Victor, not a victim. And the
(07:42):
program is about you producingpublic service announcements. And
some of them are audio.They're mostly videos. And I recorded
some. We're going to hear someaudio here in a little bit. And there's
poems and just go into thisprogram a little bit when it started,
how long it's going to be going.
Okay. We started last October.October of 24. It'll go until October
(08:05):
of this year. 25th. Yeah. Westarted off with ideas, really. We
came together every week, oncea week for a couple of months, actually,
all the way into the end ofthe year almost. And we decided what
we wanted to talk aboutbecause the goal was always to destigmatize
(08:27):
getting mental health care foryoung African American or people
of color. You know, that'swithin our age range. And we started
to break down, like, how do wethink, you know, what. What catches
our attention when we get onthese social media platforms? Like,
how can we make content tocaptivate an audience that has a
(08:52):
very short attention span, youknow, And Houston can kind of talk
a little bit more about that,I guess.
For sure. It was a tediousprocess, honestly, because when you
talk about something as suchas mental health, especially within
the black community andwanting to destigmatize that, you
have to have credible sourcesand credible information. So not
(09:14):
only in terms of getting theroundtable, of making ideas for songs
and poetry and how we can showthis through creative terms, we also
had to make sure our researchwas on point, and we had to get in
touch with many differentcommunities, many different organizations,
and also do our own researchin terms of making sure that we know
(09:36):
what we're talking about andconnect with the community in the
most genuine way, but also inthe most intellectual way as possible.
And you provide a lot ofservices. The whole point is awareness.
And then if the awarenessreveals, like, yeah, I do feel this
way. You do provide resourcesthat people can go to, right?
(09:57):
Yeah, definitely. We haveresources on our website. We're also
connected with the mentalhealth board and different partners
there. Yeah, it's like awhole. A whole network of organizations
that is behind this PSA withus. We even have the mayor that's
behind us, which is great.Just helping to spread that awareness.
(10:18):
You know what I'm saying? Andbecause we realize, too, that sometimes
people don't even realize thatthese. That these resources are there.
Like, sometimes people arecompletely oblivious that these are
right here in the city. So,yeah, they're right there on the
website.
And there's a lot of them.
Yeah.
Yes.
There's a lot of resources outthere, folks. I want to give you
(10:38):
the biggest one. 988-Calling-988. You can call or text
24 7. You can talk to someonewho will help you. If you're having
a mental health crisis, knowthat you're not alone. You can also
call the national suicideprevention lifeline. It's 988lifeline.org
and also, as was mentioned,the City of St. Louis Behavioral
(10:59):
Health Bureau. You can connectwith a therapist there for free,
with or without insurance.3146-571585-34314-657-1585. Let's
listen to one of the PSAs thatthey have produced here.
(11:25):
Cloud of visions Fills my mindwith fog with sins Infectious towards
my inner dialogue can't seepast Thoughts of negativity. Reliving
the past blinds the beauty ofpositivity. While I chase the false
prophets around me, I'm in aspace of separation and duality.
(11:47):
However, my attention is infocus on a decision. Whether I choose
tension or righteousascension, perception is key. To
see the real me. Loving thereal me brings joy for eternity.
The biggest symptom of selfrealization was wisdom, which transformed
(12:09):
me to become a victor and nota victim.
And I would encourage peopleto go to storystitchers.org storystitchers.org
or call or text 988. So wereyou guys involved in the production
of that? The writing, thevideography, all of the above?
(12:34):
He actually wrote that piece.That's him.
I did. I did.
Wow.
Yeah. And honestly, that wasthe first poem I ever wrote.
Wow.
So I think you never knew you.
Had it in there playingoutfield, did you?
Yeah, I didn't know. I willfall in love with writing and it's
such a beautiful process andI'm glad I was able to show it during
this project.
Wow.
(12:54):
Yeah. So like, yeah, we, ourteam, the interns and the adult artists
were there from start tofinish. Like we sat there and wrote
out the scripts for thevideos. We had the talks with spot
content, who helped us shootthe videos, several meetings with
them, actually. And then whenthey came out, you know, we were
(13:15):
there helping them to directus to direct them.
Right.
You know, and it was a funprocess and I really think it impacted
the youth and let them knowthat, you know, the message that
you have is very important.And. Yeah.
Now you had mentioned someassemblies earlier.
Oh, yeah.
So fill us in on what theseare like, because I know you did
(13:37):
one down at Afton. I kind ofsaw the video of that one. I think
it was Affton.
Yeah, Affton High School. Soif you want a assembly, you can reach
out to us through our website.You can email me emeara at storystitchers.org
that's E M E A RA@storystitchers.org and we could
(13:58):
talk about some dates. Usuallythe assemblies look about 20 to 30
minutes, depending on whatyou're looking for. Sometimes we
do just full out songs andpoems and arts. Sometimes we can
sit down and do a podcast witha professional about mental health
and let the youth askquestions, have a Q and A at the
(14:18):
end, you know, so that peopleare feeling like they can engage
in these conversations. So,yeah, it kind of looks different.
It's kind of dependent uponthe school, what they're looking
for. But we do have content tofill a 20 to 30 minute show for sure,
you know.
How was that received?
Oh, man. Affton. They weregetting up out of their seats, dancing.
(14:42):
Like, the teachers was comingdown the aisles. Like, it was amazing
to see. I didn't realize that,you know, sometimes people or students,
I should say, really need thatbreak in their day or maybe even
in this, in the school year tohave that moment where you could
just like be refreshed and100%, you know. Yeah. So it was great
to see because.
(15:02):
You had music and dancing andthen you interspersed the message
within that.
Absolutely, absolutely. And Ithink that's the beauty of it is
everybody can, like relate tomusic on some level.
Right.
You know, so, yeah, it was. Itwas fun. It was definitely fun.
That's cool. Let's listen toanother one.
I am a victor, not a victim.
(15:23):
I'm a victor, not a victim. Iam a victor, not a victim.
I'm a victim and not a victim.Because I take 100% responsibility
for the circumstances andconditions of my life.
Every breath that I take is areminder that I have purpose. I'm
a victor, not a victim.Abundance is my birthright in all
(15:46):
facets of my life. Recognizingit makes me a victor, not a victim.
Success is my stepping stoneto greatest success. I am a victor,
not a victim.
Being more self aware shieldedme from the manipulation of others.
I am a victor, not a victim.
I suffer from anxiety anddepression, but I am not controlled
by it. I am a victor, not a victim.
(16:08):
I aspire to inspire triumphover tragedy. I'm a victor, not a
victim.
Even if I have the urge to letmy depression take over, I just remind
myself that is temporary andnot forever. I am a victor, not victim.
I'm a victor, not victim.Because I choose to stop the cycle
of gun violence by helpingStory stitchers.
(16:30):
I'm a victor and not a victim.
I'm a victor, not a victim.
That was from Story Stitchers.Being a victor, not a victim about
mental health. And I want tomention that the goal of Story Stitchers
is to promote a bettereducated, more peaceful and more
(16:52):
caring region throughstorytelling. And storytelling is
a huge thing. People love tohear stories.
Yes.
I think we are geared as humanbeings to receive stories and become
a part of things that are toldto us and then be able to tell our
own story in a variety ofways. And in that particular psa,
(17:13):
they talked about gunviolence. Had you done a PSA series
on gun violence?
Yeah, actually, the previousone. Yeah. So I think this is probably
Like a third psa.
Okay.
Yeah. Then the last one wassafe, where we were encouraging.
And we still do that at someassemblies too. But we're encouraging
youth and kids to, when yousee a gun, step away. Go tell an
(17:37):
adult, you know, and to theparents, we're telling them to lock
up your guns. Make sure youpracticing gun safety. Because I
think it was the summer wherewe had seen multiple kids accidentally
killed from finding guns andplaying with them. And, you know,
not understanding the severityof this. This item can end your life.
(18:01):
Yeah.
Yes.
And it was. It was. It wasvery tragic. So that was our response
to that.
Gotcha. I want to read acouple things. You know, I love statistics,
but I want you folks tounderstand out there in listener
land that you may be a part ofthese statistics, that in the state
(18:22):
of Missouri, Missouri ranks38th in the prevalence of mental
illness and access to care foradults and also for youth. And I
want to read off some mentalhealth conditions. We all have mental
health, but we want to keep itin a good way. It's kind of like
when people go to exercise orthey want to eat health in a healthy
(18:44):
way. You know, I consider.It's like you've got mental, you
got physical, you gotemotional and spiritual health. You
kind of all need to kind ofkeep in balance. And when they get
out of balance is whenproblems happen. So we have anxiety
disorders, adhd, bipolar,borderline personality disorder,
depression, which wasmentioned in the psa, disassociative
(19:04):
disorders, eating disorders,obsessive compulsive disorders, post
traumatic stress disorder,which is very prevalent in our communities,
psychosis, schizoaffectivedisorder, and schizophrenia. So any
of those things and peoplehave been identified, and some people
are on medication, and itworks for them, and some people go
to see counselors, and somepeople have not even recognized any
(19:25):
of those things. It kind ofgoes back to that initial thing I
remember. Alcohol. Anonymoussay the very first step is recognizing
that you have an issue. Andthat's probably a big part of the
goal of your PSA campaign, isto let people know that, hey, you
know, this happens to people,and you may have this, and now what
do you do with it? Was thatkind of. When you sat down on your
(19:46):
initial conversations, wasthat springing through people's minds
or was that discussed for sure?
And whenever we had thesemeetings with each other, we always
would start with mental healthchecks within the group and making
sure that we're on point andbeing completely honest about how
we're feeling and making sureit's a safe space that if you're
not feeling okay, we can talkabout it right here and right now.
(20:08):
Because this is the point ofthe project, and we want to. If we're
wanting to de. Stigmatize thatwithin the community, we have to
de. Stigmatize that within thesame room. When we're having these
meetings now, not.
To press you guys or to revealany other things about your co workers,
but have co workers beenhelped through this process and.
(20:29):
And realizing that, well, hey,you know, I've kind of been hiding
this, you know. Yeah, I dohave some of these symptoms, and
this has really helped me.
Yeah, actually, within thoseconversations that Houston is talking
about, we were able to hearpeople out, you know, and sometimes
just having somebody to kindof vent to and give you some positive
(20:51):
feedback, you know, helps andgoes a long way. But I do feel like
it was probably a couple ofyouth that were really heavily dealing
with some type of, excuse me,some type of depression and anxiety.
And recently I have seen afew, you know, say that they feel
(21:12):
that they have overcome it,you know, in this season. So that's
been, you know, a really goodindicator that what we're doing has
some type of effect and canpotentially help other people, too.
Yeah, I think it's recognizingthat there's some triggers, too,
like cold weather, you're inyour. In your place and you can't
(21:32):
get out and because the iceand the cold and, you know, or it's.
The sun never shines in thewintertime, and it really helps,
you know, and feeds thedepression that some people have.
And. Do you guys talk abouttriggers or things like that at all?
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And duringthose talks, that's. We wanted to
be as transparent as we couldand obviously not forcing people
(21:54):
to, you know, go into too muchdetail. But through those conversations,
whether it was me talking orlistening to other people, I started
to realize my own triggers andother people's triggers and how we
can talk about that in themost safe way and making sure that
people feel comfortable toshare that. Because everything that
(22:14):
we say in that room and how wetreat each other in that room reflects
in the project and how we wantto treat others within the community
as well. So we understandthere's an interconnectedness to
mental health and emotionalhealth, spiritual health, like you
said earlier. So understandingothers and giving them the platform
to speak about their mentalhealth also gives them the freedom
(22:37):
to speak about other factorsof their health as well.
You have one PSA that talksabout two individuals are standing,
doing the Dishes. And whatstruck me was recognizing someone
else's pain and discomfort andnot really. Yeah, yeah, I'm fine.
(22:57):
And, you know, when yourfriends or your family members are
not fine.
Yeah.
And they may be saying they'refine. So how do you talk about, like,
maybe reaching out to friendsand family when you seen these kinds
of things where they're,they're putting up this front and
facade.
Yeah, that's a, that's goodbecause that's kind of another thing
(23:18):
we were trying to do is tohelp people to see the signs, you
know, and like he was saying,like, you've been kind of quiet,
like, so obviously this personis very up uplifting and has a high
spirit. But sometimes, youknow, when people are dealing with
stuff, they go internal and,you know, try to deal with things
(23:39):
on their own. So you check onthose people. You know, some people
are just naturally quiet.
Right.
And want to be alone. So stillcheck on those people. You know,
sometimes you're not going toalways know. And that's the hard
part, too. You know, sometimesthere are signs, but sometimes we
can overlook the signs. And soI think just checking on people and
(24:01):
getting to know people, beingtransparent with people, will help
to start those conversationsof healing and fun fact. Actually,
we chose to do the PSA duringthe colder months, you know, around,
like holiday season.
Right.
Because we realized that thoseare triggers. Some people have lost
people, and it's hard aroundthese times. You know, it's cold.
(24:25):
And, you know, some people maydeal with homelessness or just don't
like the cold period.
Right.
You know, so that's anotherreason why we chose to do the PSA
or to release it in the, inthe time and that we, that we did.
You know, a lot of peoplethink holidays are fun time, and
for a lot of people, it is.For a lot of people, it's misery.
Yeah.
And it's a very. It's anintense time in which they wish it
(24:48):
would go away. You know, Iwould really want to commend you
guys and the organization forbringing the topic up, because in
previous generations, youlike, you don't talk about certain
things or, you know, you know,that's somebody else's job, or you
have an issue, you got aproblem. You know, we're going to
ignore that. The fact thatyou're talking about these things
and bringing them to thesurface, it's kind of like splinters
(25:10):
that you get in your skin.They will eventually work their way
to the surface and you're not,you know, they're there but you can't
ignore them. You have to dealwith them. And I think what you guys
are producing is just spot onfor, for our community and really
nationally.
Thank you.
It needs to be done. Want tolisten to one more here? And this
is. I'll set this up. This isa what I would call someone who is
(25:35):
experiencing some issues andsomeone who is a professional listener.
So how have you been feelingsince our last session?
Well, I've been feeling cool,I guess.
You know, being cool and Iguess can sometimes hide something
deeper underneath. Now, if youhave something to share, I'm here
(25:56):
to listen.
Well, life's been crazy. I'vebeen feeling anxious, and it's been
hard to talk about it. I justdon't want to seem weak.
You know, keeping yourfeelings bottled up is a sign of
weakness. Being truthful aboutyour feelings is a big step toward
managing them. You're doingthe right thing by talking about
(26:18):
it.
Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.
Good.
Let's keep.
That's St. Louis StoryStitchers. Storystitchers.org for
some resources. 988-offers,call or text 247 and talk to someone
if you have a mental healthcrisis. Or you can talk to 314-657-1585.
(26:43):
That's the city of St. LouisBehavioral Health Bureau. One last
question here, and it's notreally a question. I want you to
speak, both of you, speak tosomeone out there who you know is
having some difficulties, whomay not realize what they're going
through. What would you tell them?
(27:05):
I guess I would start Houston,it's okay to feel. That's one thing
I will say, especially comingfrom the perspective as a man. We
tend to hide our feelingsbecause, you know, that's not man
like at all. You want to bethe tough guy. You, you want to be
(27:26):
very intellectual and you leanupon that side of yourself, but you
also suppress the side ofyourself by doing that. And nine
times out of 10 for men, it'sfeelings and disregarding how we're
feeling. And if there is a redflag internally, we tend to ignore
(27:46):
it. We tend to fight throughit. You know, I go to a gym. I'm
a frequent gym goer. However,as therapeutic as it can be, it cannot
be the complete answer to yourproblems. You have to be able to
feel the issue and also seekhelp for that issue as well. So that's
the biggest thing I would say,is be okay to feel. Understand that
(28:09):
your emotions are going toonly speak louder the more you suppress
them. And the only Way you cantone that down is by giving it the
attention that it needs andseeking help. And that's totally
fine as a man to do so.
That's very, very good advice. Emeara.
I would say I was second whatHouston said, and I would want people
(28:29):
to know that they are, theyare worthy of healing, you know,
because sometimes we can bereally hard on ourselves and not
give ourselves that space toheal. But you are worth your healing.
You are the journey. It mightbe hard, but it will be worth it.
And I just want to encouragepeople to keep going, you know, keep
(28:51):
going, find somebody to talkto, find that thing that helps you
to release. Like Houston said,you know, these things that we use
to cope arts and the gym isnot the end all, be all, but it,
it does help. You know,exercise helps, writing, you know,
(29:11):
sunlight helps, eating healthyhelps. You know, it's all these things
that play a big part in ourmental health. And just, just like,
like Houston said, like, takesome time, look inward, understand
your feelings, becausesometimes you can't talk about it
because you don't understandwhat you're feeling. So take time
(29:32):
and look at it, analyze whydid this make me feel this way? You
know, like, really, thatsimple question can help you come
up with a lot of answers soyou're worth your healing journey.
And please don't. Don't skipout on it. Don't skip out on it.
I want to thank you both forcoming in today. That's really great
(29:53):
words of wisdom from you boththis morning and through the organization.
I think you're doing awonderful and extremely productive
thing for our community. Sothank you for coming in.
Thank you. Thank you forhaving us.
You bet. I want to give youmore information, folks. Story stitchers.org
(30:14):
Story stitchers.org Want tothank Emeara Burns and Houston Himes
for coming in to the studio totalk about the program. Also, anytime
that you feel that you arehaving a mental health crisis, the
easiest number to remember is988. You can call or text 24. 7 and
you will get someone to talkto 98 8, similar to 91 1, but it's
(30:35):
9, 8 8. And it's a great thingto utilize. So I encourage you to
talk to your friends, listento what's going on with them. Maybe
you have a family member,maybe you have some friends, maybe
even you have some issues thatyou're kind of suppressing, that
they eke out in one way oranother in an unproductive way, in
(30:56):
an unproductive manner. Thinkabout that and get some assistance.
It's okay. And you know Iloved what Emeara said at the end
there. You, you are worth it.You are valuable and you need to
take care of yourself. That'sall for this show and this hour.
We thank you for listening. Ifyou've enjoyed this episode, you
(31:18):
can listen to additionalshows@stlintune.com consider leaving
a review on Apple Podcast,Podchaser or your preferred podcast
or even our website. Yourfeedback helps us reach more listeners
and continue to grow. I wantto thank Bob Berthesel for our theme
music co host Mark Langston,who's on assignment, want to thank
our guests Emeara Burns andHouston Himes and we thank you for
being a part of our communityof curious minds. St. Louis in tune
(31:41):
is a production of Motif MediaGroup and the US Radio Network. Remember
to keep seeking, keeplearning, walk worthy and let your
light shine. For St. Louis inTune, I'm Arnold Stricker.
According to the World HealthOrganization, mental health is a
state of mental well beingthat enables people to cope with
the stresses of life, realizetheir abilities, learn well and work
well and contribute to theircommunity. But in the United States,
the National alliance onMental Health Illness estimates that
almost one in five adultsexperience mental health problems
each year. In this episode ofSt. Louis in Tune, we're going to
(00:23):
be talking to representativesfrom Story Stitchers about their
mental health campaign that isdone through public service announcements.
(00:45):
Welcome to St. Louis in Tuneand thank you for joining us for
fresh perspectives on issuesand events with experts, community
leaders and everyday peoplewho make a difference in shaping
our society and world. I'mArnold Stricker along with co host
Mark Langston. Mark is onassignment today and we are glad
that you've joined us today.You can listen to previous shows@stluntune.com
(01:06):
please help us continue togrow by leaving a review on our website,
st luntune.com, apple Podcastsor your preferred podcast platform.
And as I talked at thebeginning, mental health, everybody
has mental health, butsometimes mental health can be just
like physical health. It canbe out of whack. And our guests today
(01:28):
are part of a campaign calledSTL St. Louis Story Stitchers. And
you can get more informationon them@storystitchers.org and they've
been involved in a PSAcampaign. We have Amira Burns, she's
project coordinator for theproject and intern representative
Houston Himes is here to talkabout exactly what they've been doing
(01:49):
and how long the program'sgoing to be going.
Thank you so much for having us.
How you doing?
Good. So I appreciate you guysbeing here today. A lot of people
don't know about StoryStitchers so let's first start there
and then I want to get intoyour backgrounds, how you got involved
with Story Stitchers. Okay, sowhat is Story Stitchers?
So Story Stitchers is a nonprofit organization. We're known
(02:13):
for our high quality socialjustice arts. In our creative youth
programming, we focus on youthand young adults ages 16 to 25. And
we've created a platformtogether. Actually we've created
this platform for the last 10years that give you the opportunity
to use their voices, theirgifts, their talents, the arts to
(02:36):
express themselves and tocreate like this community healing
type of, type of vibe that wegot at the center going on now.
Yeah, for sure.
Add anything to that, Houston?
Yeah, the best way to describeit is it's non conventional in ways
of tackling mental health.Like we're Talking about today gun
(02:59):
violence, as she said before.And we recognize that through art
and creativity, we can reallymend a community together and put
people in situations andpositions in which they never thought
of before if they were neverpart of this. So, if anything, we're
just opening the door foryoung kids to recognize their path
(03:20):
and creativity while alsohealing as well.
And what's been the responseto your efforts over the course of
time? Not just this particularcampaign, but over the course of
time, what has been theresponse in the community?
Personally, I have seen youthtell them their stories through poetry,
through song, through dance.And the communities that we go in
(03:44):
are very heavily impacted bythese stories because they, too,
go through them. Like, I had afriend that did a poem about a friend
that got shot on his way tohis bus stop, and there was a mother
there that had lost her son at19 years old, and she cried, and
(04:04):
we were able to hug her anduplift her, you know, so it's those
type of responses and alsojust uplifting our community. Like,
when we go and do certainsongs, it. I feel like it definitely
gives our community hope andhelping people to realize that these
problems that we face, wecan't. We can't beat them alone.
(04:26):
Right?
We have to do it together right.
Now for each one of you. Howdid you get involved with Story Stitchers?
A little bit about yourbackground, and why did you get involved
with Story Stitchers?
So I'll go ahead and start. SoI met a good friend of mine who's
part of Story Stitchers. Hisname is Tray Don. Shout out to Tray
Don. That's my guy.
He's also a part of this psa.
(04:46):
Yes.
Okay. Shout out to him.
He actually participated inour songs firsthand. So he did the
chorus to. What's the name ofthe song?
Victor. Not Victor.
Victor. Not Victor.
He's not the piano player.
No, no, no, no. That would be Brandon.
Correct. Okay. Okay.
But, yeah, I got in touch withStory Stitchers through him. He was
just. He recognized how I'mgrowing in my creativity and ways
(05:08):
that I want to express myself.And he got me in touch with Amira
and Brandon and some of theother people that are a part of Story
Stitchers. And honestly, beinga part of that group has given me
the freedom to express myselfin ways that I never really thought
of before, because I grew upas an athlete for the most part,
(05:30):
so that was just the way thatI expressed myself. And then after
college, I had to finddifferent ways to express myself
because I wasn't doing Anysports anymore, primarily baseball.
So I recognized that music andfilm and poetry was definitely ways
that I would love to expressmyself and bring people together
and inspire people throughcreativity and art and.
(05:52):
Do you realize the importanceof that now? But did you get that
in school?
Did I get that in school?
Did you get the music andpoetry and express.
No, actually.
So it's interesting, isn't it,that a lot of times in schools, because
of costs, we want to get ridof those programs that allow individuals
(06:12):
to express themselves?
Yes.
Yeah.
Okay. Amira.
That's actually funny becauseI learned about Story Stitches through
school. Well, really, it wasthrough some friends that I went
to school with, but we went toan art school, so.
Okay.
You know, we were alreadydoing our thing.
(06:33):
You're at the VisualPerforming Arts?
Yeah, we were at Central andwe were doing, like, talent shows
and stuff together. And theywere actually the first, like, some
of the first youth to evercome to Story Stitchers, like the
first Teen Council. And theyinvited me one day because they saw
that I started doing poetry.And they're like, we need some more
(06:53):
poets. And I remember it waslike my first poem that I took serious
because it was about MikeBrown. And I was upset because it
felt like, you know, thepeople who our youth look up to are
the same people that they'rescared to go to for help, you know?
So I did that poem and, like,I don't know, from there it's been.
(07:19):
It's been me and stories.
The rest is history.
Yeah. Like, literally. Andthat was, like, almost 10 years ago
now. It probably be, like 10years next month, actually. So.
Yeah, let's dig into theprogram. It's. You have, like, what
I would call the main theme.I'm a Victor, not a victim. And the
(07:42):
program is about you producingpublic service announcements. And
some of them are audio.They're mostly videos. And I recorded
some. We're going to hear someaudio here in a little bit. And there's
poems and just go into thisprogram a little bit when it started,
how long it's going to be going.
Okay. We started last October.October of 24. It'll go until October
(08:05):
of this year. 25th. Yeah. Westarted off with ideas, really. We
came together every week, oncea week for a couple of months, actually,
all the way into the end ofthe year almost. And we decided what
we wanted to talk aboutbecause the goal was always to destigmatize
(08:27):
getting mental health care foryoung African American or people
of color. You know, that'swithin our age range. And we started
to break down, like, how do wethink, you know, what. What catches
our attention when we get onthese social media platforms? Like,
how can we make content tocaptivate an audience that has a
(08:52):
very short attention span, youknow, And Houston can kind of talk
a little bit more about that,I guess.
For sure. It was a tediousprocess, honestly, because when you
talk about something as suchas mental health, especially within
the black community andwanting to destigmatize that, you
have to have credible sourcesand credible information. So not
(09:14):
only in terms of getting theroundtable, of making ideas for songs
and poetry and how we can showthis through creative terms, we also
had to make sure our researchwas on point, and we had to get in
touch with many differentcommunities, many different organizations,
and also do our own researchin terms of making sure that we know
(09:36):
what we're talking about andconnect with the community in the
most genuine way, but also inthe most intellectual way as possible.
And you provide a lot ofservices. The whole point is awareness.
And then if the awarenessreveals, like, yeah, I do feel this
way. You do provide resourcesthat people can go to, right?
(09:57):
Yeah, definitely. We haveresources on our website. We're also
connected with the mentalhealth board and different partners
there. Yeah, it's like awhole. A whole network of organizations
that is behind this PSA withus. We even have the mayor that's
behind us, which is great.Just helping to spread that awareness.
(10:18):
You know what I'm saying? Andbecause we realize, too, that sometimes
people don't even realize thatthese. That these resources are there.
Like, sometimes people arecompletely oblivious that these are
right here in the city. So,yeah, they're right there on the
website.
And there's a lot of them.
Yeah.
Yes.
There's a lot of resources outthere, folks. I want to give you
(10:38):
the biggest one. 988-Calling-988. You can call or text
24 7. You can talk to someonewho will help you. If you're having
a mental health crisis, knowthat you're not alone. You can also
call the national suicideprevention lifeline. It's 988lifeline.org
and also, as was mentioned,the City of St. Louis Behavioral
(10:59):
Health Bureau. You can connectwith a therapist there for free,
with or without insurance.3146-571585-34314-657-1585. Let's
listen to one of the PSAs thatthey have produced here.
(11:25):
Cloud of visions Fills my mindwith fog with sins Infectious towards
my inner dialogue can't seepast Thoughts of negativity. Reliving
the past blinds the beauty ofpositivity. While I chase the false
prophets around me, I'm in aspace of separation and duality.
(11:47):
However, my attention is infocus on a decision. Whether I choose
tension or righteousascension, perception is key. To
see the real me. Loving thereal me brings joy for eternity.
The biggest symptom of selfrealization was wisdom, which transformed
(12:09):
me to become a victor and nota victim.
And I would encourage peopleto go to storystitchers.org storystitchers.org
or call or text 988. So wereyou guys involved in the production
of that? The writing, thevideography, all of the above?
(12:34):
He actually wrote that piece.That's him.
I did. I did.
Wow.
Yeah. And honestly, that wasthe first poem I ever wrote.
Wow.
So I think you never knew you.
Had it in there playingoutfield, did you?
Yeah, I didn't know. I willfall in love with writing and it's
such a beautiful process andI'm glad I was able to show it during
this project.
Wow.
(12:54):
Yeah. So like, yeah, we, ourteam, the interns and the adult artists
were there from start tofinish. Like we sat there and wrote
out the scripts for thevideos. We had the talks with spot
content, who helped us shootthe videos, several meetings with
them, actually. And then whenthey came out, you know, we were
(13:15):
there helping them to directus to direct them.
Right.
You know, and it was a funprocess and I really think it impacted
the youth and let them knowthat, you know, the message that
you have is very important.And. Yeah.
Now you had mentioned someassemblies earlier.
Oh, yeah.
So fill us in on what theseare like, because I know you did
(13:37):
one down at Afton. I kind ofsaw the video of that one. I think
it was Affton.
Yeah, Affton High School. Soif you want a assembly, you can reach
out to us through our website.You can email me emeara at storystitchers.org
that's E M E A RA@storystitchers.org and we could
(13:58):
talk about some dates. Usuallythe assemblies look about 20 to 30
minutes, depending on whatyou're looking for. Sometimes we
do just full out songs andpoems and arts. Sometimes we can
sit down and do a podcast witha professional about mental health
and let the youth askquestions, have a Q and A at the
(14:18):
end, you know, so that peopleare feeling like they can engage
in these conversations. So,yeah, it kind of looks different.
It's kind of dependent uponthe school, what they're looking
for. But we do have content tofill a 20 to 30 minute show for sure,
you know.
How was that received?
Oh, man. Affton. They weregetting up out of their seats, dancing.
(14:42):
Like, the teachers was comingdown the aisles. Like, it was amazing
to see. I didn't realize that,you know, sometimes people or students,
I should say, really need thatbreak in their day or maybe even
in this, in the school year tohave that moment where you could
just like be refreshed and100%, you know. Yeah. So it was great
to see because.
(15:02):
You had music and dancing andthen you interspersed the message
within that.
Absolutely, absolutely. And Ithink that's the beauty of it is
everybody can, like relate tomusic on some level.
Right.
You know, so, yeah, it was. Itwas fun. It was definitely fun.
That's cool. Let's listen toanother one.
I am a victor, not a victim.
(15:23):
I'm a victor, not a victim. Iam a victor, not a victim.
I'm a victim and not a victim.Because I take 100% responsibility
for the circumstances andconditions of my life.
Every breath that I take is areminder that I have purpose. I'm
a victor, not a victim.Abundance is my birthright in all
(15:46):
facets of my life. Recognizingit makes me a victor, not a victim.
Success is my stepping stoneto greatest success. I am a victor,
not a victim.
Being more self aware shieldedme from the manipulation of others.
I am a victor, not a victim.
I suffer from anxiety anddepression, but I am not controlled
by it. I am a victor, not a victim.
(16:08):
I aspire to inspire triumphover tragedy. I'm a victor, not a
victim.
Even if I have the urge to letmy depression take over, I just remind
myself that is temporary andnot forever. I am a victor, not victim.
I'm a victor, not victim.Because I choose to stop the cycle
of gun violence by helpingStory stitchers.
(16:30):
I'm a victor and not a victim.
I'm a victor, not a victim.
That was from Story Stitchers.Being a victor, not a victim about
mental health. And I want tomention that the goal of Story Stitchers
is to promote a bettereducated, more peaceful and more
(16:52):
caring region throughstorytelling. And storytelling is
a huge thing. People love tohear stories.
Yes.
I think we are geared as humanbeings to receive stories and become
a part of things that are toldto us and then be able to tell our
own story in a variety ofways. And in that particular psa,
(17:13):
they talked about gunviolence. Had you done a PSA series
on gun violence?
Yeah, actually, the previousone. Yeah. So I think this is probably
Like a third psa.
Okay.
Yeah. Then the last one wassafe, where we were encouraging.
And we still do that at someassemblies too. But we're encouraging
youth and kids to, when yousee a gun, step away. Go tell an
(17:37):
adult, you know, and to theparents, we're telling them to lock
up your guns. Make sure youpracticing gun safety. Because I
think it was the summer wherewe had seen multiple kids accidentally
killed from finding guns andplaying with them. And, you know,
not understanding the severityof this. This item can end your life.
(18:01):
Yeah.
Yes.
And it was. It was. It wasvery tragic. So that was our response
to that.
Gotcha. I want to read acouple things. You know, I love statistics,
but I want you folks tounderstand out there in listener
land that you may be a part ofthese statistics, that in the state
(18:22):
of Missouri, Missouri ranks38th in the prevalence of mental
illness and access to care foradults and also for youth. And I
want to read off some mentalhealth conditions. We all have mental
health, but we want to keep itin a good way. It's kind of like
when people go to exercise orthey want to eat health in a healthy
(18:44):
way. You know, I consider.It's like you've got mental, you
got physical, you gotemotional and spiritual health. You
kind of all need to kind ofkeep in balance. And when they get
out of balance is whenproblems happen. So we have anxiety
disorders, adhd, bipolar,borderline personality disorder,
depression, which wasmentioned in the psa, disassociative
(19:04):
disorders, eating disorders,obsessive compulsive disorders, post
traumatic stress disorder,which is very prevalent in our communities,
psychosis, schizoaffectivedisorder, and schizophrenia. So any
of those things and peoplehave been identified, and some people
are on medication, and itworks for them, and some people go
to see counselors, and somepeople have not even recognized any
(19:25):
of those things. It kind ofgoes back to that initial thing I
remember. Alcohol. Anonymoussay the very first step is recognizing
that you have an issue. Andthat's probably a big part of the
goal of your PSA campaign, isto let people know that, hey, you
know, this happens to people,and you may have this, and now what
do you do with it? Was thatkind of. When you sat down on your
(19:46):
initial conversations, wasthat springing through people's minds
or was that discussed for sure?
And whenever we had thesemeetings with each other, we always
would start with mental healthchecks within the group and making
sure that we're on point andbeing completely honest about how
we're feeling and making sureit's a safe space that if you're
not feeling okay, we can talkabout it right here and right now.
(20:08):
Because this is the point ofthe project, and we want to. If we're
wanting to de. Stigmatize thatwithin the community, we have to
de. Stigmatize that within thesame room. When we're having these
meetings now, not.
To press you guys or to revealany other things about your co workers,
but have co workers beenhelped through this process and.
(20:29):
And realizing that, well, hey,you know, I've kind of been hiding
this, you know. Yeah, I dohave some of these symptoms, and
this has really helped me.
Yeah, actually, within thoseconversations that Houston is talking
about, we were able to hearpeople out, you know, and sometimes
just having somebody to kindof vent to and give you some positive
(20:51):
feedback, you know, helps andgoes a long way. But I do feel like
it was probably a couple ofyouth that were really heavily dealing
with some type of, excuse me,some type of depression and anxiety.
And recently I have seen afew, you know, say that they feel
(21:12):
that they have overcome it,you know, in this season. So that's
been, you know, a really goodindicator that what we're doing has
some type of effect and canpotentially help other people, too.
Yeah, I think it's recognizingthat there's some triggers, too,
like cold weather, you're inyour. In your place and you can't
(21:32):
get out and because the iceand the cold and, you know, or it's.
The sun never shines in thewintertime, and it really helps,
you know, and feeds thedepression that some people have.
And. Do you guys talk abouttriggers or things like that at all?
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And duringthose talks, that's. We wanted to
be as transparent as we couldand obviously not forcing people
(21:54):
to, you know, go into too muchdetail. But through those conversations,
whether it was me talking orlistening to other people, I started
to realize my own triggers andother people's triggers and how we
can talk about that in themost safe way and making sure that
people feel comfortable toshare that. Because everything that
(22:14):
we say in that room and how wetreat each other in that room reflects
in the project and how we wantto treat others within the community
as well. So we understandthere's an interconnectedness to
mental health and emotionalhealth, spiritual health, like you
said earlier. So understandingothers and giving them the platform
to speak about their mentalhealth also gives them the freedom
(22:37):
to speak about other factorsof their health as well.
You have one PSA that talksabout two individuals are standing,
doing the Dishes. And whatstruck me was recognizing someone
else's pain and discomfort andnot really. Yeah, yeah, I'm fine.
(22:57):
And, you know, when yourfriends or your family members are
not fine.
Yeah.
And they may be saying they'refine. So how do you talk about, like,
maybe reaching out to friendsand family when you seen these kinds
of things where they're,they're putting up this front and
facade.
Yeah, that's a, that's goodbecause that's kind of another thing
(23:18):
we were trying to do is tohelp people to see the signs, you
know, and like he was saying,like, you've been kind of quiet,
like, so obviously this personis very up uplifting and has a high
spirit. But sometimes, youknow, when people are dealing with
stuff, they go internal and,you know, try to deal with things
(23:39):
on their own. So you check onthose people. You know, some people
are just naturally quiet.
Right.
And want to be alone. So stillcheck on those people. You know,
sometimes you're not going toalways know. And that's the hard
part, too. You know, sometimesthere are signs, but sometimes we
can overlook the signs. And soI think just checking on people and
(24:01):
getting to know people, beingtransparent with people, will help
to start those conversationsof healing and fun fact. Actually,
we chose to do the PSA duringthe colder months, you know, around,
like holiday season.
Right.
Because we realized that thoseare triggers. Some people have lost
people, and it's hard aroundthese times. You know, it's cold.
(24:25):
And, you know, some people maydeal with homelessness or just don't
like the cold period.
Right.
You know, so that's anotherreason why we chose to do the PSA
or to release it in the, inthe time and that we, that we did.
You know, a lot of peoplethink holidays are fun time, and
for a lot of people, it is.For a lot of people, it's misery.
Yeah.
And it's a very. It's anintense time in which they wish it
(24:48):
would go away. You know, Iwould really want to commend you
guys and the organization forbringing the topic up, because in
previous generations, youlike, you don't talk about certain
things or, you know, you know,that's somebody else's job, or you
have an issue, you got aproblem. You know, we're going to
ignore that. The fact thatyou're talking about these things
and bringing them to thesurface, it's kind of like splinters
(25:10):
that you get in your skin.They will eventually work their way
to the surface and you're not,you know, they're there but you can't
ignore them. You have to dealwith them. And I think what you guys
are producing is just spot onfor, for our community and really
nationally.
Thank you.
It needs to be done. Want tolisten to one more here? And this
is. I'll set this up. This isa what I would call someone who is
(25:35):
experiencing some issues andsomeone who is a professional listener.
So how have you been feelingsince our last session?
Well, I've been feeling cool,I guess.
You know, being cool and Iguess can sometimes hide something
deeper underneath. Now, if youhave something to share, I'm here
(25:56):
to listen.
Well, life's been crazy. I'vebeen feeling anxious, and it's been
hard to talk about it. I justdon't want to seem weak.
You know, keeping yourfeelings bottled up is a sign of
weakness. Being truthful aboutyour feelings is a big step toward
managing them. You're doingthe right thing by talking about
(26:18):
it.
Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.
Good.
Let's keep.
That's St. Louis StoryStitchers. Storystitchers.org for
some resources. 988-offers,call or text 247 and talk to someone
if you have a mental healthcrisis. Or you can talk to 314-657-1585.
(26:43):
That's the city of St. LouisBehavioral Health Bureau. One last
question here, and it's notreally a question. I want you to
speak, both of you, speak tosomeone out there who you know is
having some difficulties, whomay not realize what they're going
through. What would you tell them?
(27:05):
I guess I would start Houston,it's okay to feel. That's one thing
I will say, especially comingfrom the perspective as a man. We
tend to hide our feelingsbecause, you know, that's not man
like at all. You want to bethe tough guy. You, you want to be
(27:26):
very intellectual and you leanupon that side of yourself, but you
also suppress the side ofyourself by doing that. And nine
times out of 10 for men, it'sfeelings and disregarding how we're
feeling. And if there is a redflag internally, we tend to ignore
(27:46):
it. We tend to fight throughit. You know, I go to a gym. I'm
a frequent gym goer. However,as therapeutic as it can be, it cannot
be the complete answer to yourproblems. You have to be able to
feel the issue and also seekhelp for that issue as well. So that's
the biggest thing I would say,is be okay to feel. Understand that
(28:09):
your emotions are going toonly speak louder the more you suppress
them. And the only Way you cantone that down is by giving it the
attention that it needs andseeking help. And that's totally
fine as a man to do so.
That's very, very good advice. Emeara.
I would say I was second whatHouston said, and I would want people
(28:29):
to know that they are, theyare worthy of healing, you know,
because sometimes we can bereally hard on ourselves and not
give ourselves that space toheal. But you are worth your healing.
You are the journey. It mightbe hard, but it will be worth it.
And I just want to encouragepeople to keep going, you know, keep
(28:51):
going, find somebody to talkto, find that thing that helps you
to release. Like Houston said,you know, these things that we use
to cope arts and the gym isnot the end all, be all, but it,
it does help. You know,exercise helps, writing, you know,
(29:11):
sunlight helps, eating healthyhelps. You know, it's all these things
that play a big part in ourmental health. And just, just like,
like Houston said, like, takesome time, look inward, understand
your feelings, becausesometimes you can't talk about it
because you don't understandwhat you're feeling. So take time
(29:32):
and look at it, analyze whydid this make me feel this way? You
know, like, really, thatsimple question can help you come
up with a lot of answers soyou're worth your healing journey.
And please don't. Don't skipout on it. Don't skip out on it.
I want to thank you both forcoming in today. That's really great
(29:53):
words of wisdom from you boththis morning and through the organization.
I think you're doing awonderful and extremely productive
thing for our community. Sothank you for coming in.
Thank you. Thank you forhaving us.
You bet. I want to give youmore information, folks. Story stitchers.org
(30:14):
Story stitchers.org Want tothank Emeara Burns and Houston Himes
for coming in to the studio totalk about the program. Also, anytime
that you feel that you arehaving a mental health crisis, the
easiest number to remember is988. You can call or text 24. 7 and
you will get someone to talkto 98 8, similar to 91 1, but it's
(30:35):
9, 8 8. And it's a great thingto utilize. So I encourage you to
talk to your friends, listento what's going on with them. Maybe
you have a family member,maybe you have some friends, maybe
even you have some issues thatyou're kind of suppressing, that
they eke out in one way oranother in an unproductive way, in
(30:56):
an unproductive manner. Thinkabout that and get some assistance.
It's okay. And you know Iloved what Emeara said at the end
there. You, you are worth it.You are valuable and you need to
take care of yourself. That'sall for this show and this hour.
We thank you for listening. Ifyou've enjoyed this episode, you
(31:18):
can listen to additionalshows@stlintune.com consider leaving
a review on Apple Podcast,Podchaser or your preferred podcast
or even our website. Yourfeedback helps us reach more listeners
and continue to grow. I wantto thank Bob Berthesel for our theme
music co host Mark Langston,who's on assignment, want to thank
our guests Emeara Burns andHouston Himes and we thank you for
being a part of our communityof curious minds. St. Louis in tune
(31:41):
is a production of Motif MediaGroup and the US Radio Network. Remember
to keep seeking, keeplearning, walk worthy and let your
light shine. For St. Louis inTune, I'm Arnold Stricker.
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