September 14, 2025 • 32 mins
Segment 1:
Unity Through Creativity
Amber Banda interviews Laurie Marshall, Founder of Unity Through Creativity. As a young child, you'll never believe what speech she heard that eventually brought this vision to life. Unity Through Creativity uses nature inspired art to bring people together from all over the world! Amber and Laurie talk about her inspirations, the "singing tree" project, the impact they have made, how peace is not "weak," and how to start creating more peace in yourself and in your home today.
.
BE A PART OF THEIR NEXT ART "PEACE.' Their International Day of Peace (2 day) Symposium will be Saturday and Sunday, September 20th and 21st at the UTEP Thomas Rivera Center. Registration is free and has been extended to 9/18. Guests get to listen on panels from various peacemakers, have breakout sesions with various local influences, voices of peace, professors, and authors, enjoy music, group sessions, and be a part of a Singing Tree art piece!.
.
For more information and to register go to unitythroughcreativity.org
_______________________________________________________________________________
Segment 2:
NAMI
Amber Banda interviews Isidro Torrez MBA, Executive Director of NAMI El Paso. Isidro and Amber discuss the various free mental health resources available to our community, as well as how to support yourself or someone else going through mental hardships.
.
NAMI has 2 fantastic Fundraising Awarenesss events coming up soon! Sept 20th is their EP: A $uicide Awareness Semicolon Tattoo Event from 11am-7pm at all 3 Sun City Tattoo locations. Choose from various pre-designed $uicide awareness tats starting at $50 on that day, proceeds benfitting NAMI. (Don't forget to tip your tattoo artists please).
.
Oct 18: NAMI Walks at Ascarate Park on Delta starting at 8am. 5k fun walk, (running optional).
.
For more information on NAMI or any of these events, go to namiep.orgnamiep.org or find them on Instagram and Facebook. Crisis hotline: 988
Unity Through Creativity
Amber Banda interviews Laurie Marshall, Founder of Unity Through Creativity. As a young child, you'll never believe what speech she heard that eventually brought this vision to life. Unity Through Creativity uses nature inspired art to bring people together from all over the world! Amber and Laurie talk about her inspirations, the "singing tree" project, the impact they have made, how peace is not "weak," and how to start creating more peace in yourself and in your home today.
.
BE A PART OF THEIR NEXT ART "PEACE.' Their International Day of Peace (2 day) Symposium will be Saturday and Sunday, September 20th and 21st at the UTEP Thomas Rivera Center. Registration is free and has been extended to 9/18. Guests get to listen on panels from various peacemakers, have breakout sesions with various local influences, voices of peace, professors, and authors, enjoy music, group sessions, and be a part of a Singing Tree art piece!.
.
For more information and to register go to unitythroughcreativity.org
_______________________________________________________________________________
Segment 2:
NAMI
Amber Banda interviews Isidro Torrez MBA, Executive Director of NAMI El Paso. Isidro and Amber discuss the various free mental health resources available to our community, as well as how to support yourself or someone else going through mental hardships.
.
NAMI has 2 fantastic Fundraising Awarenesss events coming up soon! Sept 20th is their EP: A $uicide Awareness Semicolon Tattoo Event from 11am-7pm at all 3 Sun City Tattoo locations. Choose from various pre-designed $uicide awareness tats starting at $50 on that day, proceeds benfitting NAMI. (Don't forget to tip your tattoo artists please).
.
Oct 18: NAMI Walks at Ascarate Park on Delta starting at 8am. 5k fun walk, (running optional).
.
For more information on NAMI or any of these events, go to namiep.orgnamiep.org or find them on Instagram and Facebook. Crisis hotline: 988
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly half hour
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso for over twenty years,
featuring local news and interviews of interest to our listeners
in West Texas and southern New Mexico. All views and
opinions expressed on this program are those of the host
and guest, and not necessarily those of iHeartRadio Management and
now El Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I am
your host, Amber Banda, and today we have Laurie Marshall.
She wears many hats. I'm not gonna lie, but today
we're just going to refer to as the founder not
just but for unity through creativity. Laurie, thank you for
talking with me today.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
It's my pleasure. Amber. I'm so excited to.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Be here finally in person. I know we did a
zoom interview. It's just not the same. You're much more
lovely in person, and I think I don't know if
I said it during the any of you last time,
but your presence is just so calming and I think
I need more of that in my life. So again,
welcome to the station. Breathe right. Yes, today we're going
to talk about Unity through Creativity. I want to talk
(01:04):
a little bit about your background, yourself, the organization, and
then later on we're going to talk about a very different,
very unique, very amazing event, and then you have a
proclamation there that you're going to read from. I'm so
excited for the listeners to listen to this. But this
segment is going to be a lot of about innovative
(01:25):
team building and peace building through art inspired by nature.
You know, that is what Unity through Creativity is about.
So Laurie, tell us first about yourself, your background, your
love of art, all you.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
I want to begin with the fact that my father
was a New York Jew and my mother was a
Central Pennsylvanian Lutheran, and when they got married in nineteen
forty five, they decided to become Quakers. And when I
was ten, they took me to a Quaker conference and
Martin Luther King spoke and he said that people of
(02:00):
all colors can love each other like sisters and brothers
wo and that concept entered my heart and soul.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
I got chills.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
I'm a language, yeah, and thus guided me my whole life.
When I was ten, also, I wanted to draw a
tree and I tried to draw all the leaves, the
millions of leaves on a tree, and I couldn't, and
I got frustrated, and I gave up drawing, and nobody
was there to tell me I could draw the big
(02:29):
symbol shape of the tree. So I went on to
become an educator. I'm a K through twelve certified art
teacher in California, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and also a social
studies teacher. And I studied the Waldorf System, which is
a one hundred and ten year old arts integration, story based,
(02:52):
nature based, art based curriculum, and it's a wonderful curriculum
that I love very much. And in nineteen ninety nine,
I had created a mural with three hundred students in
an elementary school in Virginia, and a little girl who
was eight years old said, I wish the whole world
(03:13):
could see our mural, and then the whole world would
be happy. And then she said, what if the whole
world made a painting together? And that vision met my
longing that had been planted with Martin Luther King's vision
of all people working together and creating something beautiful instead
of spending trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars on
(03:35):
harming each other with our weapons. And I began the
Singing Tree mural project that from Meredith inspiration, and it's
called the Singing Tree because of a book by Kate Saratee.
Her daddy was in World War One and one night
his battalion crawled all not long on their bellies to
(03:55):
escape the soldiers. They were Hungarian and they were escaping Russians,
and everything had been destroyed by war. But when the
dawn came, they looked up on the hill and there
was one tree that had survived, and birds came from
hundreds of miles to be together, and they each sang
their own song, and they created a song that had
(04:16):
never been heard before. And I look at the earth
as the singing Tree of the galaxy because there's no
life around us, and we can choose to destroy each
other and the earth, or we can create beauty that's
never been seen before. So this is a steam project.
And so far we've created one hundred and forty eight
(04:37):
murals with twenty seven thousand people from fifty two countries,
and the whole world's invited. No one is excoded.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
The whole world is invited.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
We craft Martin Luther King's beloved Community in every mural,
and his vision of a beloved community is that there's
no poverty, there's no racism, there's no violence because we
treasure each other that much.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah, I love that, and that hits me hard, I guess,
because there's some things that really resonated with what you
just said. I'm Jewish, my husband's Catholic. We call our
kids the Cashews, and my daughter right now is ten.
And to think that when you were ten, that one
speech just kind of guided you through the rest of
(05:23):
your life. And I'm thinking about like the talks I
give her, the stuff that she's exposed to, or the
stuff that she sees like that could very well direct
where she goes in life. So I mean, thank you
for sharing that. That's amazing yea. And Unity through Creativity.
Tell us a little bit more about this organization here locally,
(05:44):
I mean on our Instagram for Power Sunny and ka
Hey on Facebook. I have a picture there that you
shared with me of one of the local groups here
that did one of these tree projects. So can you
please tell us a little bit more about the local impact.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Yeah, So the Singing Tree Project we create collaborative murals,
as you said, that are based on nature, and we
use trees because they are heroes of collaboration. The forests,
the roots all connect and they send nutrients to places
that are default. The leaves turn the sun into food.
(06:22):
The roots communicate. They produce millions of seeds and they
are nuts, and they also drop the leaves to fertilize
the ground and shade and shade and habitat for over
three hundred organisms the average tree. So the thing that
I gave up when I was ten, drawing trees was
(06:45):
my life's work, and I wanted to draw trees. That
was the thing that drew me. So again, paying attention
to what the ten year old, what the nine year
old is really deeply thinking about, is so important to
nurture unity through creativity. Has made about eight murals since
we've come to El Paso four years ago. There's one
(07:07):
a Keystone Heritage Park that's free and available anytime we've created.
There are four right now at the YWCA on Brown Street.
And we're very honored that Casa Auto Group has three
of our murals in their collection.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
So you presented me, Laura presented me with one of
the murals, she's actually wearing the shirt version of it.
So again you can see those pictures at Power one
oh two point one Sunday ninety nine point nine or
nine six point three k country Beautiful detailed. And again
this project brought together the group. They all contributed to
this one collective whole. You know, like a band everyone.
(07:52):
If they play their own notes, it doesn't work. But
when they bring it together and work together, even though
they all have their own instruments, it makes something completely beautiful.
And if you're just tuning in, I have here Laurie Marshall,
founder of Unity through Creativity. They provide innovative team building
and peace building through art inspired by nature. And there
(08:15):
is a very important event coming up. If you want
to be a part of one of these singing trees,
or you want to be a part of this art,
you just want to be in the presence of it.
The International Day of Peace Symposium is coming up very soon.
It's two days, Saturday, September twentieth from nine to four
(08:36):
pm and Sunday, September twenty first, from one to five
pm at the UTIP Thomas Rivera Center, Nolori. What's going
to be happening in these two days.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
These two days grew out of unity through Creativity's commitment
to peace building, and the UN has a holiday celebrating
International Day of Peace. It's a forty four year old holiday.
Last year, fifty five million people around the planet celebrated it.
And guess what, we didn't hear a peep about that
(09:11):
because it didn't bleed and lead. We want to strengthen
the peace practices that are already going on in Olpasa,
which is an exceptional community of faith and connection. We
are having international speakers via zoom, We're having local speakers.
We're having round tables where everybody at your table will
(09:32):
get to hear your thoughts and we will be adding
to the Singing Tree of Light in the Darkness. And
this mural is a gift to the Candle Lighters, and
the Candle Lighters are our organization that serve young people
who are experiencing cancer and their families and the children
(09:54):
will be contributing to the mural, and we're asking the
participants to contribute to the mural, also asking people to
bring lightly used, clean and non smoke filled clothes that
we will be donating to Candlelighters. Okay, so it's very practical.
They will be singing, there will be art. Everyone will
(10:16):
get to make art if they wish. They'll also be
breakout rooms, seminars in ai and consciousness, in youth and democracy,
in criminal justice, in restorative practices, and in ethical consumption.
There'll be a movie shown about the consequence of eating meat.
(10:40):
So it's going to be a very rich day. And
we're focusing on the fact that peace isn't the absence
of conflicts. Peace is the presence of connection, and we
want to be more connected to everyone in El Paso
and to support the dignified and humane city that El
Paso is and is growing in. We also presented to
(11:02):
the City Council and the County Commissioners the concept of
El Paso as an International City of Peace, and there
are over four hundred and forty Cities of Peace around
the world. This is an organization that supports the language
and the practices of peace building because it's hard, especially
(11:23):
when we're in conflict and especially when we feel attacked,
because our instinct is to attack back. So it's a
discipline to know and a skill set to know what
to do besides attack back, and both the County and
the city have proclaimed El Paso as an International City
of Peace, and this September third, the City Council shared
(11:47):
their proclamation and I'd like to read.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
A paragraph from Yes, please do.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Whereas peace is not merely the absence of conflict, but
the presence of justice, compassion, and belonging. On El Paso
International City of Peace Day, we honor the rich diversity
of our community and commit to building a future well
where all are welcome, all are valued, and all can thrive.
(12:14):
And that is the basis of our collaborative murals, where
everyone has their individuality to contribute to make something bigger.
We are not unity through uniformity. We are not unity
through manipulation and lies and core pressure and coercion and
threat and violence, which is what so much of the
(12:36):
world seems to think they need in order to survive.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Yeah, and is there anything that you maybe want to
with El Paso being declared a City of Peace? Are
there any practices that you can give our listeners right
now that they can maybe start doing today. For example,
I've come a long way with my You know, it
(13:01):
starts with you, right, It starts with you, and then
it bleeds into your family and then the city. You know,
you're not trying to change the world. Change the world
through changing yourself and your kids. So understanding, I think
is a big one that I was practicing. So I
think for me it was taking a breath, literally taking
a breath before I.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Speak, pause, a huge practice, or not saying anything.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
So is there something that you want to share with
the listening audience that they can start practicing in their
own lives to start creating that peace in their world
and hopefully leeding into the city.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Oh that's beautiful. So one thing is to understand how
hard it is to take a breath, because our brain,
if it feels attacked, we have point zero four seconds
to break the pattern of attacking back. So practice breathing.
Practice breathing in for holding it, for breathing out, for
(13:53):
Broxton holding it for the military does that. That's a
great practice to have to do all day long. Another
great practice is looping, which is when somebody is talking
to you to say what they've said to you back
to them before you say what you have to say, yes,
and checking for understanding. Again, this is such a hard
(14:16):
thing to do because we want to rush to our defense.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
Yes, I do it all the time. Yeah, just as
my husband. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Right, the ones closest to us are the ones that
get the broun because we feel safe with them, right,
We feel like we can do that. But again, especially
in a marriage, listening to understand, not listening to reply. Yeah,
and that was a that was a quote that I heard.
That kind of I want to say, helped me in
my marriage a little bit. But again, this event International
Day of Peace Symposium Alpasso, as of September third has
(14:47):
been declared a city of Peace thanks to you, large
part thanks to Unity through Creativity. This event Saturday and Sunday,
September twentieth and twenty first, on Saturday from nine to
four pm. On from one to five pm. So mark
your calendars, you tip Thomas Rivetta Center. You'll get to go,
take your kids, You'll get to be a part of it.
(15:08):
It's not just watching. You can do art. You can
learn different things, you can learn different methods. So even
if you are like me who started off very temperamental,
very this is my way learn something new.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
Because if what you've been.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Doing, whether it's talking to your significant other, to your coworkers,
if it's not working, you keep doing it expecting the
same results. That's called you know, insanitay, so try you know,
learn some different methods. And again the deadline to register
has been extended. And Laurie again, the purpose of this
registration is because people will.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Because we are serving lunch on Saturday. The lunch we
will be free. You're welcome to make a donation, of course.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
Please we ask you to come and.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Register a half hour earlier, so please show up at
eight thirty and twelve thirty to register. That would be
so helpful, okay, And we also want to keep track.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
We wrote a report.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
This is our fourth annual Peace Day celebration, and we're
doing pre and post surveys. We're trying to be very
thoughtful about reporting and learning about the impact. We're also
focusing on peace within as you were talking about Amber,
peace with each other and peace with earth. So it's
a holistic approach to peace. And I've had many people
(16:24):
scoff at the idea of talking about peace, saying it's
a fool's errand it can't happen, it's naive, and really
it is just as practical to learn the skills of
nonviolence and peace.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Again, just including that into what you know, be open minded.
So if you have any questions, you want more information,
you want to register, you can find them on Instagram
and Facebook, Unity through Creativity and then Unity through Creativity
dot org. And let me just tell you peace does
not equal weakness. That's one thing I do want to
point out. Laurie, thank you so much for being here
(16:58):
with us today.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
It was my pleasure.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
I am your host, Amber Banda, and today we have
Acidro Torres MBA. He is the executive director for NAMI
of al Paso. Asidro, thank you for being here with
us today.
Speaker 5 (17:17):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Of course, so today we're going to talk a little
bit in the first half. What is NAMI I know
they are the mental health organization in al Paso. Can
you tell al Paso a little bit about what services
are provided?
Speaker 5 (17:30):
What is NAMI yo one hundred percent So nomil Paso
with the local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental
ONUS and so our focus is to provide education, support,
awareness and advocacy so that those living with mental health
conditions and their families can build better lives. And we
do this through different fronts. We have educational classes for
those who have loved ones with mental health conditions or
those individuals themselves. We do support groups for family members
(17:53):
and individuals being impacted by mental health conditions, and we're
doing a lot of presentations in the community. One of
our most popular and the one we do the most
is we present to about over four thousand middle school
and high school students a year on mental health and
that's our Ending the Silence presentation. So we're really working
hard to making sure we're getting that education, that support
so that people understand mental health conditions a little bit
(18:15):
better and get the help that they need when they
need them.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
So I love the fact that you're not just focusing
on the person that has the mental health issue, but
you're also talking about their family and friends, because it
is you do need a support group. You know, I
personally have some stuff in my past and I don't
think I could have made it without the support of
my family and my friends, or at least the understanding.
Right they may not know the right things to say,
(18:38):
but that's what these support groups are for. It's like,
you don't have to be a therapist, you just have
to be there for them. And I'm very curious about
the presentations that you give at schools. What did you
call it ending the silence? And it is the silence?
What does that mean? How does that fit into the presentation?
Speaker 5 (18:56):
So, I mean the entire goal is really to create
the next generation that finally ends the silence around mental health.
And so we want them to equip them with knowing
what mental health is, what mental health conditions are, and
what to look for, how to have those conversations should
they be worried about themselves or a friend, and again
just elimiting that stigma, understanding that we should be treating
(19:18):
mental health the same way we do our physical health
and that it's just as important.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
And I'm curious for kids, what is like the youngest
presentation to get like the age?
Speaker 4 (19:27):
The grade we.
Speaker 5 (19:28):
Do sixth grade? We do sixth grade, but we know,
like in we know that it's important to even reach
a younger kids. Some of our NOMI partners across the
country are doing elementary age students. We are in the
middle of a youth mental health crisis, and so getting
this information out is really really important.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
So for sixth grade, how do you like, how do
you describe to them what is mental health and what
to look out for in themselves or in their friends
and family.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
I think, you know, we're ultimately saying mental health is
the way we do our physical health, and I think
a lot of kids get them. You know, they understand, like, Okay,
when we get sick with the cold, they're flu, you know,
we have to stay home and we have to take
care of ourselves and we have to get better. And
sometimes things happen to our brain. Sometimes we're just feeling
sad for a really long time, or we feel anxious,
(20:15):
or we can't sit down, or there's just something going on,
and that means that, you know, maybe there's something wrong
and that we need to get help for that, and
we need to find treatment for that and look to
get better. But also ultimately saying, you know, the way
we exercise, the way we sleep well for our physical health,
A lot of those things we can do to take
care of our mental health. And so we really try
(20:37):
to just look at a holistic view of ourselves.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
I love the way you compare it to physical health,
especially you know, with with pe and you know, kids
wanting to go to the nurse to take care of
their injuries and everything. I'm just very interested because I
myself have two daughters, one is ten, one is nineteen.
You know, they've had their ups and downs. So I
would be very interested in having you come to speak
to her school. And if anyone is interested in having
not me come present to their school or maybe our
(21:02):
a homeschool or some kind of organization that has kids,
you can contact them at namiep dot org on Instagram
and Facebook, no Me lpass So. Now the other services
that you offered. Now, I'm on the board of Family
Service of l pass SO and I've seen the NOMI
groups go in and i really want the community to
know more about these free support groups. They cost nothing,
(21:23):
and I believe you have them every Wednesday, every other Wednesday,
every other Wednesday. Of course that schedule is going to
be on the contact that I just listen. We'll relist
it again at the end of the show. But can
you tell the listening audience a little bit more about
what to expect at those free support groups.
Speaker 5 (21:37):
Yeah. So that's our NOMI Connection Recovery support group and
it's led by two train facilitators who are living in
recovery of a mental health condition. And what we're doing
is we're inviting those impact up by mental health conditions
to come and just you know, be there together, find
a community that understands has maybe been where you've been,
or maybe it knows things that you're barely learning. And
(21:59):
so we really just come together, have a conversation and
try to work through what's going on in the now
for each of us. And hopefully, as you know, our
participants leave the group, they leave with something new that
they can go home and try.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Yeah, no, I see that those groups always always have
someone in them. And with that being said, you know,
not me working with Family Service of all past, So
what other community organizations do you work with?
Speaker 5 (22:22):
You know, there's countless, you know, we can spend a
whole long time here, but Emergence Health Network is a
wonderful one. They're the largest behavior health provider in the community.
The Opasto Child Guidance Center of course, you set Family Service.
We work with many of our private facilities and many
of our providers who are providing these services. You know,
we're very lucky in that we get to build this
(22:43):
community around mental health and work alongside so many wonderful.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Partners and the services that not me offers. Are they
free or yes?
Speaker 5 (22:51):
Yes, every service we provide to the community is free.
We do our best to write in both in English
and in Spanish, and we're just able to do this
with the supporter community, support of providers like the Bustle
of the Health Community Foundation and so many wonderful partners
help us keep this free.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
So someone's thinking like, look, I haven't been diagnosed with
PTSD or anything like that, so I don't need to
go seek out from NAMI. Can you speak to those
people that it's not I find it just like you
compare mental health to physical health. It's kind of like
getting treatment for something. It's better when it's preventative versus
already trying to take care of it when you're in it.
(23:28):
So can you talk to those people that may not
have a diagnosis but can still benefit from Nami's services.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
Yeah. No, You know, we don't ask the participants if
they for any diagnosis, but if they are maybe feeling
a little symptomatic, maybe there's something there and so they
can come and and just hear more, learn more about
what they're going through. You know, we know that sometimes
it's hard to get an appointment, and you know there
may be a waiting period, and so that's good time
(23:56):
to maybe connect with others who've been there, who say,
you know, you say, hey, these are the symptoms I'm experiencing,
and others can provide their own lived experience and provide
support in that way.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
So what are some symptoms that you think because you know,
you don't know what you don't know, right, So what
are some symptoms that people may be having that aren'tquote
unquote severe, but are enough to seek some help.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
Yeah, I mean some of the baseline symptoms. And of
course every mental health condition has its own, you know,
symptoms and things like that. But some of the baseline
things that we talk about and we when we're out
in the community, whether it's the middle schoolers or when
we're talking to adults, is you know, maybe you've been
feeling sad for a really long time, for two weeks
and you haven't been able to shake yet, and it's
(24:37):
kind of interfering with your ability to move through your
day to day. Yeah, Or a lot of anxiety. Maybe
you're just feeling anxious about everything something it continues and
it goes on. You know, maybe you aren't sleeping well,
maybe there's significant weight loss weight gain, maybe you are
using alcohol or drugs in a way that you know
(24:59):
true truly is negative, or your relationships, you're just finding
yourself that you're feeling like you're arguing with the world
more often, and it's it's just really impacting that. So
those are just some baseline things that we talk about
and we spread around in terms of maybe you know,
it doesn't mean that there's a mental condition, yeah, but
(25:20):
maybe it means that there's uh, it's a time to
look for support.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
Yeah, it's always good to talk it out. It's kind
of like a form of journaling. And again, if you're
just joining us, I have Isidro Torres, NBA, executive director
of na me L pass So, the mental health place
in l Paso. And now we talked about services offered again,
if you want more information, you can go to n
A m i EP dot org or find them on
(25:44):
Instagram and Facebook. No me lpass So. Now if you
want to help, you want to be involved. They have
a few events coming up too that we're going to
focus on specifically. Now we see that we're going to
talk first about no me Walks. Now I have heard
of this event. It's it's one of the biggest walks
here in All pass So happening Saturday, October eighteenth at
a Scott at the Park. Can you tell the people
(26:06):
what to expect at this walk and how they can register,
how they can be a part of it?
Speaker 5 (26:10):
Yeah, one hundred percent. It is. It is the largest
mental health awareness event in our community and we're very
proud and grateful to be the wonderful host of it
and no Me Walks. It's a five free five k
walks two laps free five k two laps around a
Scott at the Park. We have a lot of wonderful
vendors there, some wonderful music, entertainment, and we just it's
a it's a positive platform to talk about mental health
(26:34):
because too often, excuse me, we talk about mental health
when things are bad, and so it's a good way
to show our community that mental health matters and that
you're not alone. And they can again free to register
nom me walks dot org, slash all Passo or they
can visit our website and find the link there. Again,
it's all free, but we do ask for donations see
(26:54):
because Nomi Walks Passo is Nomial Passa's largest fundraiser and
it keeps us allowing to offer these free programs to
our community.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
So when people donate, do you have like a cash
up sign there you take cash credit or how does
that work?
Speaker 5 (27:07):
They can do it before the event. Once they sign
up nom Me Walk, Starter, Slashall Passot, they'll go through registration.
They can donate there, or they can ask their friends
to donate to their page. And we have a wonderful
recognition program. If you raise one hundred dollars, you get
a wonderful Nomi Walks T shirt. If you raise more,
there's wonderful items like you know, Nomi Walks, swag or
(27:27):
Nomi Walks. I'm trying to remember all of them, nom
Me Hawks, headphones, nom Me Walks, even the biggest one
is like a Nomi Walks engraved kindle. So there's a
lot of wonderful recognition programs, recognition gifts that people.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Can And what I like best about what you said
off air was that it's more of a fun walk.
Running is optional in this five case, so you know,
if you want to go and run it out and practice,
it's not a pre qualififier for anything, but you know
you can have fun with it. Because I see people
dress up in a lot of these runs with their
two tuos in their makeup and like yeah, but then
you sweat it off. But if you're just gonna have
the fun walk, you know, get a group together. And
(28:03):
mental health is important for everyone, whether you have some
you know, if you have a diagnosis, you don't have
a diagnosis, you've had great mental health your whole life.
Which honestly, I've never met one person in their unicorns.
But this is an event to mark on your calendar,
not me Walks Saturday, October eighteenth at a Scott at
the Park on Delta. It's gonna be a five case
so two loops around running optional. It's gonna be there
(28:26):
at eight a m. It's going to be a great Saturday.
And the other event that I'm super excited for, and
if you can talk about what we've talked about and
there if you'd like to, but it's the EP Suicide
Awareness Semi Colon Tattoo Event Saturday, September twenty seventh at
all Sun City Tattoo locations from ten to five. Now
(28:47):
you see that, tell us a little bit more about
what's going to happen between those hours at All Sun
City Tattoo locations.
Speaker 5 (28:53):
Yes, no, one hundred percent. So the semicolon first is
semicolon tattoos have gained I guess pop larity and because
of what they represent, you know, we use a semi
coolon to represent the story isn't over, and so individuals
get a semi colon tattooed to either representing you know what, Hey,
I struggled, I went through a lot. I was you know,
close to not knowing if I was going to be here,
(29:15):
but I stayed and I'm so glad I stayed. Or
you know, unfortunately, we all know someone we've lost to suicide,
and so some take it as aware, it as a
remembrance and honor that loved one who who you know,
unfortunately died by suicide, and so we use it just
to bring that awareness and continue having these conversations. September
(29:35):
Suicide Awareness Prevention months, and so it's a wonderful month
that we're having it on. And so our one of
money nine months, Avice, wonderful friend and has helped us
out with you know, working with the Sun City Tattoos
Andrea sun City Tattoos, and so at all three locations
from ten am to five pm, they're going to be
offering basic semicolon starting up fifty dollars. Hopefully we're going
(29:56):
to release a flash soon on our social media of
different semi colon designs and then if there's a little extra,
you can work it out there. It's walking only, and
so I'm really excited to be able to do this.
It's our first year and so we're hoping everybody comes
out and gets a tattoo with us.
Speaker 4 (30:12):
And how does no me benefit from this fundraiser?
Speaker 5 (30:15):
Proceeds of the tattoos will come to us, and so
some proceeds from all the tattoos everybody gets will come
to Nomial Passing and help us continue our mission.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
And I mean, I'm covered in tattoos and there's always someone.
Speaker 4 (30:27):
Asking what does that mean? What does that mean? What
does that mean?
Speaker 2 (30:29):
But when it's a tattoo where everyone kind of knows
what it means, there's not even anything that has to
be said. It's just that power of knowing someone else
went through it and they're here and you know, you know,
I won't go into my whole story, but you wouldn't
believe where I started out from. So people that see
me now, if they were to see the tattoo on me,
they'd be like, what you know. So I'm excited to
get it and I'm I'm honored to be a part.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Of this event.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
And again not me Walks Saturday, October eighteenth EP Suicide
Awareness Semi colon tattoo event Saturday September two, twenty seventh.
Those are just a couple of the events where you
can go and support no meal pass so show your
support of mental health for yourself and for your community.
More information at nami ep dot org, on Instagram and Facebook.
(31:12):
No mel Paso and real quick. You see though you
had mentioned there was a musician that you were collaborating with.
Can you tell us a little bit more about that.
Speaker 5 (31:18):
Yeah, Julian collel He's he's a country singer here locally,
a grad and he's coming out with a new song
by this it's already actually already out lone guitar and
he's wrote it in uh in commemoration of Suicide Awareness
Prevention Month. And so we're going to be going doing
things on social media, you know, helping spread the message,
(31:41):
helping connect individuals with us, and so are very excited
and grateful that Julian Collous, you know, he's a country star,
he's a mental health advocate. Really grateful for him and
his support.
Speaker 4 (31:50):
Of artwork awesome.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
So again look at their Instagram and Facebook nomil Passo
for more on that. And of course on part of
two point one Sunday ninety nine point nine and ninety
six point three k he Country, we will have pictures
of Acirel, will have information, we'll have flyers, everything that
you need in case you're not sitting by your radio
wherever you're listening with a pen and paper. But Ecitral,
thank you so much for talking with us today.
Speaker 5 (32:11):
Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
You've been listening to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso. If you, your
organization or event would like to be featured on an
upcoming program, please email to ep Forum at iHeartMedia dot
com or call us at nine one five three five
one five four zero zero. Tune in again next week
(32:33):
for another additional of El Paso Public Forum. The preceding
program was recorded at the studios of iHeartRadio El Paso
Welcome to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly half hour
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso for over twenty years,
featuring local news and interviews of interest to our listeners
in West Texas and southern New Mexico. All views and
opinions expressed on this program are those of the host
and guest, and not necessarily those of iHeartRadio Management and
now El Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I am
your host, Amber Banda, and today we have Laurie Marshall.
She wears many hats. I'm not gonna lie, but today
we're just going to refer to as the founder not
just but for unity through creativity. Laurie, thank you for
talking with me today.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
It's my pleasure. Amber. I'm so excited to.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Be here finally in person. I know we did a
zoom interview. It's just not the same. You're much more
lovely in person, and I think I don't know if
I said it during the any of you last time,
but your presence is just so calming and I think
I need more of that in my life. So again,
welcome to the station. Breathe right. Yes, today we're going
to talk about Unity through Creativity. I want to talk
(01:04):
a little bit about your background, yourself, the organization, and
then later on we're going to talk about a very different,
very unique, very amazing event, and then you have a
proclamation there that you're going to read from. I'm so
excited for the listeners to listen to this. But this
segment is going to be a lot of about innovative
(01:25):
team building and peace building through art inspired by nature.
You know, that is what Unity through Creativity is about.
So Laurie, tell us first about yourself, your background, your
love of art, all you.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
I want to begin with the fact that my father
was a New York Jew and my mother was a
Central Pennsylvanian Lutheran, and when they got married in nineteen
forty five, they decided to become Quakers. And when I
was ten, they took me to a Quaker conference and
Martin Luther King spoke and he said that people of
(02:00):
all colors can love each other like sisters and brothers
wo and that concept entered my heart and soul.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
I got chills.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
I'm a language, yeah, and thus guided me my whole life.
When I was ten, also, I wanted to draw a
tree and I tried to draw all the leaves, the
millions of leaves on a tree, and I couldn't, and
I got frustrated, and I gave up drawing, and nobody
was there to tell me I could draw the big
(02:29):
symbol shape of the tree. So I went on to
become an educator. I'm a K through twelve certified art
teacher in California, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and also a social
studies teacher. And I studied the Waldorf System, which is
a one hundred and ten year old arts integration, story based,
(02:52):
nature based, art based curriculum, and it's a wonderful curriculum
that I love very much. And in nineteen ninety nine,
I had created a mural with three hundred students in
an elementary school in Virginia, and a little girl who
was eight years old said, I wish the whole world
(03:13):
could see our mural, and then the whole world would
be happy. And then she said, what if the whole
world made a painting together? And that vision met my
longing that had been planted with Martin Luther King's vision
of all people working together and creating something beautiful instead
of spending trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars on
(03:35):
harming each other with our weapons. And I began the
Singing Tree mural project that from Meredith inspiration, and it's
called the Singing Tree because of a book by Kate Saratee.
Her daddy was in World War One and one night
his battalion crawled all not long on their bellies to
(03:55):
escape the soldiers. They were Hungarian and they were escaping Russians,
and everything had been destroyed by war. But when the
dawn came, they looked up on the hill and there
was one tree that had survived, and birds came from
hundreds of miles to be together, and they each sang
their own song, and they created a song that had
(04:16):
never been heard before. And I look at the earth
as the singing Tree of the galaxy because there's no
life around us, and we can choose to destroy each
other and the earth, or we can create beauty that's
never been seen before. So this is a steam project.
And so far we've created one hundred and forty eight
(04:37):
murals with twenty seven thousand people from fifty two countries,
and the whole world's invited. No one is excoded.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
The whole world is invited.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
We craft Martin Luther King's beloved Community in every mural,
and his vision of a beloved community is that there's
no poverty, there's no racism, there's no violence because we
treasure each other that much.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah, I love that, and that hits me hard, I guess,
because there's some things that really resonated with what you
just said. I'm Jewish, my husband's Catholic. We call our
kids the Cashews, and my daughter right now is ten.
And to think that when you were ten, that one
speech just kind of guided you through the rest of
(05:23):
your life. And I'm thinking about like the talks I
give her, the stuff that she's exposed to, or the
stuff that she sees like that could very well direct
where she goes in life. So I mean, thank you
for sharing that. That's amazing yea. And Unity through Creativity.
Tell us a little bit more about this organization here locally,
(05:44):
I mean on our Instagram for Power Sunny and ka
Hey on Facebook. I have a picture there that you
shared with me of one of the local groups here
that did one of these tree projects. So can you
please tell us a little bit more about the local impact.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Yeah, So the Singing Tree Project we create collaborative murals,
as you said, that are based on nature, and we
use trees because they are heroes of collaboration. The forests,
the roots all connect and they send nutrients to places
that are default. The leaves turn the sun into food.
(06:22):
The roots communicate. They produce millions of seeds and they
are nuts, and they also drop the leaves to fertilize
the ground and shade and shade and habitat for over
three hundred organisms the average tree. So the thing that
I gave up when I was ten, drawing trees was
(06:45):
my life's work, and I wanted to draw trees. That
was the thing that drew me. So again, paying attention
to what the ten year old, what the nine year
old is really deeply thinking about, is so important to
nurture unity through creativity. Has made about eight murals since
we've come to El Paso four years ago. There's one
(07:07):
a Keystone Heritage Park that's free and available anytime we've created.
There are four right now at the YWCA on Brown Street.
And we're very honored that Casa Auto Group has three
of our murals in their collection.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
So you presented me, Laura presented me with one of
the murals, she's actually wearing the shirt version of it.
So again you can see those pictures at Power one
oh two point one Sunday ninety nine point nine or
nine six point three k country Beautiful detailed. And again
this project brought together the group. They all contributed to
this one collective whole. You know, like a band everyone.
(07:52):
If they play their own notes, it doesn't work. But
when they bring it together and work together, even though
they all have their own instruments, it makes something completely beautiful.
And if you're just tuning in, I have here Laurie Marshall,
founder of Unity through Creativity. They provide innovative team building
and peace building through art inspired by nature. And there
(08:15):
is a very important event coming up. If you want
to be a part of one of these singing trees,
or you want to be a part of this art,
you just want to be in the presence of it.
The International Day of Peace Symposium is coming up very soon.
It's two days, Saturday, September twentieth from nine to four
(08:36):
pm and Sunday, September twenty first, from one to five
pm at the UTIP Thomas Rivera Center, Nolori. What's going
to be happening in these two days.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
These two days grew out of unity through Creativity's commitment
to peace building, and the UN has a holiday celebrating
International Day of Peace. It's a forty four year old holiday.
Last year, fifty five million people around the planet celebrated it.
And guess what, we didn't hear a peep about that
(09:11):
because it didn't bleed and lead. We want to strengthen
the peace practices that are already going on in Olpasa,
which is an exceptional community of faith and connection. We
are having international speakers via zoom, We're having local speakers.
We're having round tables where everybody at your table will
(09:32):
get to hear your thoughts and we will be adding
to the Singing Tree of Light in the Darkness. And
this mural is a gift to the Candle Lighters, and
the Candle Lighters are our organization that serve young people
who are experiencing cancer and their families and the children
(09:54):
will be contributing to the mural, and we're asking the
participants to contribute to the mural, also asking people to
bring lightly used, clean and non smoke filled clothes that
we will be donating to Candlelighters. Okay, so it's very practical.
They will be singing, there will be art. Everyone will
(10:16):
get to make art if they wish. They'll also be
breakout rooms, seminars in ai and consciousness, in youth and democracy,
in criminal justice, in restorative practices, and in ethical consumption.
There'll be a movie shown about the consequence of eating meat.
(10:40):
So it's going to be a very rich day. And
we're focusing on the fact that peace isn't the absence
of conflicts. Peace is the presence of connection, and we
want to be more connected to everyone in El Paso
and to support the dignified and humane city that El
Paso is and is growing in. We also presented to
(11:02):
the City Council and the County Commissioners the concept of
El Paso as an International City of Peace, and there
are over four hundred and forty Cities of Peace around
the world. This is an organization that supports the language
and the practices of peace building because it's hard, especially
(11:23):
when we're in conflict and especially when we feel attacked,
because our instinct is to attack back. So it's a
discipline to know and a skill set to know what
to do besides attack back, and both the County and
the city have proclaimed El Paso as an International City
of Peace, and this September third, the City Council shared
(11:47):
their proclamation and I'd like to read.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
A paragraph from Yes, please do.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Whereas peace is not merely the absence of conflict, but
the presence of justice, compassion, and belonging. On El Paso
International City of Peace Day, we honor the rich diversity
of our community and commit to building a future well
where all are welcome, all are valued, and all can thrive.
(12:14):
And that is the basis of our collaborative murals, where
everyone has their individuality to contribute to make something bigger.
We are not unity through uniformity. We are not unity
through manipulation and lies and core pressure and coercion and
threat and violence, which is what so much of the
(12:36):
world seems to think they need in order to survive.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Yeah, and is there anything that you maybe want to
with El Paso being declared a City of Peace? Are
there any practices that you can give our listeners right
now that they can maybe start doing today. For example,
I've come a long way with my You know, it
(13:01):
starts with you, right, It starts with you, and then
it bleeds into your family and then the city. You know,
you're not trying to change the world. Change the world
through changing yourself and your kids. So understanding, I think
is a big one that I was practicing. So I
think for me it was taking a breath, literally taking
a breath before I.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Speak, pause, a huge practice, or not saying anything.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
So is there something that you want to share with
the listening audience that they can start practicing in their
own lives to start creating that peace in their world
and hopefully leeding into the city.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Oh that's beautiful. So one thing is to understand how
hard it is to take a breath, because our brain,
if it feels attacked, we have point zero four seconds
to break the pattern of attacking back. So practice breathing.
Practice breathing in for holding it, for breathing out, for
(13:53):
Broxton holding it for the military does that. That's a
great practice to have to do all day long. Another
great practice is looping, which is when somebody is talking
to you to say what they've said to you back
to them before you say what you have to say, yes,
and checking for understanding. Again, this is such a hard
(14:16):
thing to do because we want to rush to our defense.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
Yes, I do it all the time. Yeah, just as
my husband. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Right, the ones closest to us are the ones that
get the broun because we feel safe with them, right,
We feel like we can do that. But again, especially
in a marriage, listening to understand, not listening to reply. Yeah,
and that was a that was a quote that I heard.
That kind of I want to say, helped me in
my marriage a little bit. But again, this event International
Day of Peace Symposium Alpasso, as of September third has
(14:47):
been declared a city of Peace thanks to you, large
part thanks to Unity through Creativity. This event Saturday and Sunday,
September twentieth and twenty first, on Saturday from nine to
four pm. On from one to five pm. So mark
your calendars, you tip Thomas Rivetta Center. You'll get to go,
take your kids, You'll get to be a part of it.
(15:08):
It's not just watching. You can do art. You can
learn different things, you can learn different methods. So even
if you are like me who started off very temperamental,
very this is my way learn something new.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
Because if what you've been.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Doing, whether it's talking to your significant other, to your coworkers,
if it's not working, you keep doing it expecting the
same results. That's called you know, insanitay, so try you know,
learn some different methods. And again the deadline to register
has been extended. And Laurie again, the purpose of this
registration is because people will.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Because we are serving lunch on Saturday. The lunch we
will be free. You're welcome to make a donation, of course.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
Please we ask you to come and.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Register a half hour earlier, so please show up at
eight thirty and twelve thirty to register. That would be
so helpful, okay, And we also want to keep track.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
We wrote a report.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
This is our fourth annual Peace Day celebration, and we're
doing pre and post surveys. We're trying to be very
thoughtful about reporting and learning about the impact. We're also
focusing on peace within as you were talking about Amber,
peace with each other and peace with earth. So it's
a holistic approach to peace. And I've had many people
(16:24):
scoff at the idea of talking about peace, saying it's
a fool's errand it can't happen, it's naive, and really
it is just as practical to learn the skills of
nonviolence and peace.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Again, just including that into what you know, be open minded.
So if you have any questions, you want more information,
you want to register, you can find them on Instagram
and Facebook, Unity through Creativity and then Unity through Creativity
dot org. And let me just tell you peace does
not equal weakness. That's one thing I do want to
point out. Laurie, thank you so much for being here
(16:58):
with us today.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
It was my pleasure.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
I am your host, Amber Banda, and today we have
Acidro Torres MBA. He is the executive director for NAMI
of al Paso. Asidro, thank you for being here with
us today.
Speaker 5 (17:17):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Of course, so today we're going to talk a little
bit in the first half. What is NAMI I know
they are the mental health organization in al Paso. Can
you tell al Paso a little bit about what services
are provided?
Speaker 5 (17:30):
What is NAMI yo one hundred percent So nomil Paso
with the local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental
ONUS and so our focus is to provide education, support,
awareness and advocacy so that those living with mental health
conditions and their families can build better lives. And we
do this through different fronts. We have educational classes for
those who have loved ones with mental health conditions or
those individuals themselves. We do support groups for family members
(17:53):
and individuals being impacted by mental health conditions, and we're
doing a lot of presentations in the community. One of
our most popular and the one we do the most
is we present to about over four thousand middle school
and high school students a year on mental health and
that's our Ending the Silence presentation. So we're really working
hard to making sure we're getting that education, that support
so that people understand mental health conditions a little bit
(18:15):
better and get the help that they need when they
need them.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
So I love the fact that you're not just focusing
on the person that has the mental health issue, but
you're also talking about their family and friends, because it
is you do need a support group. You know, I
personally have some stuff in my past and I don't
think I could have made it without the support of
my family and my friends, or at least the understanding.
Right they may not know the right things to say,
(18:38):
but that's what these support groups are for. It's like,
you don't have to be a therapist, you just have
to be there for them. And I'm very curious about
the presentations that you give at schools. What did you
call it ending the silence? And it is the silence?
What does that mean? How does that fit into the presentation?
Speaker 5 (18:56):
So, I mean the entire goal is really to create
the next generation that finally ends the silence around mental health.
And so we want them to equip them with knowing
what mental health is, what mental health conditions are, and
what to look for, how to have those conversations should
they be worried about themselves or a friend, and again
just elimiting that stigma, understanding that we should be treating
(19:18):
mental health the same way we do our physical health
and that it's just as important.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
And I'm curious for kids, what is like the youngest
presentation to get like the age?
Speaker 4 (19:27):
The grade we.
Speaker 5 (19:28):
Do sixth grade? We do sixth grade, but we know,
like in we know that it's important to even reach
a younger kids. Some of our NOMI partners across the
country are doing elementary age students. We are in the
middle of a youth mental health crisis, and so getting
this information out is really really important.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
So for sixth grade, how do you like, how do
you describe to them what is mental health and what
to look out for in themselves or in their friends
and family.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
I think, you know, we're ultimately saying mental health is
the way we do our physical health, and I think
a lot of kids get them. You know, they understand, like, Okay,
when we get sick with the cold, they're flu, you know,
we have to stay home and we have to take
care of ourselves and we have to get better. And
sometimes things happen to our brain. Sometimes we're just feeling
sad for a really long time, or we feel anxious,
(20:15):
or we can't sit down, or there's just something going on,
and that means that, you know, maybe there's something wrong
and that we need to get help for that, and
we need to find treatment for that and look to
get better. But also ultimately saying, you know, the way
we exercise, the way we sleep well for our physical health,
A lot of those things we can do to take
care of our mental health. And so we really try
(20:37):
to just look at a holistic view of ourselves.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
I love the way you compare it to physical health,
especially you know, with with pe and you know, kids
wanting to go to the nurse to take care of
their injuries and everything. I'm just very interested because I
myself have two daughters, one is ten, one is nineteen.
You know, they've had their ups and downs. So I
would be very interested in having you come to speak
to her school. And if anyone is interested in having
not me come present to their school or maybe our
(21:02):
a homeschool or some kind of organization that has kids,
you can contact them at namiep dot org on Instagram
and Facebook, no Me lpass So. Now the other services
that you offered. Now, I'm on the board of Family
Service of l pass SO and I've seen the NOMI
groups go in and i really want the community to
know more about these free support groups. They cost nothing,
(21:23):
and I believe you have them every Wednesday, every other Wednesday,
every other Wednesday. Of course that schedule is going to
be on the contact that I just listen. We'll relist
it again at the end of the show. But can
you tell the listening audience a little bit more about
what to expect at those free support groups.
Speaker 5 (21:37):
Yeah. So that's our NOMI Connection Recovery support group and
it's led by two train facilitators who are living in
recovery of a mental health condition. And what we're doing
is we're inviting those impact up by mental health conditions
to come and just you know, be there together, find
a community that understands has maybe been where you've been,
or maybe it knows things that you're barely learning. And
(21:59):
so we really just come together, have a conversation and
try to work through what's going on in the now
for each of us. And hopefully, as you know, our
participants leave the group, they leave with something new that
they can go home and try.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Yeah, no, I see that those groups always always have
someone in them. And with that being said, you know,
not me working with Family Service of all past, So
what other community organizations do you work with?
Speaker 5 (22:22):
You know, there's countless, you know, we can spend a
whole long time here, but Emergence Health Network is a
wonderful one. They're the largest behavior health provider in the community.
The Opasto Child Guidance Center of course, you set Family Service.
We work with many of our private facilities and many
of our providers who are providing these services. You know,
we're very lucky in that we get to build this
(22:43):
community around mental health and work alongside so many wonderful.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Partners and the services that not me offers. Are they
free or yes?
Speaker 5 (22:51):
Yes, every service we provide to the community is free.
We do our best to write in both in English
and in Spanish, and we're just able to do this
with the supporter community, support of providers like the Bustle
of the Health Community Foundation and so many wonderful partners
help us keep this free.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
So someone's thinking like, look, I haven't been diagnosed with
PTSD or anything like that, so I don't need to
go seek out from NAMI. Can you speak to those
people that it's not I find it just like you
compare mental health to physical health. It's kind of like
getting treatment for something. It's better when it's preventative versus
already trying to take care of it when you're in it.
(23:28):
So can you talk to those people that may not
have a diagnosis but can still benefit from Nami's services.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
Yeah. No, You know, we don't ask the participants if
they for any diagnosis, but if they are maybe feeling
a little symptomatic, maybe there's something there and so they
can come and and just hear more, learn more about
what they're going through. You know, we know that sometimes
it's hard to get an appointment, and you know there
may be a waiting period, and so that's good time
(23:56):
to maybe connect with others who've been there, who say,
you know, you say, hey, these are the symptoms I'm experiencing,
and others can provide their own lived experience and provide
support in that way.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
So what are some symptoms that you think because you know,
you don't know what you don't know, right, So what
are some symptoms that people may be having that aren'tquote
unquote severe, but are enough to seek some help.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
Yeah, I mean some of the baseline symptoms. And of
course every mental health condition has its own, you know,
symptoms and things like that. But some of the baseline
things that we talk about and we when we're out
in the community, whether it's the middle schoolers or when
we're talking to adults, is you know, maybe you've been
feeling sad for a really long time, for two weeks
and you haven't been able to shake yet, and it's
(24:37):
kind of interfering with your ability to move through your
day to day. Yeah, Or a lot of anxiety. Maybe
you're just feeling anxious about everything something it continues and
it goes on. You know, maybe you aren't sleeping well,
maybe there's significant weight loss weight gain, maybe you are
using alcohol or drugs in a way that you know
(24:59):
true truly is negative, or your relationships, you're just finding
yourself that you're feeling like you're arguing with the world
more often, and it's it's just really impacting that. So
those are just some baseline things that we talk about
and we spread around in terms of maybe you know,
it doesn't mean that there's a mental condition, yeah, but
(25:20):
maybe it means that there's uh, it's a time to
look for support.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
Yeah, it's always good to talk it out. It's kind
of like a form of journaling. And again, if you're
just joining us, I have Isidro Torres, NBA, executive director
of na me L pass So, the mental health place
in l Paso. And now we talked about services offered again,
if you want more information, you can go to n
A m i EP dot org or find them on
(25:44):
Instagram and Facebook. No me lpass So. Now if you
want to help, you want to be involved. They have
a few events coming up too that we're going to
focus on specifically. Now we see that we're going to
talk first about no me Walks. Now I have heard
of this event. It's it's one of the biggest walks
here in All pass So happening Saturday, October eighteenth at
a Scott at the Park. Can you tell the people
(26:06):
what to expect at this walk and how they can register,
how they can be a part of it?
Speaker 5 (26:10):
Yeah, one hundred percent. It is. It is the largest
mental health awareness event in our community and we're very
proud and grateful to be the wonderful host of it
and no Me Walks. It's a five free five k
walks two laps free five k two laps around a
Scott at the Park. We have a lot of wonderful
vendors there, some wonderful music, entertainment, and we just it's
a it's a positive platform to talk about mental health
(26:34):
because too often, excuse me, we talk about mental health
when things are bad, and so it's a good way
to show our community that mental health matters and that
you're not alone. And they can again free to register
nom me walks dot org, slash all Passo or they
can visit our website and find the link there. Again,
it's all free, but we do ask for donations see
(26:54):
because Nomi Walks Passo is Nomial Passa's largest fundraiser and
it keeps us allowing to offer these free programs to
our community.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
So when people donate, do you have like a cash
up sign there you take cash credit or how does
that work?
Speaker 5 (27:07):
They can do it before the event. Once they sign
up nom Me Walk, Starter, Slashall Passot, they'll go through registration.
They can donate there, or they can ask their friends
to donate to their page. And we have a wonderful
recognition program. If you raise one hundred dollars, you get
a wonderful Nomi Walks T shirt. If you raise more,
there's wonderful items like you know, Nomi Walks, swag or
(27:27):
Nomi Walks. I'm trying to remember all of them, nom
Me Hawks, headphones, nom Me Walks, even the biggest one
is like a Nomi Walks engraved kindle. So there's a
lot of wonderful recognition programs, recognition gifts that people.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Can And what I like best about what you said
off air was that it's more of a fun walk.
Running is optional in this five case, so you know,
if you want to go and run it out and practice,
it's not a pre qualififier for anything, but you know
you can have fun with it. Because I see people
dress up in a lot of these runs with their
two tuos in their makeup and like yeah, but then
you sweat it off. But if you're just gonna have
the fun walk, you know, get a group together. And
(28:03):
mental health is important for everyone, whether you have some
you know, if you have a diagnosis, you don't have
a diagnosis, you've had great mental health your whole life.
Which honestly, I've never met one person in their unicorns.
But this is an event to mark on your calendar,
not me Walks Saturday, October eighteenth at a Scott at
the Park on Delta. It's gonna be a five case
so two loops around running optional. It's gonna be there
(28:26):
at eight a m. It's going to be a great Saturday.
And the other event that I'm super excited for, and
if you can talk about what we've talked about and
there if you'd like to, but it's the EP Suicide
Awareness Semi Colon Tattoo Event Saturday, September twenty seventh at
all Sun City Tattoo locations from ten to five. Now
(28:47):
you see that, tell us a little bit more about
what's going to happen between those hours at All Sun
City Tattoo locations.
Speaker 5 (28:53):
Yes, no, one hundred percent. So the semicolon first is
semicolon tattoos have gained I guess pop larity and because
of what they represent, you know, we use a semi
coolon to represent the story isn't over, and so individuals
get a semi colon tattooed to either representing you know what, Hey,
I struggled, I went through a lot. I was you know,
close to not knowing if I was going to be here,
(29:15):
but I stayed and I'm so glad I stayed. Or
you know, unfortunately, we all know someone we've lost to suicide,
and so some take it as aware, it as a
remembrance and honor that loved one who who you know,
unfortunately died by suicide, and so we use it just
to bring that awareness and continue having these conversations. September
(29:35):
Suicide Awareness Prevention months, and so it's a wonderful month
that we're having it on. And so our one of
money nine months, Avice, wonderful friend and has helped us
out with you know, working with the Sun City Tattoos
Andrea sun City Tattoos, and so at all three locations
from ten am to five pm, they're going to be
offering basic semicolon starting up fifty dollars. Hopefully we're going
(29:56):
to release a flash soon on our social media of
different semi colon designs and then if there's a little extra,
you can work it out there. It's walking only, and
so I'm really excited to be able to do this.
It's our first year and so we're hoping everybody comes
out and gets a tattoo with us.
Speaker 4 (30:12):
And how does no me benefit from this fundraiser?
Speaker 5 (30:15):
Proceeds of the tattoos will come to us, and so
some proceeds from all the tattoos everybody gets will come
to Nomial Passing and help us continue our mission.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
And I mean, I'm covered in tattoos and there's always someone.
Speaker 4 (30:27):
Asking what does that mean? What does that mean? What
does that mean?
Speaker 2 (30:29):
But when it's a tattoo where everyone kind of knows
what it means, there's not even anything that has to
be said. It's just that power of knowing someone else
went through it and they're here and you know, you know,
I won't go into my whole story, but you wouldn't
believe where I started out from. So people that see
me now, if they were to see the tattoo on me,
they'd be like, what you know. So I'm excited to
get it and I'm I'm honored to be a part.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Of this event.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
And again not me Walks Saturday, October eighteenth EP Suicide
Awareness Semi colon tattoo event Saturday September two, twenty seventh.
Those are just a couple of the events where you
can go and support no meal pass so show your
support of mental health for yourself and for your community.
More information at nami ep dot org, on Instagram and Facebook.
(31:12):
No mel Paso and real quick. You see though you
had mentioned there was a musician that you were collaborating with.
Can you tell us a little bit more about that.
Speaker 5 (31:18):
Yeah, Julian collel He's he's a country singer here locally,
a grad and he's coming out with a new song
by this it's already actually already out lone guitar and
he's wrote it in uh in commemoration of Suicide Awareness
Prevention Month. And so we're going to be going doing
things on social media, you know, helping spread the message,
(31:41):
helping connect individuals with us, and so are very excited
and grateful that Julian Collous, you know, he's a country star,
he's a mental health advocate. Really grateful for him and
his support.
Speaker 4 (31:50):
Of artwork awesome.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
So again look at their Instagram and Facebook nomil Passo
for more on that. And of course on part of
two point one Sunday ninety nine point nine and ninety
six point three k he Country, we will have pictures
of Acirel, will have information, we'll have flyers, everything that
you need in case you're not sitting by your radio
wherever you're listening with a pen and paper. But Ecitral,
thank you so much for talking with us today.
Speaker 5 (32:11):
Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
You've been listening to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso. If you, your
organization or event would like to be featured on an
upcoming program, please email to ep Forum at iHeartMedia dot
com or call us at nine one five three five
one five four zero zero. Tune in again next week
(32:33):
for another additional of El Paso Public Forum. The preceding
program was recorded at the studios of iHeartRadio El Paso
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