HAVE A HEART - NOT JUST AT VALENTINE'S DAY

HEART is a program offered through Cascadia Behavioral Health that intends to start the conversation about mental health.

Heart uses art and weaves storytelling together to open up new opportunities for healing.

Cascadia Behavioral Health cares for the whole person.

Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare is the organization behind the Heart movement. The desire is to help women face mental health challenges through community-based programs, including peer-to-peer services. The intention is to teach people how to reach out and help each other.

At the Heart Gala on February 7th, Senior Director of Peer Wellness for Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, Meghan Caughey talked about how art changed her life. She said art gives hope. And

Heart intends to offer this hope by highlighting the crossroad between art and health, with a focus on women.

The gala was a celebration and evening of sharing...while raising community awareness and perhaps  a little money for the program.

While you may think men are the ones who face trauma from war and are the people most effected by PTSD, the truth is women are more than twice as likely to suffer from mental health issues. Research is still out as to why this is but perhaps it has something to do with women living in a world where they are not in control. 

Statistics say that 80% of the personal impacts of war fall on women and children and between 16-50% of women will face violence in their lives.

Heart hopes to create an atmosphere of healing by building a circle of support for women dealing with mental health issues. The plan is to combine health, wellness and art to build strong peer support groups. And through art and storytelling, doors will open up to discussions about mental health that wouldn’t otherwise exist.