STORIES OF MENTAL HEALTH & RESILIENCE

Stories of Mental Health and Resilience:

SIOV’s First Community Wellness Event!

2019 was an exciting year for SIOV, full of many new firsts. A special highlight was hosting our very first community wellness event: Stories of Mental Health & Resilience, in partnership with DC’s amazing literary community, The Inner Loop!

Storytelling through writing, music, and art is a compelling way to share our lived experiences through a creative format that generates empathy and makes us feel closer to likeminded individuals in our communities. Creativity can be a powerful force that opens up a dialogue and jumpstart positive change.

The Inner Loop hosts monthly reading series where amateur and professional writers at every stage of their career or experience share excerpts of their work.This awesome nonprofit aims to create a space for both emerging and established writers to connect  with  their community, and to transform the written word  into a shared experience through the act of reading  aloud.

Regaining Agency Around Mental Health Through Memoir

In addition to poetry, creative nonfiction, memoir, and prose, we put a new twist on the evening with a variety of other creative mediums like music, mindfulness, and stand-up comedy.

Jayne O’Donnell from USA Today started off the night with a powerful memoir about her experience getting sober:

Healing Through Writing and Song

Next up was a moving piece on eating disorder recovery and body image by Kimberly Pendleton, women’s studies professor and empowerment coach.

Conor McCaffrey rocked out to two of his original songs, wowing us by playing both piano and guitar (just not at the same time!) while he sang:

Poetry by Terry Sikes and Sean Felix rounded out the writing section before we moved on to a lap of the Sources of Strength wheel. This exercise serves as a great mental wellness check!

The hilarious stand-up comic Pearl Rose had us cracking up at her totally on-point jokes that showed how powerful humor can be to overcome even the hardest parts of life.

She hosts her own therapy comedy show called Group Talk, which we can’t wait to check out!

Joanna Urban shared an excerpt of “Instrument of Freedom,” a lovely piece about how the sense of peace riding a bike can bring as we navigate the ups and downs of life.

Bailey Hill rounded out the night with a guided mindfulness exercise involving raisins of all things- we’ll never think about them the same!

We Love Creating an Open Dialogue!

We had so much fun hosting our guests in an extremely cool and engaging space! Creativity is a powerful form of self-care. Located right in the heart of Union Market, DC’s only local rum distillery Cotton & Reed was the perfect venue to showcase the amazing talent in our local community.

Together, everyone presented helped create an honest, positive, and safe conversation around mental health at an event that also felt entertaining and fun. Each performer found a special way to emphasize mental wellness and de-stigmatize mental illness through art. We are so grateful to everyone who played a part in helping us create a community that embodies mental wellness!