close

5K event planned to raise mental health awareness

By Paul Paterra staff Writer ppaterra@observer-Reporter.Com 3 min read
article image -

Matthew Strine is passionate about mental health advocacy.

The Peters Township resident said he lives with bipolar disorder 1 and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

“I know a lot of people claim to have OCD, but it’s not what everybody thinks it is,” Strine said. “I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.”

OCD is a common, chronic, and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts and/or behaviors that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over. Those who suffer with bipolar disorder 1 are prone to bouts of depression, mania and hypomania.

To raise awareness to those issues, Strine is organizing a 5K walk called “Stomp the Stigma,” planned for 9 a.m. to noon July 1 at the South Park Fairgrounds.

“The event is really to promote mental health advocacy,” he said.

Funds raised will go to the local chapter of the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI Keystone). NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

Strine, a teacher at Monessen High School, has handled speaking engagements on behalf of NAMI for about two years and plans to speak at Stomp the Stigma to share his story.

“I do this because we need to normalize conversations around mental health,” he said. “I’ve had people reach out to me based on hearing my story and they tell me how difficult it has been.”

Strine hopes to have a few other speakers at Stomp the Stigma. Since the talks may not necessarily be geared to a younger audience, there will be activities for kids such as a bounce house and face painting. There also will be a 50/50 drawing and refreshments.

Strine’s story describes his issues with mental health that included an attempt at taking his own life.

“Fortunately, I was unsuccessful,” he said. “It ended with me having a stay at St. Francis Medical Center that used to be in Oakland. I was there for a week and that’s where they diagnosed me as bipolar.”

Strine, 41, said he has wrestled with mental health issues since he was a high school senior, and was told by a doctor that concussions he suffered playing soccer may have triggered those issues.

He hopes to have about 100 to 200 participants in Stomp the Stigma. The cost to register is $27 for those 18 and older and $25 for anyone younger than 18. Those who register by May 26 are guaranteed a T-shirt.

To register, visit http://sites.google.com/view/stompthestigma/home.

It’s all part of Strine’s continued quest to raise awareness to all mental health issues.

“There’s still a huge stigma around it. I’ve lived it. I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through. It’s OK to talk about it,” Strine said of mental health. “If I can save somebody’s life or change somebody’s life or make somebody’s life easier, this was all worth it.”

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $/week.

Subscribe Today