Mental Health Flag Tour Kristy Worthen

MENTAL HEALTH FLAG TOUR STOPS IN HAWAII
May 13, 2004

From the webpage: http://www.hawaii.gov/ltgov/Members/rhonda/Lt.%20Governor/Newsletter.2004-05-19

Lt. Governor Aiona declared May 13, 2004, as "Kristy Worthen Mental Health Day" in conjunction with the Mental Health Flag Project, a nationwide public awareness campaign.

Hawai`i Joins Other States in Mental Health Awareness Project
To promote public awareness of the need to help people suffering from mental illness, Lt. Governor Aiona officially launched Hawai`i’s participation in the “Mental Health Flag Project.” He noted that Hawai`i is the 28th state to participate in this national effort, which was launched by Lt. Governor Winthrop Rockefeller of Arkansas and the National Lieutenant Governors Association. Artist Kristy Worthen, who has a bipolar disorder, designed and painted the project’s flag, which features a lighthouse beacon and an inscription that reads: “Shedding Light on Mental Health Issues.”

Mary and Kristy standing under the Great Seal of Hawaii.

Ellen McCormick with AstraZeneca Government Affairs, Ellen, Mary Worthen, Kristy Worthen, Marion Poirier the Executive Director of NAMI-Oahu, and Brian

Kristy and Mary are given a tour of the beautiful State of Hawaii

Here they enjoy a wonderful Hawaiian meal.

Lt. Governor James R. "Duke" Aiona, Jr. presents the Mental Health Flag at the Flag Ceremony	Lt. Governor James R. "Duke" Aiona, Jr. presents Kristy with a proclaimation
Kristy Worthen speaks at the Flag Ceremony in Hawaii	Dr. Thomas W. Hester, M.D. Chief of the Adult Mental Health Division of the Hawaii State Department of Health speaking at the Flag Ceremony
Lt. Governor James R. "Duke" Aiona, Jr. signs the Mental Health Flag	Lt. Governor James R. "Duke" Aiona, Jr., Mary Worthen, Kristy Worthen, and Ellen McCormick with AstraZeneca Government Affairs
Marion Poirier the Executive Director of NAMI-Oahu, Mary Worthen, Kristy Worthen, and Lt. Governor James R. "Duke" Aiona, Jr.	A view from above of the Mental Health Flag flying over Hawaii

Mary and Kristy stand in front of the Mental Health Flag as it flies over Hawaii

Press Release from the Hawaii Department of Health at http://www.hawaii.gov/doh/about/press/2004/04-33amhd.html

May 5, 2004

MENTAL HEALTH CONSUMERS EXHIBIT AN IMPRESSIVE ART SHOW

HONOLULU - National and Hawai`i artists will exhibit their work at the second annual "Abilities Art Show," an event featuring the work of outstanding artists [touched by] mental illness. The show will open Friday, May 7, 6 p.m. at Studio1 Visual and Performing Arts Gallery, 1 N. King St. (corner of King and Nu‘uanu Street). The gallery is open Tuesday - Saturday, Noon - 5 pm, and [the show] will run until May 28, 2004.

During the month of May, the Department of Health (DOH) recognizes Mental Health Awareness Month. This year, the DOH Adult Mental Health Division (AMHD) and Vision, Strength & Artistic Expression (VSA arts) Hawaii-Pacific are sponsoring a juried exhibit for artists whose lives have been affected by mental illness. The goal of the exhibit is to help reduce negative stigma toward mental illness and to emphasize the human dimension, which is often best expressed through creativity and the arts. The event will feature all visual art forms including drawing, painting, photography, sculpture and mixed media. Each piece has an artist’s statement that shares with the public the artist’s feeling about their work and how the stigma of mental illness has affected them. Show curator, Philippe Gross, award winning photographer and author of The Tao of Photography, commented, "the quality of the work submitted was impressive."

National artist and consumer of mental health services, Kristy Worthen, will be exhibiting two of her pieces in the Abilities 2004 show. Her work has been exhibited at the United Nations and is in the collections of several large corporations. Kristy is traveling the nation with the flag she designed and hand-painted to raise awareness about persons with mental illness and the issues they face. So far, Worthen has had the flag flown over 20 state capitols and the Old District Office in Washington, D.C. Kristy Worthen designed the flag and created the "Mental Health Flag Day." Lt. Governor Duke Aiona will raise Ms. Worthen’s flag at the State Capitol where the flag continues to foster hope and awareness of mental health issues.

"I created my flag as a symbol of hope for all people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness," Worthen said. "It is my desire for the flag to focus attention on each state’s mental health needs. I want to let others know there is hope, and there is help for people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness." Worthen said she is happy and that with treatment she has been able to pursue the work she loves.

The following article is from the webpage: http://amh.health.state.hi.us/Public/News/AMHDnewsMay04.pdf

Mental Health Month kicks off with a ribbon hand-out

Hale O Honolulu clubhouse members and staff distributed silver mental health lapel ribbons and mental health fact sheets on May 4 to state legislators at the Hawai‘i Capitol building as one of their “May is Mental Health Month” events.

The clubhouse also plans a May 10 World Mental Health Day “moment of silence,” at Hale O Honolulu and a May 25 Psychiatric Unit Cupcake Outreach.

Honolulu clubhouse member and staff teams will distribute specially decorated clubhouse-baked cupcakes to consumers at inpatient wards at Queen’s Hospital, Castle Medical Center and Kahi Mohala. For more information call (808) 586-3978.

Other events include a May 11 proclamation by Mayor Jeremy Harris designating May Mental Health Month in Honolulu city and county, the raising of a mental health flag designed by Kristy Worthen from the Hawai‘i Capitol flagpole May 13, and a consumer art show, Abilities 2004, open till May 29 at Studio1, 1 N. King St. in Honolulu.

The following article is from the webpage: http://www.vsarts.hawaii.edu/media/press02may04/abilities2004.pdf

Abilities 2004, An Art Show— Press Release 2004

National and Hawai‘i artists will exhibit their work at the second annual “Abilities Art Show,” an event featuring the work
of outstanding artists who have battled mental illness. The show will open Friday, May 7, 2004, 6:00 p.m. at Studio 1
Visual and Performing Arts Gallery, 1N.King St.(corner of King and Nuuanu Street). The gallery is open Tuesday -
Saturday, Noon-5:00 pm, the show will run until May 28, 2004.

During the month of May 2004--Mental Health Awareness Month-- the Adult Mental Health Division (AMHD) and
VSA arts Hawaii-Pacific are sponsoring a juried exhibit for artists whose lives have been affected by mental illness. The
goal of the exhibit is to help reduce negative stigma toward mental illness and to emphasize the human dimension, which
is often best expressed through creativity and the arts. The event was open to all visual art forms including drawings,
paintings, photography, sculpture and mixed media. Each piece has an artist’s statement that shares with the public the
artist’s feeling about their work and how the stigma of mental illness has affected them. Show curator, Philippe Gross,
award winning photographer and author of The Tao of Photography, commented that the quality of the work submitted was
impressive.

National artist and consumer of mental health services, Kristy Worthen, will be exhibiting two of her pieces in the
Abilities 2004 show. Her work has been exhibited at the United Nations and is in the collections of several large corporations.
She is enthused and excited to be a part of the Abilities 2004 An Art Show. Kristy is traveling the nation with the flag she
designed and hand-painted to raise awareness about persons with mental illness and the issues they face. So far, Worthen
has had the flag flown over 20 state capitols and the Old District Office in Washington, D.C. Kristy, who designed and
created the “Mental Health Day Flag” has been traveling throughout the United States raising the flag for Mental Health
Awareness Day in each state. Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) and the National
Lieutenant Governors Association, invite the press and public to witness Hawai‘i’s flag raising on Thursday, May 14, 2004
at 9:00am.

“I created my flag as a symbol of hope for all people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness,” Worthen said. “It
is my desire for the flag to focus attention on each state’s mental health needs. I want to let others know there is hope, and
there is help for people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness.” Worthen said she is so happy, that with treatment,
she has been able to pursue the work she loves. Worthen said she felt honored to participate in the Hawai‘i show.

For more information, contact:
Eve Okumura
Services, Research, and Evaluation, Adult Mental Health Division at 539-3873. Email eokumura@hawaii.edu
(808) 539-3873 or (808) 291-1709

Next Stop on the Flag Tour