Month: September 2023

Great Minds with Lost&Found Podcast: Storytelling and Mental Health

Great Minds with Lost&Found Podcast: Storytelling and Mental Health – Host Joel Kaskinen chats with Lost&Found's Director of Communications, Heidi Marttila-Losure

Content Warning: Great Minds with Lost&Found episodes contain mature themes, including mental health, suicide, addiction, and others that may not be appropriate for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.
In this episode, Lost&Found kicks off the third iteration of their 30 Days 30 Stories project for National Suicide Prevention Month. The project tells the stories of 30 South Dakotans living with mental illness, grief, or loss and demonstrates how storytelling is a critical part of suicide prevention. Host Joel Kaskinen chats with Lost&Found’s Director of Communications, Heidi Marttila-Losure, about the importance of storytelling, why stories, matter, and how humans connect through stories to grow, heal, learn, teach, and so much more.

Listen on Spotify or find other listening options on Anchor.

You can also watch this episode on YouTube.

 

In the case of emergencies, call the 24/7 hotline at 1-800-IN-CRISIS. If you or someone you know is facing a mental health crisis, call 988. If you are a veteran facing a mental health crisis, call 988 and then press 1.

Learn more about L&F student programs here.

To learn more about Lost&Found, go to resilienttoday.org.  Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube (@resilienttoday).

Thanks to 4Front Studios for shooting, editing, and producing Great Minds with Lost&Found. To learn more about 4Front Studios, go to https://4frontstudios.com/.

Stories are at the heart of suicide prevention project this September

SIOUX FALLS, SD — Thirty powerful stories of resilience in the face of mental health or suicide-related challenges will be shared each day of National Suicide Prevention Month this September as part of the third year of Lost&Found’s 30 Days, 30 Stories project. The theme for 2023 is “Storytelling Is Suicide Prevention.”

“This year, we are focusing on the power of stories to heal, to connect people, and to bring about change,” said Heidi Marttila-Losure, Lost&Found’s Director of Communications. “In our work, we often cite the statistics of suicide in South Dakota, which are dire—for example, 202 people died by suicide in South Dakota in 2021, and it’s the leading cause of death in South Dakota for those ages 10 to 34. But numbers alone typically don’t inspire action. Stories do.”

The story for Sept. 1 features Sam Houser, a reverend who survived assault and has found treatments that help to address the trauma. Click on the image to see Houser’s story.

The project, which is sponsored by a grant from the South Dakota Humanities Council, begins on September 1. Each story will be released on 30stories.org as well as on Lost&Found’s social media platforms and includes a written story, photos of the storyteller, and a video. Storytellers speak about their own experiences, what resources helped them, and how they’d like to see the mental health care system or society in general improved to prevent or address situations like theirs.

Storytellers include people from a variety of backgrounds from all over South Dakota, as well as a few from beyond its borders. “We are pleased to have more storytellers from West River this year,” Marttila-Losure said.

Four episodes of Lost&Found’s podcast, Great Minds with Lost&Found, are also scheduled as part of the project.

The first podcast has been published. It’s a conversation between podcast host Joel Kaskinen and Marttila-Losure about the power of stories and how they can improve mental health as well as improve our society.

The remaining three podcasts will be recorded as live events that the public is welcome to attend.

  • September 5: Sharing Stories of Mental Health in the Black Hills, with local student storytellers, 2 p.m. in the Trump Room of the Student Union, Black Hills State University
  • September 11: The Story of Suicide Prevention Action in South Dakota with Erik Muckey and Caleb Weiland, Farber Hall on the University of South Dakota campus. The time is to be announced.
  • Late September: How a Statewide Run is Changing Lives, with runners from the 437 Project, Remedy Brewing. Details to be announced.

Lost&Found has partnered with 4Front Studios in Sioux Falls and NorthStar Productions in Rapid City for the photo and video production of the project.

Lost&Found started the #30Days30Stories project in 2021. These stories have reached an impressive number of people through social media channels and also yielded insights on the empowering possibilities of storytelling.

“We encourage South Dakotans to listen to these storytellers as their stories are released each day,” Marttila-Losure said. “I can almost promise they will affect you and the way you see the world. Gratitude, empathy, and the motivation to change things for the better are possible reactions. That’s the power of stories.”

Great Minds with Lost&Found Podcast: Sharing the Need for Support in the Black Hills

Great Minds with Lost&Found Podcast: Sharing the Need for Support in the Black Hills

Content Warning: Great Minds with Lost&Found episodes contain mature themes, including mental health, suicide, addiction, and others that may not be appropriate for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.
In this episode, Lost&Found continues our podcast series as part of our 30 Days 30 Stories project for National Suicide Prevention Month. The project tells the stories of 30 South Dakotans living with mental illness, grief, or loss and demonstrates how storytelling is a critical part of suicide prevention. Host Joel Kaskinen chats with a panel of folks from the Black Hills about the good, the bad, and the ugly of mental health in Western South Dakota. Hear as Mato Abourezk, Corey Kennedy, and Patrick Murphy share their mental health journeys, explore ways to improve the mental health ecosystem in the state, and hype up the resources and support systems that have helped them through.

Listen on Spotify or find other listening options on Anchor.

You can also watch this episode on YouTube.

 

In the case of emergencies, call the 24/7 hotline at 1-800-IN-CRISIS. If you or someone you know is facing a mental health crisis, call 988. If you are a veteran facing a mental health crisis, call 988 and then press 1.

Learn more about L&F student programs here.

To learn more about Lost&Found, go to resilienttoday.org.  Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube (@resilienttoday).

Thanks to 4Front Studios for shooting, editing, and producing Great Minds with Lost&Found. To learn more about 4Front Studios, go to https://4frontstudios.com/.

Great Minds with Lost&Found Podcast: The Story of Suicide Prevention Action in South Dakota (recorded at the University of South Dakota)

Great Minds with Lost&Found Podcast: The Story of Suicide Prevention Action in South Dakota (recorded at the University of South Dakota)

Content Warning: Great Minds with Lost&Found episodes contain mature themes, including mental health, suicide, addiction, and others that may not be appropriate for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.
In this episode, Lost&Found continues our live podcast series as part of our 30 Days 30 Stories project for National Suicide Prevention Month. The project tells the stories of 30 South Dakotans living with mental illness, grief, or loss and demonstrates how storytelling is a critical part of suicide prevention. Host Joel Kaskinen chats with guests Erik Muckey and Caleb Weiland about student advocacy and action in South Dakota and how it has shaped Lost&Found from the very beginning.

Listen on Spotify or find other listening options on Anchor.

You can also watch this episode on YouTube.

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In the case of emergencies, call the 24/7 hotline at 1-800-IN-CRISIS. If you or someone you know is facing a mental health crisis, call 988. If you are a veteran facing a mental health crisis, call 988 and then press 1.

Learn more about L&F student programs here.

To learn more about Lost&Found, go to resilienttoday.org.  Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube (@resilienttoday).

Thanks to 4Front Studios for shooting, editing, and producing Great Minds with Lost&Found. To learn more about 4Front Studios, go to https://4frontstudios.com/.

Great Minds with Lost&Found Podcast: How a Statewide Run Is Changing Lives with the 437 Project (recorded at Remedy Brewing)

Great Minds with Lost&Found Podcast: How a Statewide Run Is Changing Lives with the 437 Project (recorded at Remedy Brewing)

Content Warning: Great Minds with Lost&Found episodes contain mature themes, including mental health, suicide, addiction, and others that may not be appropriate for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.
In this episode, Lost&Found continues our live podcast series as part of our 30 Days 30 Stories project for National Suicide Prevention Month. The project tells the stories of 30 South Dakotans living with mental illness, grief, or loss and demonstrates how storytelling is a critical part of suicide prevention. Host Joel Kaskinen chats with guests Benson Langat and Carter Gronseth about their experience running across the state of South Dakota to raise awareness of mental health with The 437 Project.

The 437 Project is a statewide run that is changing lives by raising funds for the Helpline Center’s 988 Suicide Prevention and Crisis Line and raising awareness of mental health in even the smallest of communities in the state. Spanning from the Wyoming border to the Iowa border, this run is 437 miles long and is split up between 12 runners who are passionate about community building and mental health.

Listen on Spotify or find other listening options on Anchor.

You can also watch this episode on YouTube.

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In the case of emergencies, call the 24/7 hotline at 1-800-IN-CRISIS. If you or someone you know is facing a mental health crisis, call 988. If you are a veteran facing a mental health crisis, call 988 and then press 1.

Learn more about L&F student programs here.

To learn more about Lost&Found, go to resilienttoday.org.  Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube (@resilienttoday).

Thanks to 4Front Studios for shooting, editing, and producing Great Minds with Lost&Found. To learn more about 4Front Studios, go to https://4frontstudios.com/.