36 THE QUEENS COURIER • OCTOBER 25, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Photo credit: Zucker Hillside Hospital
Group from Queens works to destigmatize mental illness
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
A group of eastern Queens residents
wants to illuminate their journeys with
mental health.
On Th ursday, Oct. 18, the residents
participated in “Th e Spoken Word” at
Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks,
where each performed a series of poems,
songs and short essays that portrayed various
forms of mental illness and the possibility
of recovery.
Participants included Richmond Hill
resident Rich Alexandro, his mother
Pat Alexandro from Bellrose and
Brendan Foley and Michelle Benjamin
from Bayside. Th e four have been diagnosed
with major mental illnesses but are
now “medically compliant and thriving”
thanks to a regimen of medication and
continued therapy.
“During their presentation, the poets
recited, sang, rapped and spoke their feelings
in an eff ort to tear down the common
myths and cruel beliefs that continue to
stigmatize the population of Americans
living with behavioral health disorders,”
according to a written statement from
Northwell Health, the parent hospital of
Zucker Hillside.
Th e hospital’s director of ambulatory
psychiatric rehabilitation, Carmine
DeSena, shared that they had been developing
the show as a means of outreach
and education. He shared that the performances
were meant to educate people
about mental health and show that there
are opportunities to recover, work and go
back to school.
“We wanted to put a face with the story
and show members of the community
that it’s not about the diagnosis, it’s about
the individual and how the individual has
a lot to off er,” DeSena said.
He added that Rich Alexandro served
as the impetus for the program, having
frequently participated in spoken
word performances throughout his life.
Alexandro said he had been performing
spoken word since he was about 18,
which was also the time that he was diagnosed
with bipolar disorder.
He described his performance as “kind
of like a rap” but without the production
behind it and details his experience living
with bipolar disorder. Over the past year
and a half, Alexandro said that the group
had performed several times for diff erent
audiences including hospital staff , inpatients
and outpatients and general audiences.
“Th e best compliment I’ve ever gotten
was from one of my coworkers,”
Alexandro said. “She said it was the closest
she ever came to being in the shoes of
someone with a mental illness.”
A line from his spoken word piece is,
“I’ma act normal, whatever that means/
Playin’ fake scenes and routines cuz I
inherited blue genes,” which gives a taste
of the “dark” subject matter of his poetry.
He shared that much of what he writes is
about things that he wants to purge and
without art, he may not be alive today.
His mother Pat Alexandro also shared
her story of postpartum depression aft er
giving birth to her fourth child. Th ough
she had never performed publicly, Rich
Alexandro said that his mother was
always “comfortable being herself.” In
her narrative piece, she writes, “So, please
be patient with me now and take me as
I am/and I, in turn, will take you as you
are” to spread the message of treating
people with dignity and respect.
Similarly, Benjamin said that she had
never performed publicly and was reluctant
to participate at fi rst, but ultimately,
she was happy that she was aff orded the
opportunity. It took her a day to write the
entire piece but shared that it took some
time to fi nd the right words to convey her
experience.
“I wanted to have everyone gain insight
on what my own personal experience
was,” said Benjamin, who added that it
was her intention for people to see what
she experienced in her “state of psychosis.”
Benjamin’s piece highlights her lifelong
journey with depression and in an
excerpt, she writes, “At once two worlds
collided and quickly, uninvited, came the
truth and I moved out, removed doubt,
and came back to the future. Grounded
now and in laser focus/I discarded but
regarded my state of psychosis.”
Like Rich Alexandro, Bayside resident
Foley shared his journey with bipolar disorder
which he was diagnosed with at 18.
“I thought I was cursed, I always thought
of the things I couldn’t do,” said Foley.
Foley said that writing his piece entitled
“My Curse, My Blessing” changed
his perspective and way of thinking. A
line from his piece reads, “I am here to
say that my illness has let me understand
people in a diff erent way. I am blessed,
not cursed. And I am Brendan, not
bipolar.”
As a result, he said that he sees things in
a “more positive light” and is able to use
his experiences and voice to help others
diagnosed with mental illnesses. He realized
that the things he thought he “didn’t
have” are qualities he now possesses aft er
participating in the Spoken Word experience,
which allowed him to work through
his inner struggles.
Currently, three of the performers are
employees with Zucker Hillside Hospital;
Rich Alexandro as a peer advocate and
Benjamin and Foley as fully licensed
Personalized Recovery Oriented Services
(PROS) counselors.
(From left to right) Richard Alexandro, Carmine Desena, Pat Alexandro, Michelle Benjamin and Brendan Foley
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