Plymouth festival raises mental health awareness

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PLYMOUTH, Ind. - If you suffer from a mental health illness, or know someone battling one, you probably understand just how brutal it can sometimes be.

But a Michiana non-profit is raising awareness, and they're doing it with the help of its community.

“I've been suffering from chronic illness for two years now that leaves me in pain quite often, almost all the time and with that chronic pain comes depression and other mental illnesses that kind of take over you and its good to know other orgs like hear here that are here to help me support and help me still feel good about who I am," said Dustin Schafer, a Plymouth resident who attended Hear Festival.

When Schafer was diagnosed with a chronic physical illness a few years ago, what came next made things even worse.

The physical pain was coupled with mental agony.

But none of it has stopped Schafer from enjoying his life, and Saturday he made his priority to come out to Young Ampitheatre in Plymouth for the second annual Hear Festival.

Here Hear is a non-profit organization, dedicated to giving hope to those affected by mental illness.

Nate Crawford, its founder and executive director, says Saturday's festival was all about opening up the dialogue.

“That’s what today is using the arts, painting, storytelling we have bands, all bringing awareness to idea mental illness still around it’s a problem and were de-stigmatizing its one of the biggest issues that we have," said Crawford.


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