Two Thursday mornings ago I opened up my paper and out popped a very well designed small magazine. After taking a good look at it I discovered that it wasn’t the latest Direct TV insert or coupon book, but an attractive and well-written educational piece produced by Stairways Behavioral Health entitled UP Magazine.

I was delighted to scan the “quick read” yet informative articles about mental health issues like autism, post-partum depression, college-life survival, and even a parenting article written by Erie family counselor and my brother, Jeffrey Natalie. In fact every by-lined article was written by a member of our community, which is a good indicator of the strength of our social services system locally.

UP Magazine’s release comes on the heels of the excellent TV campaign that Stairways has invested in over the past couple years. Marketing & Communications Director Mary Ellen Dahlkemper gives us a glimpse of the idea behind and the results that have come forth through the release of UP Magazine in this exclusive Press and Tower interview:

P&T: What is the mission and target audience of the publication?

MED: To quote Stairways CEO Bill McCarthy, “UP Magazine was created to promote mental wellness through personal accounts of recovery.”  We balance the real stories with articles highlighting cutting edge treatment and research as well as reporting significant news about mental health at regional, state, national and international levels.”  We want our readers to become as comfortable talking about mental health disorders as they are discussing asthma, diabetes or heart disease.  We want them to seek help for themselves or their loved ones and UP Magazine will direct them to where they can get more information and help.  A final goal is to show the link between mental and physical health.

Our audience is everyone who knows someone who is suffering, and since mental illness affects one out of every five persons, our audience is really anyone who can read.  Articles will feature information for people of all ages and backgrounds because mental illness knows no boundaries demographically.  Even though our primary audience is the residents of Erie and Crawford County, our mailing list extends across Pennsylvania and into other states.  We heard from readers that they are sending UP to friends and family in other parts of the country.

P&T: How many issues were distributed and where?

MED: We distributed 57,900 copies in the Erie Times News, 14,000 in the Meadville Tribune and 4,000 in the Titusville Herald.  We will be mailing another 6,000 to our internal mailing list by the end of October, and placing another 2,500 in various public places and physician’s offices.  The publication is free to our readers.

P&T: Tell us about any design and content philosophy and the players behind the magazine.

MED: In advancing the conversation about mental illness and wellness, our content will strike a balance between personal stories that give readers hope and cutting edge information about treatment, research and news of significance.  For example, along with the Vincentini Family’s personal story on autism we featured all the organizations in the region where a family can get help for an autistic child or adult.  In another feature, we talked about the symptoms of postpartum depression and where to get help, complemented with a legislative update on postpartum depression and a factual research piece on how maternal stress during pregnancy links to asthma and allergy in infants.

Another design goal is to feature many health care organizations that are working to advance mental wellness.  We are also inviting mental health experts to write and submit articles.  We have a wealth of highly talented professionals living right in our midst!  In fact, Northwestern Pennsylvania is looked at by the State of Pennsylvania as a model community for how we deliver mental health services.

We work closely with Nancy O’Neill and Greg Engel of Engel O’Neill Advertising Agency that has helped us shape our community education messages for several years.  The actual magazine layout was created by EO staff members.  Our CEO Bill McCarthy has been and will continue to be intimately involved with shaping the philosophy and content of UP Magazine and our whole community education campaign. He is a visionary in the mental health field, having worked in the field for nearly 40 years.  The idea for creating this magazine was my own – I felt it was critical to move away the newsletter format that is often self-promoting to a magazine format that offered helpful information and let readers know that it is possible to return to quality life after experiencing mental illness.  The key is recognizing the illness, knowing where to go for help and then getting that help.  Amanda Burlingham is the final critical element to our design team.  She is a superb writer and editor who understands our mission at the heart level.  Without her great facilitation skills, Up Magazine would not have happened.  She coordinates stories, features, writers, photographers, layout, design, and printing.

GOHRS has done a beautiful job of printing the magazine at a discounted rate.

P&T: How important is public education to Stairways mission?

MED: Oh my gosh!  Public education is hugely connected to our mission of returning individuals with a mental illness to a quality life.  We must educate the public so that individuals and families recognize that they need help and learn where to get that help.  With treatment and rehabilitation in place, an individual can then go on to complete an education and return to work, manage a home, become a contributing citizen the community.  We will have a healthier community overall when everyone realizes we each have a stake in doing what we can to nurture mental wellness in ourselves.  There are a myriad of ways to do this, and Up Magazine will continue to talk about them in upcoming issues.  We are also going to build a website for UP Magazine where individuals can seek additional material on certain subjects – we have lots of ideas for this website.

P&T: What has been the response to the magazine?

MED: Exceptional! Over 200 response cards were returned to date from a 50 mile radius to the east, west, north and south.    People are saying that the real life accounts are the best – very helpful and very hopeful.  The Vincentini Family has opened to door for creating understanding about autism in a big way, and we are hearing that from readers.  Readers also like that every article gives places to go for more information (phone numbers, website, people, & organizations).  They like that we are featuring professionals from our region as well as the best practices from across the region and the nation — they want to hear more about various mental illnesses.  We heard from a school district in Crawford County that would like us to send speakers for its health classes.  People are sending the magazine on to friends and family in other states.  And hundreds are congratulating us and telling Stairways to “keep up the good work!”   And that we are committed to doing!

Our community owes a great debt to the Stairways team for not only helping to treat behavior health issues that our friends and family cope with, but for tearing down the barriers of misinformation and stigma so that we all can be better informed and be part of the solution toward a healthier community.