(upbeat music) - Hey at you Akronites, welcome once again to Around Akron with Blue Green and wow, do we have an amazing episode ahead of us today.

I'm going to visit CSS, Community Support Services and learn all about the Mental Health Services they provide to the community.

I head over to January Paint and Wallpaper and hang out with the entire family, Yes, they are a true family owned business that's been in service for over 60 years serving Akron.

I meet up with Don Drumm to learn all about his gallery as well as his new installation "the sun tracker," in the Valley.

Now to kick this show off today, I'm going to meet up with two of the sisters from the new podcast, The Rubber City Resisters and learn all about the amazing things they're covering.

Let's go see what The Rubber City Resisters, is all about.

- I wanted a group of girls, a group of ladies, a group of women that I knew could hold their own and would be strong in their opinions right?

But I also think they represent a grass majority of people, because I do believe on some levels, we are more connected than we want to believe we are, so that's why I feel like you can find somebody to relate on each show.

We don't all agree though, there are some of us who are a little bit more conservative then there are some of us who are liberals and I think as the show progressive, and we get to go into the nitty gritty of what that looks like, there will be more like, well, I don't agree with you but we will do it in a way where we won't disrespect each other and we will do it in a way where it encourages, let's talk.

I want to understand what you're, where you're coming from.

So the goal isn't for us all to agree, the goal is for us all to talk.

The goal is for us all, to get in a space and talk and come to some consensus about how we are going to manifest life together.

- [Host] It's because those people look like them.

- [Host] Exactly.

- [Host] It is very hard to bring the hammer down on somebody who looks like your nephew or your cousin or your uncle.

- One of the things we want to do though is open the door to younger voices and to other voices that don't necessarily have a platform but definitely have something to say that is for the greater good.

I know it sounds altruistic, but you know the greater good is definitely why we're doing this.

Being able to open that door, that's a bonus, it's a good bonus.

(upbeat music) - There's Yoly Miller and she is fabulous, she's a lady about town.

I met Yoly, I don't even really know how we met y'all, I think we just kind of shipped showing up at the same stuff.

But I know her daughter was more much more than I knew her, her daughter Fabi and I worked together directly and when I was in Law School.

Then there is Sarah Banzhof and she is a local powerhouse, she makes organic things and teach us how to be healthy and she's like one of those girls, ladies with two kids and she's also destroying a house in Goodyear Heights, that she is renovating.

Then there is India Rush, India Joi Rush, she is a tattoo artist, she's a construction person.

I met her because she was a singer, you can go on and on with her.

She introduced us to Erin Simonetti, who is a teacher in Akron, also beautiful spirit, beautiful soul.

There is Angie Haze, I fell in love with Angie, when I saw her perform at I think the first time I saw her perform was actually at Akron Civic.

She blew me away.

Every time I need her, she shows up and then I was like, you want to do this with me?

And she was like, I actually have all the equipment.

I hadn't even thought about what we were going to use for equipment.

So it's just like kind of a meeting of the minds.

And then there is Jeannette Loretitsch who is been amazing at creating our platforms, she's a reptile lover, she's got kiddos, she's one of those people you can always count on to show up and show out.

- [Host] Welcome to Rubber City ReSisters, this is our fourth episode, beautiful group of ladies here.

We're going to start it off with just a little fun fact.

- I was the last person to join the podcast, and I don't know if I would have done it if only Sunny had asked or if only Angie had asked, I love Angie, I have mad respect for Sunny, but giving people my opinion is not what I usually do, my friends know that I have opinions, my friends know that I feel strongly about certain subjects but not everybody else, I'm the person that asks the questions and I try to stay as neutral as possible because you don't get honest answers, if you're not neutral.

It just, it felt right to be the one who finally gets to express what they're thinking and what they're feeling and there's just too much left unsaid often and I don't know, it's it, it was fun, it's fun we're having fun and we're having fun in a very constructive way, we get to talk about how we think, why we think that way, how we feel, why we feel that way and we'll do it in a safe space, with other people who respect us enough to not cut us down for how we think and how we feel.

(soft music) - I had a friend gave me the best advice she once said to me, "Sunny my me and my husband "are very different people, he's very conservative, I'm not.

"One of the things I have to do is "I have to choose to love him in points "I have to be like, I love you, "so whatever you're saying I hear it, "I'm not to let it affect how I see you."

And so she's keeping it moving, I'm hoping that we get to a point where we're able to do that, you know.

- [Host] A definition of a unity, what it means to us and for our country as well as how out of touch most of Congress seems to be.

- We've been in, they're all multitaskers and we have a little Facebook chat, we messaged and say we need this and within two seconds they have like, even having this it makes it so like, I'm, I do a lot, I'm involved in a lot of other stuff until I have two full-time jobs, other stuff, you know.

And it makes it so I'm able to do all of that, Yoly is able to do all that she does, Sarah is able to do all of that she does, you know, we support each other, just like I hope we encourage other people, we listen to each other, we support each other, we take up space.

- Did you know that your Mental Health is just as important, if not more important than your physical health and we need to break the stigma around Mental Health issues.

Next up CSS, Community Support Services, let's go see what they're all about.

- Here at CSS, we're a very comprehensive Mental Health and Behavioral Health Organization providing just tons of services.

Generally, we start off with the Mental Health, Behavioral Health Counseling, but also what makes us different is that we believe in Integrated Care and we utilize primary care to help heal the entire person, but we don't stop there.

- That we can help basically anybody in the community, that we have skills and we have collaboration, we are a full service provider, so we have everything from Nurses and Case Managers and Doctors and Advanced Practice Nurses.

We have the ability to do Dietary Monitoring and Medication Monitoring so we can really help them to be successful.

And I think that's something that a lot of other people can't provide and don't even know what they need.

So, we would also maybe offer them, you know a lot of people would feel better if they were working.

So maybe we can refer you to our Vocational Training Program and we can help you to be successful, maybe you can work on a resume or go back to school or just improve who you are, what you're capable of doing, so we get jobs for people we may be able to.

The other job that I do is work a lot with the Homeless Outreach Team.

So we find a lot of people that are out homeless, living on benches, living at the Haven of Rest, living in tents in the woods and we acknowledge that they might have some Mental Health problems and then we try to engage them so that they can come in and see me, which is one of my responsibilities and then I just assess them for what their needs might be.

And I work with the Case Managers to make sure they're housed, because we definitely want them housed for safety purposes and for security and we feel like once they're housed they're much more likely to take medication and follow up with appointments.

I have learned so much how homelessness is the most stressful part of life they are living to survive, that is what they do day in and day out.

And it's very hard to take care of yourself when you're just trying to survive.

(soft music) - What really drew me into the Mental Health field was the fact that we can really help folks who are suffering from Chronic Mental Illness and Mental Illness is very treatable.

Given the right staff at CSS we're incredibly fortunate to have some really long-term and talented staff People that really believe and work very hard to help people get into recovery and help them do much better living their normal lives.

- I have seen people grow old and that's something that you don't have that opportunity and it's a luxury to have a doctor for 25 years that you were 50 years old and now you're 75 years old and you've had to navigate that life and, you know, I've learned through their lives how they've grown and how they've developed and I'm a part of their life.

And I think that longevity with a lot of our staff is really important that they feel connected and that they have grown and they feel secure and they know where to reach out to if they need help and that's something that CSS has been able to afford them.

(soft music) - We also have Art Therapy Program that is becoming very popular with the clients on an annual basis, we do a fundraiser called Art Of Recovery, where we feature somewhere in the range of about 50 to 70 pieces of artwork done by our clients and they work directly with an Art Therapist and it's not only getting their art down on paper, it also allows them to express their feelings and help them with their overall treatment as well.

The Art Therapy Program has been very beneficial in the fact that it has helped keep people in the program, a lot of folks actually will stay in the program to continue with their Art Therapy, and a lot of times we see them also be willing to come back and help some of the other folks that might show an interest in art, but they don't necessarily want to get started in the program, so we also help recruit some of those people into the program as well.

So we're seeing that program grow leaps and bounds, and we expect to continue that.

(soft music) We really appreciate the opportunity to have this time to come out and communicate to folks and to help with the terrible stigma that we see nowadays and it seems to be all pervasive against people with Behavioral Health and Mental Health issues, and we know that through the appropriate treatment and coming into organizations like CSS, people do get better and we really appreciate that fact and we're going to do everything we can to help eliminate that stigma and get people into treatment.

(soft music) - The conversation is you could do better, and wouldn't it feel good to be healthier.

So if somebody can make you feel better, why don't we reach out to that person and just see what they have to offer?

And you know, it's about walking in the door and making a phone call and I really do think people need to understand that mental illness is treatable, that it is not a life sentence, that people are successful and working and I tell my patients all the time that there are many very important professional people, high up people that have mental illness and have been successful.

There are many people that continue to hear voices their whole life, and that's okay, you can continue to hear voices and still be successful.

So I think acknowledging that and making it acceptable is a big piece of this, but breaking down the stigma is really hard and that's something that we are going to continue to work on, because it's what hurts people and prevents them from getting the care they need.

- Next up we're at January Paint and Wallpaper, they've been in business for over 60 years, let's go see what they're all about.

- That really is kind of our driving force as the community around us, we've created a niche, we've been here since a bit, we've been around since 1956 been here since 69 people know our names, I mean, I can go around town anywhere and I'll say, Oh, I'm Clark January, Oh January?

January Paint, Yeah, that's Phil, Andy, Harry.

Yeah.

It's you know, so and I think that with the wallpaper too, it's created kind of a niche too that we're known as the wallpaper guys for better or worse, you know but you know, we're, that's what makes us stand out compared to a Home Depot or Lowe's a Sherwin Williams not only that we're a family local business but we also offer wallpaper and paint and everything in between.

- There's a lot of people that like this family store especially you get a lot of attention, if you come in here, you're always greeted, you're asked you one help, can I look for something for you?

So yeah, people do and I think all of a sudden it kind of became I think because people realize it is going away you sort of, you know, valued because of your rarity.

Gosh, I can remember probably in the 80s there might've been 10, 12, 15 places that sold wallpaper in stock, there's nobody else but us right now.

So if you want to pick up wallpaper today, you're kind of forced to come here and we just try to make it pleasant.

(soft music) - We've all been here for so long that it's a generational thing where grandparents, parents and now grandchildren are coming into the store and you can't help but to get to know people, it's a regular part of the store.

- Probably when I was around 11 I started doing sort of menial office work sending out little ads on postcards, filing, so a long time, let's say over 60 years.

- I grew up here.

I mean, I remember running around as a kid and skateboarding upstairs, you know hanging out in the back room after school, coming down you know, I, like I said, I grew up pretty much ever since my earliest memories are from down here.

- Well, my first memory was I was just turned 10 in July of 1956.

And my folks got a truckload of paint from a company called Elliot out of Chicago and it came in August 31st of 1956 and I was a big kid, so my dad was still working at his other paint job, paint store job.

And my mom and I and another fellow unloaded that semi full of paint and took it into our building at Bowery and Thornton which we were there till 1969 and moved over here.

So that's my earliest memory, and I was so mad that I had to go to school on Tuesday because I really liked doing this.

I like being an adult.

(upbeat music) - We've been doing this a long time and that's one of the advantages of dealing with small business, you go to the doctor and you think what's wrong with you is the first time he's ever heard it but he's already seen 10,000 people that have the same thing you have wrong.

So somebody comes in with a paint question that they have absolutely no clue how to solve it or a wallpaper question or something, chances are one of the doctors here January's have heard it before, or maybe we heard it six times already that day, you can't go any place else and ask questions, because nobody knows anything.

They've come from some other life, some other industry, or something else and when we're all gone, who are you going to ask?

You can't call the public library and ask for adult services and how do I prime a porcelain toilet?

You know, it's just, nobody's going to know.

(soft music) - Wallpaper is still something that people really like to feel and touch, I often have people come in and say, "well I ordered this online, but Oh my gosh, "when it came, it was totally different "because I didn't realize the scale, "scale is very different, "just the feel of it is very different."

So people will say, "Oh, it looked so plastic-y, "I thought it was going to look like paper."

There was just last year a young woman who I'm sure has never gone hunted got a, which is a two color intricate pattern.

And you couldn't see in the sample she bought, didn't get it here.

There was a stag's head or deer's head and you know and she was going to put it in your dining room, totally appalled her (laughs) So there is reason to see a big sample and touch and feel.

(soft music) - [Clark] Back when the pandemic hit our showroom was closed, so we weren't letting anyone into the store.

So to be fair, we had a lot of downtime and I figured, well instead of just sitting here, twiddling my thumbs waiting for someone to call or knock on the front door, I figured, well, this is I got some time let's build a website, something good came out of the pandemic for us because you know, we were able to use the, you know, like I said the downtime to actually create the website and bring it up and bring it up to date, I guess.

Because before that we never had, we had Facebook but we never used a Facebook really so I, kind of revamped that and I made us an Instagram and started doing that so like I said, I was able to to kind of turn a negative into a positive of that.

(soft music) - I think, you know, a lot of it, even just the support of the city, you might say that the streets are now finished (clears throat) and we were under construction for quite a while getting the new traffic patterns in place.

We're fortunate to have some still local businesses nearby, between the different tile shops and the decorating shops up the street from us, so it's a good place to be and now with all the resurgence of trying to shop small, I think we provide a pretty good vocation for customers.

Oh, it, we certainly do still have an awful lot of support.

It's been good, been very good.

- Now to wrap this show today, I had the pleasure of hanging out with Don Drumm, to learn all about his amazing body of artwork, all that he's done in his life and this place right here, that Don Drumm Studio and Gallery let's go see what this place is all about.

- Style is something that you hear about when you study art history or what all or direction or whatever they call it and any artists doesn't sit down to do his style, unless he's tremendously commercial or something, it just happens, one piece leads to another.

I work seven days a week and I'm not beating things or pounding or carrying great loads, 'cause I'll be 86, but I'm designing and I'm getting things made both in pewter and aluminum and steel or what have you and I'm happiest when I am working.

(soft music) My religion is in my art and my strength is within this and I'm not a Holy Holy man trying to convert anybody or do anything because I think all religions are important, but I'm very proud that I've done and worked for different groups.

(soft music) Now most of my pieces are non objective.

In here you'll see animals and things I fool with and I think that's comes from my pre-med or interest in nature and animals but when I do my big pieces for outdoors and what all I use the work in a non-objective way.

You know, there are three basic what I call three basic directions in art.

There is the realism where an artist may paint or create or sculpt something that is real, you look at it and you know it right away, there's an abstraction as a next step where this may or may not look like a fish to you but the design comes from a fish area, but I take liberties with it, distort it and some abstraction you can almost not tell what it is, some you can tell what it is.

Then the third school of thought is the non-objective way which I work all three.

And the non objective thing is when you take shapes and metals or whatever you're working in and you create something, but it's to be seen as what it is and not meant to be something, during the months they were creating and I kept thinking of names of what all would relate to the sun and it doesn't control the sun at all, so I had to come up with something I couldn't come up in the middle of the night, this is sounds crazy, in the middle of the night, I came up with tracker, sun tracker.

I got up, wrote it in the dark on a pad, so I wouldn't forget it and went back to sleep and then looked it up in the morning and it was sun tracker and I said, that's what it's going to be.

(soft music) The base is cast out of concrete and is four feet high, this is a big piece cause it's four feet plus 18 feet, it's up in the air and it's nice and bright because it's shiny and stainless steel and I work out a polishing type of surface that enhances the looks of it so that when you drive down the road, you'll see it or when you're walking around, you'll see it and the waves and what all of the grinding on the surface enhance the look of the piece.

(soft music) Long time ago when I was in Art School, I think at Kent or something, some professor, somebody said, "you know you got these shapes and what have you "and you've got to learn to work outside of the shapes "and not be stuck with a square or this or that."

And he said, "one of the hardest shapes to work "is a round circle "because that's a complete statement in itself."

And I thought, boy, that's interesting, I started drawing circles pretty soon I was putting faces in them and making suns and that really is the beginning of my interest in the sun.

The sun is a religious symbol to some cultures, it's a just part of a society in some cultures.

It's a fun thing that we make laughing or crying or whatever the sun.

In every society, the sun is used somehow because this is what gives us life without the sun, we wouldn't be here and when the sun goes out, we're gone.

So I don't really think that monumentally (laughing) When I'm doing a sun face I just enjoy doing small faces up to very large one.

(soft music) I would not be where I'm at today not that I'm anywhere but I would not have the support or being able to continue doing what I'm doing, if I didn't have the support of the Akron people.

My wife and I both feel very strong that there's payback time, there's time when I will do things for organizations or what all and keep my costs down low because I feel I owe it to the city and I owe it to the people of this part of Ohio I've had things come and go, I've had walls torn down or pieces destroyed, but I most of my stuff around the area has survived.

- Thank you once again, for watching this episode of Around Akron with Blue Green, now on a quick side note, let's all take a moment to vote Devo, that's right, Akron's own Devo into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they deserve to be there more than about any band that I know of.

Now, thank you for watching this episode.

If you have any questions, comments, or drop me an email you can reach me at www.aroundakronwithbluegreen.com or you can catch me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok, Thank you and have an amazing day.

(upbeat music)