Attention Ithaca Bakers! The 9th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest is only a month away. What creations do you have in store for us this year? What flavors can we expect? Raspberry? Coconut? Banana? Chocolate-orange? The judges can’t wait to taste your cupcakes!
The contest will take place—RAIN or SHINE—on Saturday October 19 at the Bernie Milton Pavilion in the Ithaca Commons.
(You can register online, or download a Contest Registration Form and bring it to the contest venue with your cupcakes).
Contestants of all ages are welcome and will be eligible for dozens of prizes including a Grand Prize valued at $250 and a Youth Award valued at $100. Everyone is a winner! (Open to amateur bakers only.)
Contestants are asked to submit trays of six cupcakes, their recipes, and a brief story about their creations.
The story could be about a person, place, or thing that inspired the recipe and decoration. Or what techniques you favored. Or the joy you had baking them. Was there a challenge you had to overcome in making your cupcake dream a reality? Tell us!
Contest submissions are received from 10 a.m.–12 Noon on Saturday October 19 at the Bernie Milton Pavilion. The entries will then be judged by professionals from Ithaca’s bakeries and restaurants. Judging is based on cupcake taste, decoration, and originality. Winners will be announced at an Awards Ceremony at 3 p.m.
Prizes include 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place Awards, as well as the Youth Award for teens and pre-teens.
The contest is organized every year by The Sophie Fund, established in 2016 in memory of Cornell University art student Sophie Hack MacLeod to support mental health initiatives aiding young people.
Sophie’s passion for baking cupcakes inspired the launch of the first Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest in 2016. At the time of her death by suicide at age 23, while on a medical leave of absence from Cornell, Sophie was active in Ithaca’s vibrant culinary scene. According to her family, she hoped to open her own bakery after completing her Cornell degree.
To me, the philosophy behind mental health support groups aligns with Platonic wisdom: inquiry, dialogue, and collective reasoning leads to knowledge, truth, and justice. Struggling alone can be much more difficult than sharing lived experience with peers in a mutually beneficial atmosphere, according to Melanie Little, director of Training and Peer Education at the Mental Health Association in Tompkins County.
Team members at the Mental Health Association in Tompkins County
“We have a lot to learn from each other,” said Little. “Your lived experience is expertise, and that is mutually beneficial. It’s really empowering because we can help other people.”
Peer support groups are commonly facilitated by people who themselves have lived experience with mental health conditions and are trained to assist others. They are known as certified peer specialists. Group therapy, on the other hand, is more often provided by licensed therapists with specific therapeutic interventions.
As a peer specialist, bi-weekly facilitator, and group therapy veteran, I strongly believe that group support particularly and significantly builds confidence in attendees. Knowing that others go through similar experiences confirms our struggles as real, validates that we matter, and promotes greater peace with a society that may rarely seem to understand. Peer interaction cultivates a mutual emotional safety net, enabling participants to see past the stigma, to reclaim their lives.
Group programs vary tremendously in material, style, and message. Most fit into one of several categories. Psychoeducational groups educate people about their condition, offering effective coping skills. Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy helps people to recognize patterns of thought that negatively influence emotions and behaviors. Skills development is meant to increase overall function in the world. Support groups entail people converging on similar problems, assisting each other through feedback. Interpersonal groups focus on social skills.
According to the American Psychological Association, group therapy is at least as effective as individual therapy. Cited research suggests that expanding group therapy initiatives in the US would save more than $5.6 billion, and free the schedules of about 34,500 therapists for individual therapy. The research found group therapy effective for a myriad of mental illnesses, including those marked by anxiety, depression, mood cycling, psychosis, substance abuse, and eating disorders. Robust effects on alliance and cohesion were highlighted.
Overall, group therapy is an excellent option for those who want to surpass the limits of individual therapy, or those who would stand to benefit from a peer experience. Little said that it’s particularly valuable because “we can feel so much shame, so much isolation.”
Many support group options are available in Tompkins County.
The Mental Health Association in Tompkins County offers several free group programs. Psychosocial Support, for adults with mental health challenges, promotes rehabilitation within the community, helping people forge strong bonds with peers. Peer Support/Advocacy also serves adults, consisting of casual and structured activities, both in individual and group form work. The focus is on mental health recovery, goal planning, learning skills, progress monitoring, self-help and self-advocacy, hope, and community participation. Family Peer Support Services assists the guardians of children and adolescents who have mental health challenges. Goals include empowering caregivers to make informed decisions, reducing familial stress, educating about mental health, and helping navigate child-serving systems. Emotional support, advocacy, service coordination, and recreation events are furthermore offered. The Mental Health Association also maintains a social drop-in program at its offices in Center Ithaca. Staffed by peer specialists, the program is a welcoming environment for peers to come together, converse about shared experiences, learn about resources, enjoy snacks and a hot beverage, and do collective activities like games and crafts. For more information, go to www.mhaedu.org.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Finger Lakes chapter offers a program called the NAMI Family Support Group, free peer groups for those adults who seek to help loved ones with mental illness, facilitated by people who have gone through this experience themselves. Other free peer support services offered by NAMI Finger Lakes include the Partner and Spouse Group and Psychosis Support Group. For more information, go to www.namifingerlakes.org.
Tompkins County Whole Health operates Personalized Recovery Oriented Services (PROS), a group option serving adults with “severe and persistent mental illness” including those with substance use disorders. Groups are led by peers or professional clinicians. The program seeks to provide greater quality of life, reduced hospitalization, and personal goal attainment. Some groups are discussion-based, others self-focused. PROS services include Community Rehabilitation, Intensive Rehabilitation, and Ongoing Rehabilitation and Support. Services are covered by Medicaid or otherwise are a maximum of $60 per month. For more information, go to www.tompkinscountyny.gov/health/pros.
Family & Children’s Service of Ithaca provides mental health and related social services. Groups include Caregiver Support Group, Kinship Caregivers Support Group, Grandparents Support Group, and more, depending on the time of year. Family & Children’s accepts Medicaid, Medicare, and private health insurance. It offers additional discounts based on family and income, and its services are free to those unable to pay. For more information, go to www.fcsith.org.
The Advocacy Center of Tompkins County provides support, advocacy and education for survivors, friends, and families of domestic violence, and sexual assault. Peer support services include Knowledge is Power, Survivor Empowerment Group, and Survivor Support for College Students. For more information, go to www.actompkins.org.
—By Ben Komor
Ben Komor has been a certified peer specialist for over eight years and, among other functions in the mental health realm, served as an advisor to the Tompkins County Crisis Negotiation Team. He is a graduate of Ithaca High School, and holds a BA in Human Development and an MS in Health.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month, a reminder for all of us to learn more about mental illness, suicide, and what we can do to help those who may be struggling.
One of the keys is to end the stigma that too often holds us back. Many people experience suicidal thoughts, but keep it to themselves. Others may notice somebody in an emotional crisis, but are timid to ask if they are thinking of harming themselves.
Nobody is fated to take their own lives. Suicide deaths are preventable, and many recent advances enable us to better prevent them.
These advances include better screening tools for identifying people at risk of suicide, improved care management protocols, upgraded crisis response measures, and suicide-specific therapy treatment. The Tompkins County Suicide Prevention Coalition is urging local healthcare and behavioral health providers to adopt the Zero Suicide Model, which prescribes a package of best practices.
Another advance is the introduction in 2022 of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24/7. You can also call 988 if you are concerned about a loved one, friend, or colleague. Veterans and/or their loved ones and friends can call 988 and then press 1 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line.
Locally, 988 calls go to the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County (SPCS), one of 200 call centers across the country. When people call or text 988, or connect to chat online, they are connected to trained counselors that are part of the Lifeline network. Trained counselors listen, understand how the caller’s problems are affecting them, provide support, and connect them to resources if necessary.
Besides connecting through 988, Ithaca-based counselors can be reached by dialing (607) 272-1616.
The Lifeline is funded by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and administered by Vibrant Emotional Health. SAMSHA provides a Partner Toolkit to help all of us publicize the 988 number and other suicide prevention services.
According to Lifeline, numerous studies have shown that 988 callers feel less suicidal, less depressed, less overwhelmed, and more hopeful after speaking with a Lifeline counselor.
“More people are understanding what it’s like to reach out for support and are becoming comfortable with that idea,” said Tiffany Bloss, SPCS executive director. “We are here, day or night. Call. Text. Website chat. Individuals can even email our helpline. We are here.”
The latest statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control serve as a reminder of America’s mental health crisis. Despite improvements in care, we have not turned the corner in reducing suicide deaths in the way prevention tools have produced significant declines in deaths related to cancer and heart disease.
After declining in 2019 and 2020, suicide deaths increased approximately 5 percent in the United States in 2021. Provisional estimates indicate that suicide deaths further increased by 1 percent in 2022, according to the CDC. One encouraging indicator is that suicide deaths among people aged 10-14 declined by 13 percent and among people aged 15-24 by 9 percent.
Overall, suicide rates have risen more than 30 percent in the past two decades.
Take a moment to review the warning signs for suicide, as provided by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). Be sure to get help for yourself or others if you see the signs. You may save a life.
According to AFSP, something to look out for when concerned that a person may be suicidal is a change in behavior or the presence of entirely new behaviors. This is of sharpest concern if the new or changed behavior is related to a painful event, loss, or change. Most people who take their lives exhibit one or more warning signs, either through what they say or what they do.
Warning sign: Talk
If a person talks about:
Killing themselves
Feeling hopeless
Having no reason to live
Being a burden to others
Feeling trapped
Unbearable pain
Warning sign: Behavior
Behaviors that may signal risk, especially if related to a painful event, loss or change:
Increased use of alcohol or drugs
Looking for a way to end their lives, such as searching online for methods
Withdrawing from activities
Isolating from family and friends
Sleeping too much or too little
Visiting or calling people to say goodbye
Giving away prized possessions
Aggression
Fatigue
Warning sign: Mood
People who are considering suicide often display one or more of the following moods:
Every year, to mark Sophie’s birthday on August 23 we launch our annual fundraising appeal. Please consider making a donation today to support The Sophie Fund’s work aiding the mental health of young people in the Ithaca and Tompkins County communities. 100% of donations go directly toward the grants we provide to mental health providers and community organizations for training and programming; and to our modest operating costs.
Thank you for being part of our collective mental health mission!
—Training in mental health and suicide prevention for Ithaca-area clinicians, social workers, and community members. This includes The Wellness Institute’s annual suicide prevention conference next March; and plans to provide targeted education in suicide prevention for primary care practices sometime this winter or next spring.
—Tompkins County’s “United in Kindness” community events in October for Bullying Prevention Month (one or more expert presentations on bullying TBD).
—Hosting our 9th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest on October 19 to raise awareness about mental health challenges and supports.
A few highlights of The Sophie Fund’s work over the past 12 months:
Town Hall on Suicide Prevention. The Sophie Fund co-organized and provided a grant for “How Healthcare Helps Prevent Suicides,” a community Town Hall on the Zero Suicide Model for healthcare.
Suicide Prevention Training. We provided a grant to enable 82 local healthcare professionals—including the entire clinical staff at Cornell University’s Counseling and Psychological Services unit—to attend a two-day online training in youth suicide prevention featuring some of the nation’s leading experts hosted by The Wellness Institute.
Suicide Prevention in Primary Care. We collaborated with Cayuga Health and the Tompkins County Suicide Prevention Coalition to develop a future education program in suicide prevention for 40 primary care and specialty care practices.
New York State Suicide Prevention Center. We were appointed to serve on the Oversight Board for a $3.5 million Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grant to implement the Zero Suicide model in Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) in New York State.
Tompkins County Bullying Prevention Task Force. In October 2023, the task force, which we serve as task force coordinator, organized its second annual United in Kindness series of community events and activities to raise awareness about bullying and domestic abuse and promote kindness and empathy; the task force also distributes to local school districts an annual guide to bullying prevention resources and activities.
Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest. We hosted the 8th annual contest in the Ithaca Commons. The contest brings together college and high school students, mental health providers, local musicians, business sponsors, and the general public to raise awareness about mental health.
Cupcake Button Campaign. The Sophie Fund’s 2023 “Cupcake Button” fundraising campaign with local college students collected $1,043.78 for the Greg Eells Memorial Fund at Family & Children’s Service of Ithaca.
Education and Resources. The Sophie Fund published online guides including Mental Health Support and Crisis Services; A Parents Guide to College Student Mental Health; and a sexual assault prevention flyer called Be Safe at College!
Compassion Corner: Nurturing the Nurturers. We provided a grant to the Human Services Coalition for a peer-support program benefiting direct human service providers.
“How I See Myself.” The Sophie Fund provided a grant to the Mental Health Association for an art exhibition featuring young artists exploring inner feelings of identity.
Story Walk. We provided a grant to the Family Reading Partnership for a community event providing free books to young readers.
Youth Mental Health Policy. New York Governor Kathy Hochul invited The Sophie Fund to participate in a virtual roundtable discussion about youth mental health and the effects of social media.
Agda Osborn Award. Family & Children’s Service of Ithaca presented The Sophie Fund with the 2024 Agda Osborn Award for community service.
James J. Byrnes Award for Excellence. Tompkins Community Bank honored The Sophie Fund with the James J. Byrnes Award for Excellence recognizing “all of the great volunteer work and dedication The Sophie Fund gives to our community.”
For more information on The Sophie Fund’s work, please visit:
People and dogs. Living together for some 40,000 years. Inextricably linked. “Man’s best friend.”
Dogs are a part of our daily lives, of human joy. We now know that dogs can also effectively combat mental illness. They are known as emotional support animals and therapy animals. Research confirms how well dogs operate in this sense. I concur. I grew up with dogs, first Charlotte, then after she passed, Rose. And while my mother provided most of the quotidian maintenance, I enjoyed having them around, taking a quick break here and there to pet them, an effective means to de-stress.
Jazzy
When I visited the SPCA for my very own emotional support animal, I was in for a surprise. It had been my mother’s idea, a means of mitigating my isolation. Dealing with mental illness by oneself promises a cruel existence. Thus, I accepted. I saw and walked two dogs before I met Jazzy. The SPCA worker pinpointed the match as my future husky and hound dog mix waltzed into the enclosure. Meeting her at first, she strolled up and rubbed against me. Cue loving smile, cue the worker pointing at me: “There!”
What does the research say about dogs assisting mental illness recovery? One meta-analysis found reductions in heart rate, anxiety, and stress. Other research determined that canine-assisted therapy attenuates anxiety, but also improves a wide range of internalizing and externalizing disorders and global function. Another study supported findings on wellbeing, emotional function, self-esteem, and vitality.
Other varieties of pets, such as cats, may also give their owners greater social support, life satisfaction, happiness, mood, and self-regulation, along with less loneliness. One study considered all manner of companion animals, and though dogs were paramount, positive effects were noted on acceptance, stigma management, social interactions, and emotional sustenance. Researchers have found that even farm animals and horses may aid many emotional conditions.
Emotional support animals (ESAs) are normal pets, not trained for a specific task, that provide comfort, calm, and composure to people with mental disorders. Service animals, by contrast, have a specific task that directly assists their owner with the owner’s disability; a service dog may remind its owner to take their medication or kiss them when they’re having a panic attack. Therapy animals are specifically trained to provide emotional support to others in an institutional setting.
Therapy dogs can assist the elderly. A study found them to improve quality of life and symptoms of dementia, with lesser, but clear, benefits on depression and anxiety; this was partly mediated by increased exercise. A meta-analysis discovered benefits in dementia symptoms, mostly regarding mood and agitation. Another study found reduction in depression caused by dementia. Finally, in those with severe cognitive disorders, researchers found improvements in health, well-being, depression, and quality of life.
Every year, the Tompkins County SPCA facilitates 1,400 animal adoptions, 100 of which are for prospective emotional support animals, according to SPCA adoptions manager Doug Scott. Furthermore, he said 90 percent of the animals adopted as emotional support animals are cats, and 10 percent are dogs.
Scott estimates that 95 percent of people who adopt emotional support animals are under age 30, 66 percent of them students from Cornell University and Ithaca College. Neither school was able to provide a number of support animals on their campuses.
Having a dog is like gazing into a campfire, smores on demand, having a mano-a-mano with someone who’s so alien from you and so similar to you in all the best ways. Jazzy and I complete each other. It’s a bit like having a child rather than a roommate (aka a cat). I am first in Jazzy’s world. My deep paternal affection for her, without effort—it is intoxicating to this day and moment.
By Ben Komor
Ben Komor has been a certified peer specialist for over eight years and, among other functions in the mental health realm, served as an advisor to the Tompkins County Crisis Negotiation Team. He is a graduate of Ithaca High School, and holds a BA in Human Development and an MS in Health.
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