August is National Wellness Month, the perfect opportunity to explore the many facets of wellness for the ALS community, highlighting healthy habits that can help attain better physical and mental health outcomes.
One of the wonderful, contradictory things about engaging in arts, crafts, or other forms of creative expression is it allows us to both focus and let our minds wander at the same time. For people living with ALS and their caregivers, just such diversions can be beneficial for mental and emotional well-being, and can contribute greatly to their quality of life.
One man’s vision to provide these types of outlets for the ALS community lead to the creation of the Creative Pursuits Program.
Ken Baltes was an artist with a background in computer technology. After he was diagnosed with ALS in 2020, he made it his goal to bring his love of the arts to others who are living with the disease. Toward the end of his life, he put together a committee to make his goal reality. His devotion and the devotion of others who shared his passion led to the original launch of Creative Pursuits in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Because of the enthusiastic feedback from those who have participated in the program, Creative Pursuits is now available to the ALS community nationwide, and registration for classes beginning this fall is now available.
Creative Pursuits offers a supportive and inclusive online, virtual environment where participants can explore various creative expressions, including classes on fiction and non-fiction writing, poetry; music composition and appreciation; visual arts; comedy; museum tours and guided nature immersions. There are classes for both people living with ALS and their caregivers.
The lessons learned from offering Creative Pursuits in the upper Midwest have guided how to best offer the opportunities to the ALS community nationwide. “I have been incredibly fortunate to work with an amazing group of people living with ALS in person in Minnesota, and online in Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin who have given me incredible feedback and have really helped shape the program,” said ALS Association Arts Program Manager Liz Stanley. “I have spent, and continue to spend, a great deal of time listening to what our constituents want, about what's working, and what to improve.”
Programs like Creative Pursuits can help participants emotional well-being by enhancing self-confidence, easing anxiety, and experiencing the joy of self-expression. It provides an opportunity for enhanced social interaction and connections with new people.
“I hope participants leave classes feeling supported, less stressed and more emotionally energized. I hope they feel a sense of community and a freedom to explore and have fun with creative experiences,” Stanley said. “Finally, I hope participants find a way of expressing themselves or getting out of their head and apply it to their daily lives in some way.”
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