InSHAPE program fundraiser celebrates mental health and fitness

The first-ever program fundraiser for Metropolitan Southeast Chicago’s InSHAPE program brought together staff from across Metropolitan and supporters of Metropolitan’s community mental health services to celebrate the impact of InSHAPE. Thank you to all who helped the program surpass its fundraising goal!

Among the 65 attendees who gathered at Lagunitas Brewing was State Senator Robert Peters, who spoke about the importance of mental health services like InSHAPE and their positive impact on families and communities, as well as his own interest in supporting community mental health.

The InSHAPE program engages adults with serious mental illness in services focused around individualized goals to improve nutrition and exercise, as well as overall quality of life. This wellness initiative, which falls under our Adult Mental Health programming, addresses the high correlation between chronic mental health issues and physical health problems.

Created as a research study with Dartmouth College around the relationship between physical and mental health, the InSHAPE program recently reached a successful end as a study, but will now continue as a standalone program at Metropolitan Southeast Chicago called Mind Your Body.

Staff announced the name change at the event, speaking about the benefits for clients like Angelo, who dramatically decreased his sugar intake and started exercising regularly. He’s lost about 25 pounds, and has been able to reduce the amount of diabetes and high blood pressure medication he takes. Read Angelo’s story here.

While celebrating the program’s success, the InSHAPE staff bid farewell to Charlotte, a Health Mentor with the program since the beginning, and welcomed Rosa, a new Health Mentor who joined Metropolitan in January.