Friday could be considered Skye Kowalski's coming-out party, her reentry into the world after two years of isolation, online learning and abject loneliness.
Kowalski, a sophomore at Southeast Community College, a straight-A student while at Lincoln Northeast High School — seemingly a lifetime ago — will accept the Judy Fletcher Scholarship at the Rococo Theater on Friday.
The second annual Complete Family Foundation fundraiser, spearheaded by local musician Brian Hull, provides a night of entertainment and funding for families and individuals who cannot afford the costs to receive quality mental health care.
More than 200 have already purchased tickets for the night of dinner and dancing features three bands, including The Gears, for which Hull plays the keyboard, but Hull said the Rococo is big enough to hold many more.
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"It's a great cause," said Hull, a lifelong Lincolnite who this week celebrated his 16th year of sobriety.
Hull's story has been told in this space. He doesn't shy away from telling the stories of his substance abuse — from alcohol to cocaine — which would eventually lead to his incarceration.
He eventually turned around his life with the help of people like Fletcher, a former classmate of his in SCC's alcohol-drug clinician program. She died of a heart attack in 2009, and Hull founded the scholarship in her name.
The Fletcher scholarship has been given since 2010 to a student in the field of human services, behavioral health care or mental health care.
Kowalski would appear to be the perfect recipient of the Fletcher scholarship. She speaks openly of the mental health challenges she's faced in her lifetime, including the time she admitted herself into a treatment program.
It was there that she was let down by an overstressed system and an overloaded counselor who went eight weeks without meeting with her.
She knew long before that she wanted to be a counselor, but that breakdown in the system taught her the responsibility that comes with taking on a role like that.
"I need to be a person who is there for people," she said, remembering her own feeling of helplessness when she most needed help. "… I needed to feel heard. I needed to feel validated. From that point on, I was set on the human services field."
As we're learning, the COVID-19 pandemic affected everyone, be it financially, physically or psychologically.
"Being locked inside and not being able to see people was hard," Kowalski said. "I am a very extroverted person, so not being able to socialize or see friend and family and moving out in that period and becoming an adult has been hard."
Everyone was affected in some way.
Hull has committed his life to helping those with substance abuse issues, while also founding an organization, JOLT Nebraska, that provides recovery counseling and life-skills training for recently paroled individuals in the state.
"I helped fellas stay out of jail teaching communication skills to land jobs," he said. "We teach them how to interview and stay out of jail, while also working on recovery for alcohol, drugs and substance abuse."
Again, none of us are immune from mental health challenges. Many of us have supports systems in place — family, friends, careers — that might keep us on an even keel and prevent us from the urges of numbing the pain with self-medication.
"Most people are afraid," Hull said. "Hell, 50% of the people who have drug or alcohol problems have mental health issues to begin with.
"It is important for people to understand that it’s OK to be not OK."
Friday's festivities get underway at 5 p.m. with the Darryl White Jazz Trio.Â
Following a taco bar dinner, The Gears will take the stage for a couple of hours before Honeywagen, an Omaha-based dance band, takes the stage until the lights come on at 11 p.m.
There will also be a silent auction that features Husker memorabilia from the glory years, a downtown stay at the Graduate Hotel, and a tour and tasting at James Arthur Vineyards.
"Nights like this are important because it's important for people to know they have a place to call for whatever ails them," Hull said. "We’ll get them to the right place. … With some people, we don’t know what they need.
"That’s why we're here."