BUTLER TWP — An emotional event on Wednesday at Alameda Park focused on eliminating the stigma associated with mental health issues and sharing the irreplaceable qualities of the 11 people whose faces will be missed at the Grapevine Center.

The center's annual Remembrance and Celebration of Life Rally drew 75 people to the Carousel Shelter to remember Charlie Blatt, David Bobby, Rodney Cosner, Seven Currence, Frances Doubt, Kenneth Freehling, Edna Hartman, David Kennedy, Sean Kramer, Kelsie Parker and Matthew Waldor, all of whom have died in the past year.

All frequented the Grapevine Center, where those facing challenges from mental illness, addiction, homelessness or overwhelming life circumstances can drop in to socialize or actively pursue recovery.

A friend, family member or supporter paid tribute to each of the lost, sharing their positive qualities and the heartbreak their struggles with mental health issues and ultimate deaths have wrought.

Tammy Blatt paid tribute to her late stepson, Charlie Blatt, who had beaten addiction to become a mixed martial arts fighter.

Blatt had a televised fight coming up that the family planned to attend.

“We were very shocked at the phone call about his overdose,” Tammy Blatt said. “He was so on track.”

She said she had not had much contact with her stepson in the past few years, but knew he had friends at the Grapevine Center.

“I believe recovery is contagious,” Tammy Blatt said. “It is doable and possible with the right support.”

She said the family never gave up on Charlie, who she said was full of life, sports-minded and very determined.

“Unfortunately, the illness, the addiction got the better of him, but we never stopped supporting him,” Tammy Blatt said.

Karen Dunn met Rodney Cosner, a Vietnam veteran, at VA Butler Healthcare, where she is employed as a program manager.

She said Cosner, who suffered from post-traumatic stress, alcoholism and severe anxiety throughout his life, was a self-taught guitarist who gave lessons as a volunteer in the VA's Guitars for Vets program.

“Music allowed him to escape his problems,” Dunn said.

She said Cosner often wrote music and lyrics, and was not afraid to send them to his friends “at all hours of the day and night.”

Trista Fischer, the neice of Sean Kramer, said her uncle was widely known by many in the Butler community as “Shorty.”

“He made people smile all the time,” Fischer said. “That was his joy in life, to lighten up people's day.”

Fischer spoke of her uncle's bright spirit, but she was overcome by emotion at the thought of that light having been snuffed out.

“Love the people you're around every day and never let them forget you love them because you never know what is going to happen,” she said.

Mary Brilmyer, a nurse at VA Butler Healthcare and a Grapevine Center board member, spoke about the late Navy veteran David Bobby.

“Dave had a quick wit and he was a giver,” Brilmyer said.

She said he was always up on current events and the success or failure of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“Dave, I know you're watching up there, and we are going to get those wins yet,” she said.

Brilmyer said Bobby always helped other veterans with anything they needed, and he did it without fanfare.

The keynote speaker for the event was Debra Luther, vice president of clinical services for Beacon Health Options.

Luther spoke of experiencing abuse and trauma in her earlier life, when she had nowhere to turn.

She said each day was a battle to thrive and survive.

“I realize you don't do it alone,” Luther said. “The survival of one person depends on the support of everyone.”

She lamented the deaths of the 11 Grapevine Center members, who were deeply loved.

“There is pain and sorrow, but I love that today is a celebration,” Luther said. “The people you lost continue to live within each and every one of you.”

Kevin Boozel, county commissioner, read a proclamation from all three county commissioners that proclaimed Oct. 4 to 10 as Mental Health Awareness Week in Butler County.

Boozel, who worked in social services for more than 20 years, said he has a particular pet peeve when it comes to discussing mental illness.

“It's when people are referred to by their disorder,” he said.

For example, “autistic man” should be “a man with autism” because those who suffer from any condition are people first and not wholly defined by their challenges.

Boozel said for the most part, those who visit the Grapevine Center are employable.

“Employers need to look at a person's situation and give them an opportunity,” he said.

After the tributes to the 11 souls, each friend or family member who spoke about them lit a memorial candle and carried it once around the Carousel Shelter to pay tribute to the person they are grieving.

Dee Fields of the Grapevine Center said she always appreciates the heartfelt tributes.

“They knew these people,” Fields said. “They need to say goodbye in a fitting way.”

She said three of the 11 who have died were young people who lost their lives to drug addiction, four were veterans and most were volunteers at the Grapevine Center.

She said isolation during the coronavirus pandemic could have had a hand in the young peoples' deaths.

“Everything looks hopeless because you don't have anyone to share it with,” Fields said.

Fields said having support and friends are immensely helpful to those who are battling mental illness.

“When we've got each other, we all make it,” she said.