Punk4MentalHealth Charity Fundraiser To Take Place In 2017

The inaugural Punk4MentalHealth festival will occur in London from 27-31 March 2017, it is intended to raise funds for mental health research to be conducted by the “the Punk Professor”, renowned psychologist Dr. Joel Vos, to help stop the stigma associated with mental illness and to celebrate the DIY ethos of punk culture. Punk4MentalHealth will be comprised of a series of events to occur throughout London, including live music, a reading from the DIY book “I Was A Teenage Guitarist For The Clash!” at the legendary Dublin Castle venue on the 29 March 2017, an art exhibit and an auction of rare punk and post punk artifacts at the Underdog Gallery on the 31 March 2017, additionally mental health talks and DIY presentations are also planned. 

Kathy DiTondo was at Faust Studios in Prague working on the Commercial Zone project and other matters during the final months of her sister Linda’s life. She is donating her collection, including her 51% interest in the lost 4th Public Image Ltd. album, Commercial Zone, that will also be auctioned to help raise funding for mental health in Linda’s memory. Kathy DiTondo had this to say

Linda who died on 8 April 2015 struggled with depression and bipolar disorder all her life. I wish should could have been treated by Dr. Vos during her life, as it may have helped lessen her suffering. There is no doubt in my mind Dr. Vos will help many in England, throughout the United Kingdom and across the world who battle with mental health-related issues. How I wish Linda might have met him. She might not have suffered as she did throughout her life, I have had the opportunity to work with and have gotten to know a number of extremely talented psychologists and psychiatrists in my professional and personal life including those who treated Linda. None approached mental health the way Dr. Vos does… Dr. Vos teaches irrespective of the root cause of one’s mental health struggles:  Whether it is due to a disease of the mind or a serious physical condition such as cancer or a personal crisis, such as the break up of a family or a financial issue, such as being made redundant or the death of a loved one, we can still live a parallel authentic, meaningful and satisfying life.

There will be regular updates on The Punk Site as events are added to the Punk4MentalHealth event in March 2017

Punk4MentalHealth‘s Facebook page can be found here