Meet Alisa Krause

Meet Alisa Krause, Founder of Hope Noted participant of Gifts that Give Hope Fair

Hope Noted Founder and Participant in the Gifts That Gift Hope Alternative Gift Fair, Alisa Krause, spoke with us about how we can be mentally stronger and shared a few ways to be helpful to those who are struggling to find balance in this overwhelming time.

Note: You’re invited to participate in Hope Noted’s 5k on Saturday May 27, 2023 at 9 am in Stoner Park. The event is a fundraiser for the Touchstone Foundation, a local nonprofit helping children and youth cover the costs of mental health services.

Gifts That Give Hope: Alisa, as founder of Hope Noted, what would you like people to know about your non-profit?

Alisa Krause: When I started this organization in 2021, I had no idea what was up ahead and only that I had a passion for promoting mental and emotional wellness, offering grief support, and encouraging others through life’s ups and downs. I also wanted to use my artistic talents to create hopeful greeting cards for when we are facing difficult moments. Cards that would bridge the gap between someone who is struggling and a loved one who doesn’t know what to say. I drew illustrations and wrote validating messages and wanted to sell the cards online while giving a portion of the profits back to mental health and grief support nonprofits. That was my original intention for Hope Noted. 

I began sharing my ideas with mentors and friends, and my eyes were opened to another direction for Hope Noted, as not just a greeting card business, but instead a safe space to gather and support one another day-by-day. A community presence found both online and in person, where we could come and be ourselves authentically and without judgment, no matter what. I decided to put the greeting card line on hold as we developed our group. It’s been incredible to see it unfold as individuals come together recognizing the importance of intentionally caring for their own mental/emotional health and promoting that wellness in the lives of others. 

Hope Noted is still changing and growing. Since our launch, we maintain an active social media presence creating hopeful and uplifting content. We published a blog on our website written by folks within our community as they share on all sorts of topics related to mental health, personal stories, and—most importantly—spreading hope with others. We put together a video about finding and passing on hope. We have organized self-care events and workshops with local mental health professionals. This year we started meeting regularly on the last Friday night of every month for workshops, local outings, etc. We host our own annual 5K in honor of Mental Health Awareness month, as a give-back event raising funds to support some of our favorite mental health and grief support organizations. We are still hoping to get our line of greeting cards out there and have been bringing them to mental health conferences, as well as the Gifts of Hope Fair to which they have been very well received! Our goal is to have them available in local cafes, shops, and hospitals one day soon! I have been learning to just trust the process and timing, as Hope Noted has been showing up in different ways that I never could have imagined. And, honestly, I am so incredibly grateful and proud of how Hope Noted has organically grown into the life-changing community that it is today. 

May is Mental Health Awareness month. What is Hope Noted doing to help bring the necessary awareness to our mental health?

As I briefly mentioned above, we host an annual, giveback 5K in May as our way of honoring Mental Health Awareness month. We would LOVE to have you join us! Each year, participants take part both virtually or locally to walk and run their 5K, dedicating each step to the promotion of mental and emotional wellness in their lives and the lives of those they love. It’s an incredibly powerful event. Virtual racers send in photos/videos of their walks/runs anytime over the event weekend! We’ve had individuals join us from all across the USA and even in Aruba! We make personalized race bibs so folks can share their own unique message of why they are participating or dedicate their run to someone. We make t-shirts that racers can purchase to raise money for a different mental health nonprofit each year.The last two years, we chose Mental Health America of Lancaster County. This year, we chose the Touchstone Foundation, a local nonprofit helping children and youth cover the costs of mental health services as well as many other things - please check them out! The local meetup in Lancaster, PA for this event will be at Stoner Park this year on Saturday, May 27th at 9am with food, speakers, prizes, and more! More info here.

We also use our social media accounts to post weekly topics that are important to us for Mental Health Awareness Month. This year, we are highlighting: 

Week 1: Spreading acceptance and support for the people we know and love who are experiencing mental health challenges.

Week 2: The importance of self-care and how it looks different for all of us.

Week 3: Promoting acceptance and compassion surrounding mental illness and how language matters as we work together to use person-first language and avoid derogatory terms.

Week 4: Encouraging individuals to seek help if they need it and how to support others by offering words of encouragement. 

As a recently retired public school high school teacher, I witnessed an astounding number of students struggling with anxiety, depression, social anxiety, and more. What do you wish our readers, parents, and educators understood about the record number of mental health struggles of our young adults?

My heart breaks for the painful experiences and pressures young adults are facing daily. This heartbreak is part of the reason our volunteers chose the Touchstone Foundation as our giveback partners for our 5K event this month. I am not an expert, but as a dedicated advocate, I would encourage readers, parents, and educators to understand that young adults are suffering and it’s not going to go away. Their pain is real and valid and they need us. They are under immense pressure and we all want to alleviate some of that and not add to it. They need us to see them and hear them. They need us to take their mental health as seriously as their physical health! Why not consider regular check-ins with a licensed therapist, in addition to their annual physicals with their doctor?

Teens may not feel the stigma surrounding mental health as we once did, as it is not as taboo of a topic anymore so we can approach the conversation confidently. We can ask teens directly about their mental health with questions like, “How have you been feeling mentally lately?”  or “How have you been handling all the stuff with your friends emotionally?” and then LISTEN without judgment. We want to do our best NOT to move directly into advice-giving mode, but instead validate what we are hearing them share. For example, we could try saying something like, “It sounds like that must’ve really hurt your feelings” or “I imagine that was so scary for you.” Validation offers an instant wave of empathy that can go such a long way in those vulnerable moments they are letting us in on. We want to offer lots of love, gratitude, and encouragement for their honesty. If we sense they want our help to solve a problem, but aren’t sure, we can follow up with a question like, “What do you need from me right now?” There may be times when what they share implies more of a crisis situation and need for immediate attention for their safety. If they are sharing with us thoughts to harm themselves, we must take them seriously and TRUST them. We want to ask lots of questions and steer clear of invalidating and dismissive language like telling them they are “overreacting” or “being too sensitive.” Believing them is the greatest gift. When a young adult shares that they are struggling, it is always a big deal. No matter what we may suspect are their motives, giving them the attention they are asking for can be life-saving. 

Note: If a young adult or any loved one you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, please call/text 988 for free, anytime 24/7.

If you could make any changes to our mental health infrastructure, what would you change?

Right off the top of my head, without overthinking too much, it would be to include Dialectical Behavior Therapy practices lead by a licensed therapist as a part of students’ curriculum throughout all elementary, middle, and high school education, as well as mandate that all schools must have a number of licensed therapists on staff who meet with the students once a month as a part of their free education. DBT was created originally as a treatment for personality disorders, but I strongly believe it can help all of us when it comes to interpersonal conflict and understanding and accepting big feelings. It helped me personally in life-changing ways, and I wished I had been taught the skills on mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and emotion regulation as a child/teen. I also wished I had a therapist at a young age that could’ve offered guidance into situations my parents could not. 

What are some of your favorite things you do to stay mentally healthy?

For me, personally, staying mentally healthy is an ever-changing practice as my life experience is ever-changing. There are many choices for my mental and emotional wellness that I make that are hard, but that I am dedicated to because I want to have a life worth living. I choose to see a licensed therapist weekly and have done so for the past 5+ years. That is not likely necessary for everyone, but it is something that I choose to do to be the healthiest me I can be. I choose to say “no” a lot more to things that add mental stress so that I can say “yes” to things that fill my cup. I try to focus on some form of self-care/self-love at least once a day. Could be getting some fresh air, taking a nap, baking or painting, moving my body in a way that feels good, talking to a close friend on the phone, etc. And, finally, I take part in our Hope Noted events, not just because I am the founder, but because I truly benefit from the safety and support I have found within our community - they are genuinely kind, encouraging, and authentic people who I can be myself with.

For more info on Hope Noted, visit www.hopenoted.com.
By Marian Pontz