Professional artists who also work as mental health counselors, financial advisors and in real estate will be holding a free event September 13 for other members of Northeast Ohio's creative community.
The summit will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Cuyahoga Community College’s Center for Creative Arts at its Metropolitan Campus downtown.
This event, the Healing for the Creative Summit, is meant to build awareness among the creative community, program co-founder Vencott Palmer told Ideastream Public Media.
"Often we as creatives overlook ... important parts of our lives," Palmer, program manager for recording arts and technology and film and media arts at Cuyahoga Community College, said. "I think Cleveland, Northeast Ohio has a wonderful arts community, but often the resources that help us live as humans are often overlooked."
Having experts in mental health care or substance abuse recovery who are also professional musicians helps attendees connect, program co-founder Willie McMillon said.
"Because they understand who we are, they understand what we've been through and that story as well, they're a musician, they've been though it, it's easier to talk to them and say, hey man, this is what you can do to help you," McMillon said.
One of the most pressing issues facing musicians and other creatives in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio generally is mental health and substance abuse, Dr. Willie C. Washington, of Washington Wellness Institute, said.
"There's a lot of grief happening right now and the way that they're not processing grief within the community, especially with lost artists and fallen artists, a lot of them have been suffering from substance abuse," said Washington, himself a professional musician who will be presenting at the summit.
Without proper counseling and treatment, the physical and mental toll can be significant, he said.
"Physically, I see weight gain, I see not going to the doctor, not checking in on their health," Washington said. "Emotionally, I either see their stress being taken out on other people or it comes into self-harm."
A 2024 survey of musicians by Recording Academy nonprofit MusiCares found about 8 percent of professional musicians had serious thoughts of suicide over that year, compared with 5 percent among the general populace.
Also, a 2025 study in the journal Frontiers in Public Health found that musicians face a high risk of suicide and a 2025 study in the International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific Studies found that musicians face high levels of stress, anxiety and depression.
The summit will also cover topics including saving and investing; legal issues such as contracts; and family life, including parenting and relationships.
"Give them something to think about," McMillon said. "And then they can meet up with that person outside of that and hopefully create the connection that they need to further their lives."
