In the latest episode of Looking Forward Our Way, we are joined by guest David Polakowski to discuss the Harding-Buller Foundation of Worthington (OH).
Here are 3 key takeaways from the episode:
- Harding Hospital, built in 1925, not only offered medical treatment but also focused on alternative therapies such as horticulture, music, and art therapy.
- The Harding and Kellogg families were instrumental in promoting nutritional wellness and vegetarianism, and their work still influences the community today.
- The Harding-Buller Foundation is working to empower individuals to live a spiritual, holistic, and healthy lifestyle, and has organized community health chats to discuss mental health issues and alternatives for coping.
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Recorded in Studio C at 511 Studios. A production of Circle270Media Podcast Consultants.
Copyright 2024 Carol Ventresca and Brett Johnson
We are looking forward our way from studio C in the five one one studios in the Brewer district just south of downtown Columbus. This is Brett. With me is Carol as. As always, and mental health well being is a critical issue in our community and communities across the country. Today's expert guest is not new to our show, but comes with information that's critical to our welfare. It's David Polikowski. He is the new executive director, the Harding buller foundation based in Worthington. David, thanks so much for joining us today.
David Polakowski [:Well, thank you. I feel privileged in the fact that you said I'm an expert.
Brett Johnson [:We only have experts on this show. That's it. The bar is high.
David Polakowski [:I know.
Carol Ventresca [:I was getting nervous when Brett introduced me and then said mental well being.
David Polakowski [:Right after you started giggling, I was like, oh, don't start. Here we go. Here we go. Whoops.
Brett Johnson [:Didn't mean to do that.
Carol Ventresca [:Sure, David, it's good to see you again.
David Polakowski [:It's good to see you both in person again.
Carol Ventresca [:We had a wonderful conversation to figure out what we were going to talk about today, so I'm excited. Now, in the past, you represented one of the local chambers of commerce focusing on economic development and the communities for that chamber. Well, now you have returned to providing management of a nonprofit organization that focuses on mental health. Before we dive into the actual foundation, let's talk about you, your background and this move to your new role.
David Polakowski [:Well, it's funny because when I start telling up the years, it's almost 30 years that I've been doing nonprofit, it is my true love, my heartstrings. When I was at the chamber, it was great. I met great people. You two are at the top of that list. It was during a time I started, January 20. And guess what happened march of 20? This little pandemic thing. And I think as it went on, we really did well. Yes, I was the driving force, but I had great board members, I had great volunteers that helped with the input. We pivoted did online programming, and I could not wait to get back to in person. So I think when it came down to it and I was actually approached by a recruiter for this position, I'm like, sure, why not? But then as I thought about it mentally and has nothing to do with the mental health aspect, but I was exhausted. We killed it for two and a half years and I just felt maybe it was time. I'm the type of person, I come in, help to build an organization, rebuild an organization, then it's time to move on. And I think my purpose with the trifillage chamber partnership was to be there to help get it through the pandemic. Mother nature, somebody knew that that was my purpose, to be there.
Brett Johnson [:And then the call was made.
David Polakowski [:Yeah, from the recruiter to get you.
Brett Johnson [:To where you are right now. So talk a little bit about that then.
David Polakowski [: oking in at the mid to end of: Carol Ventresca [:Huge change.
David Polakowski [:Yes. And having somebody with 30 years of experience and nonprofit, we didn't have a true mission. We didn't have a true vision. We didn't have a website which yeah, everybody I would start telling people that I'm doing this and they're like, there's no information. I'm like, yeah, you just have to go to Facebook. So it was basically rebooting starting a fresh with this nonprofit. That sole purpose is focusing on mental health, wellness, education, and nutrition.
Brett Johnson [:So a lot of people are familiar with Harding Hospital, probably a lot aren't. They may know the name, but not what's going on. It served the community and is serving the community with mental health services for decades. Can you provide some background of Harding Hospital? How did the Harding family take on the issue? How did it lead to the creation of this foundation?
David Polakowski [:It's funny because we had talked earlier, there's so much information. I'm basically dealing with 160 years of information and history of the family. Let's try and keep it the short version. So back in the late 18 hundreds, dr. George Trian Harding first and his wife Phoebe Hardings were originally Baptists. Phoebe was a Methodist, didn't believe that you should be baptized and immersed. So one day she went to a church meeting for this 7th Day of Venice Church. Came back to Jordan, said, there must be something, right? Because he was telling us. So they then became 7th Day of Venice. The unique thing in what everything the Harding family has done is the 7th Day of Venice church is about wellness, nutrition, encouraging vegetarianism. It is always about living that healthy lifestyle. Not only wellness, spiritually, holistically. Back in the 800s, you've heard of the Kellogg Corporation. Yeah. They started with this plant based cereal. So Phoebe started following them, and that's when they became a 7th Day of Venice. Now, Phoebe and Georgia first had six or eight kids. Two died early. And one of their children was this gentleman named Warren G. Harding.
Carol Ventresca [:I think we've heard of him someplace.
Brett Johnson [:Somewhere, yeah.
David Polakowski [: y started Harding Hospital in: Brett Johnson [:Oh, my gosh.
David Polakowski [:So let that set in.
Carol Ventresca [:So basically, a half a day into Columbus, buy something really quickly and a half a day back home.
David Polakowski [: acres in: Brett Johnson [:Oh, yeah, for sure. It's history.
David Polakowski [: ly. So the house was built in: Carol Ventresca [:Well, as as the only person at this table that actually was born in and grew up in Columbus, needless to say, we grew up thinking, harding Hospital is for you don't want to go there. It's for people. You don't want to be sick that way. You don't want to go there. It never really hit. I think our community about the basis of supporting mental health from a medical standpoint with all of the other holistic therapies that the Hardings brought in. I don't think people realize that until the whole issue of Worthington Foods and morningstar became and vegetarianism became more prevalent, those kinds of as, those issues became more well known, that's when people saw the connection to the Harding family. I think you and I talked about the Kellogg's. I come from a higher ed background, and the Kellogg Foundation is critical in higher education. They were critical to dealing with issues in the universities across the country. So gosh, kudos to both, all those families.
David Polakowski [: e I said, sitting there since: Carol Ventresca [:And we're going to get to those gaps in a second. But before we jump there, you mentioned that the Harding Hospital entity moved to Ohio State's campus, but there's still programs going on at what had been the Harding Hospital location. And for listeners who are not familiar with Columbus or not familiar with the Worthington area, we're talking about east of High Street from downtown Worthington on Dublin Granville Road, which is 161 before you get to 71.
David Polakowski [:Correct.
Carol Ventresca [:That's the location.
David Polakowski [:There are the railroad tracks, right, the bridge. So if you're going east, there's the last light before you get to the railroad tracks. And if you're coming west from 71, you go under the railroad tracks and that first light right there.
Carol Ventresca [:Hospitals on the south, you're on the.
David Polakowski [:North and on the south is actually boundless. Now, they work with individuals that are developmentally delayed. I'm sorry. And they have great programming. And it's interesting because the first time that I went onto the old site, I'm looking around and they have all these little plaques underneath trees, and Jody Bopp, their director of development, vice president of development. Like, what are those from? Well, Hardings in the past used to do a big Arbor Day celebration so they would get donations to plant trees. And the plaques still remain there, and there's still some actual parts of, like stones and bricks that they had laid. The original building that I spoke of, the lodge, actually burned down. I think in the there's an A frame building that was built in its place that still stands today.
Brett Johnson [:So the foundation is based in large home on East Dublin Granville Road, like we talked about, across from the old Harding Hospital. Now, as part of Harding family history, as you mentioned, are there plans for future programs there?
David Polakowski [:That's a great question, Brett.
Brett Johnson [:That's all I have.
David Polakowski [:That's all you had?
Carol Ventresca [:No, that's all I gave him to say.
Brett Johnson [:There you go.
David Polakowski [: n, which became part of us in: Carol Ventresca [:Of having a president in the family history is probably helpful.
David Polakowski [: was built. Then in the early: Carol Ventresca [:All right, so I think we skirted around a little bit when we're talking about the goal, the mission of the Harding family, the church and the foundation to foster spirituality, mind, body, soul, actually.
David Polakowski [:So that is probably a very old mission. When I started, we're in the process of developing now, still a strategic plan. And we didn't have our true mission vision, core values tagline and the funds. So our mission now is to continue our legacy by empowering individuals to live a spiritual, holistic and healthy lifestyle. And that is truly encompassing. And it's interesting because when I talk with board members, some board members and others in the community, when you ask, and I can ask a question to you, too, what does spirituality mean to you? You're both going to have might have a similar answer, but could have a different you have those that go to religion, those that go to the mind, body and soul, which is still part of religion. So it's interesting take when you hear people answer what spirituality means to them.
Brett Johnson [:There was a recent poll done talking about who's going to church and who's not and how you label yourself. And I know the numbers of folks going to church are down, but the number of people feeling spiritual is up. So again, it lays back to that. What's the definition of spiritual? Whether it's believing in a larger being or they're just they were in tune with themselves, being spiritual all a good thing, and it just comes down to what you believe in, what you're doing. But to that point, yeah. What's your definition of spiritual?
David Polakowski [:You're looking at the holistic aspect that even opens a whole different door, because the Reiki Center on Fifth Avenue near Grandview, they're participating in some of the things we do, but you're looking at a whole different spiritual aspect there. And this gives people an opportunity to share truly what they believe. And there's no right or wrong with who we are. We just want to encourage everybody to live their best, healthy lifestyle.
Carol Ventresca [:Right. So you've kind of churned through that development of a mission vision statement. Then, in this new position, you really had to sort of think about, okay, what are the community needs? How do we clearly outline what the issues are and understand what people need? In Central Ohio, tell us about that initial evaluation of the foundation and how the foundation has served the community. And then you created a task force to find out where the gaps are.
David Polakowski [:She has done her homework.
Carol Ventresca [:I taped our conversation, I think no.
David Polakowski [:And that's what's interesting, because trying to create this basis, trying to create the structure and move the organization along has been very interesting. Looking at the pandemic, a lot of information that's been shared with me, a lot of stories that I've seen is people are lost, people are struggling with their mental health and especially our children. So as I was developing and working with people, christina Renzelli is one of my partners in crime, and she's helped me facilitate this. I started talking and saying, what do we need? What do we need? And one of the big things, the big word that came was community. How do we rebuild community? How do we bring people together?
Carol Ventresca [:And this is from individuals who spend more time on their smartphone texting than talking, is that correct?
David Polakowski [:Probably, yes.
Carol Ventresca [:Yeah.
David Polakowski [:Yes. But a lot of professionals, too, in in the coaching, the spiritual, the holistic, the nutrition, the wellness, it came back to, how do we build community? So I'm like, why don't we do a think tank? Why don't we bring people together to just chat and talk about what the issues are? We did the first one in last month, and it was an our and a half of conversation. And I was well represented from the different sectors in the population. A small diversity group, which I had a few people, of course, planned to be there but couldn't. But the conversation was gray. It was not black or white like we see today. And I think that's a lot of what we're missing is that gray area that and I've seen it. Just because we disagree doesn't mean I hate you. And that's what we need to go back to. So we had some great discussions, and I did a poll, and they identified their each individual top three issues and then looking at what the gaps of service are. But when you look at the top individual issues, the major one was community, and the second one was our youth. The concerns for their development and being home and social skills and just the ability to catch up on that work that was lost. It's kind of scary and it's kind of interesting and it's kind of positive to see how resilient kids are, most of them.
Carol Ventresca [:Yeah, absolutely. The kids have done incredibly well given the challenges they've had over the past three years.
David Polakowski [:Yeah, we're doing the next step next Thursday, and we'll be talking, but I've been trying to identify from what's missing and one of the things that in the past, the Harding Bowler Foundation used to do way a speaker series. I'm like, okay, let's make this relevant. And I looked into Ted Talks, and Ted Talks are very restrictive on what you can do. You can't have questions and answers. There's certain things you can't do. Okay, so what we came up with and we'll be discussing more about this, is community health chats with the Harding Bowler Foundation. They are going to be hosted at the Peggy R. McConnell Arts Center in Worthington, who's become a huge partner and great supporter of the foundation. And likewise, the foundation has always supported the Art Center. But these are going to be an opportunity for individuals to come in and talk about where in our life did you pivot did that change come and you realized you needed to do something different to get you to where you are today? We have the first two for September 19 and October 17. The second one will be with the Harding Hospital, their Star program. And I can't remember what the acronym is, but they work with trauma and resilience in individuals that have faced trauma in some sort in their way. So they're going to be talking about alternatives, ways to cope to help you get to that point. Because we are seeing in hearing people are waiting up to a year to get the mental health care they need. The hospitals, children hospital, I guess they're months just to get in to have your child admitted. But what do you do in the meantime when you know our child and your child has come to you and said, I need help in that first appointment, what do you do in the meantime? So we're going to be providing a variety of different platforms. I have an individual I'm working for with next year. Emma Brett knows who she is. She worked at COhatch, was our community manager there. I'm going to work with her to talk about her experience and she was adopted from Vietnam. And she just truly her development and what changed in your life to get to where you are. So there's a lot of successes that we can bring in, but it's also an opportunity for conversation. That's what I want to create. Let this person express, let this person talk about what they're there to share with these individuals and then let's have that discussion. Let's do Q and A and see where we go. It.
Carol Ventresca [:It seems that part of the issues with the mental health situation with young people is that because mental health keeps you from seeing past the issue you have today, they don't see that there is light at the end of the tunnel. That they can, as an individual young person, make change in their lives, get the resources and support they need, have a positive path forward and get out from the dark places. And it seems like we're doing a piecemeal job of getting that information to kids.
David Polakowski [:Yeah. And here's the thing. Our children are struggling and we're all in a crisis. But the parents we need to work with the parents to say, it's okay, hug your child, try to be understanding. But how do we get the parents the support they need to better understand what their child is going through? Your friend Mary.
Carol Ventresca [:Yeah. We have to give a shout out to my friend Mary Rikowski, who's the principal at Worthington's Evening Street School. One of the greatest people.
David Polakowski [:Yes. She and I met a few Mondays ago and we only had a half hour, but it felt like we've known each other for years. And she shared some stories and the struggle and how parents are coming in and talking with her on how to help their child. So we need to get that support for parents too. And when a child says, I need help, in so many words, or how to identify what's going on with your children, really is going to be an important part.
Brett Johnson [:So we've talked about the gaps. I think we probably know the answer to this, but I want to ask it. Are we needing more funding, more education of community members, or just more available services or a combo of all of those?
David Polakowski [:Yes.
Brett Johnson [:So how do you prioritize that then? Because is it a domino effect, that one, if you attack one, maybe the rest fall in play? Or is it a complete front? You have to work on all those.
David Polakowski [:I think you have to work on all of them simultaneously and know who your audience is and which one is appropriate. It is a lot of funding issues in building those resources for us. But looking at the hospital, the services, one of my board members is a psychologist and psychiatrist, and he said part of the problem is the paperwork you have to do before you can even talk to a patient is a huge hurdle to get over. And so how do we provide this, get the services to improve, but yet become more available is the big challenge. I think there's a shortage of services.
Brett Johnson [:You know, there's a shortage.
David Polakowski [:You know, there's a shortage shortage of services, if I can say that correctly. But there's alternative. So educating individuals and people on the alternatives to getting to where you are waiting for that appointment and trying, that just that alternative, holistic way of looking at things.
Carol Ventresca [:So there's also not only a loss our our a need for more services. There's a need for more professionals, right?
David Polakowski [:Yes.
Carol Ventresca [:I mean, I think that's in in all of our health care, we are in dire need of more professionals. In the many layers of healthcare professionals.
David Polakowski [: he number, but even it's like: Carol Ventresca [:Aspect.
David Polakowski [:Which is scary because that could be a roadblock for someone to getting the services that they need.
Brett Johnson [:And we've talked about this with other episodes about mental health and that of the positives that came our of COVID one could be that the stigma of mental health is kind of going away a little bit. We're talking about it now where it way before or maybe you're getting a different pressure because you're living it every day. It feels like at least people are more open to talk about, I have a problem.
David Polakowski [:Yes.
Brett Johnson [:They're addressing it a bit more than it was. Four years ago where it had maybe a heavier stigma, I guess. I don't know how to put words to it, but it just seems like it's more of our conversation now than it ever was.
David Polakowski [:And I think you're accurate when you say the stigma. And again, I'm not a professional, I'm a nonprofit. But you're in at 365, listening and hearing and sharing the information that I get. The stigma is dying and it's okay to get help. And the struggle is there. And part of the big struggle again is the services. What can I do? Where do I go? And that's where yes, our behind a.
Brett Johnson [:Little bit on that yet. Eventually it will be. I've heard the analogy of, well, your arm is broken, you're going to the doctor, right? Well, our health, mental health, is quote unquote, broken. But where do we go?
David Polakowski [:Right?
Brett Johnson [:We're not quite there yet.
David Polakowski [:Is it counseling the hospital? Is it a social? I know in working with Worthington schools, they are overwhelmed with the need for their students and where do they go?
Carol Ventresca [:And that is a community that has resources, information, support systems, and a fairly affluent neighbors neighborhoods. Now. Just think about City of Columbus. Money isn't the issue. Knowledge the knowledge and wherewithal to go after resources is maybe not there.
David Polakowski [:Yeah, it is interesting because Worthington has this overall it's well wealthy. But there are areas, there are areas that people don't know about that are serving the low to moderate income individuals. But where do we go? I think for all the negative that has happened over the past three years and the effects of COVID one of the good things is the stigma. We know the stigma is going down and I hope it continues to go down. And it's okay to say I need help.
Carol Ventresca [:So this kind of leads me into my next question, which is kind of a chicken and the egg, which came first? So what's more important, that we understand the issues and the well being or we fix the situation? It seems like we need to know what it is we're talking about. But if we don't start fixing it now, regardless of what we think we know or we don't know, we've got to start fixing.
David Polakowski [:I think we truly need to identify what the major issues are before we can fix anything. We know what's been happening with mental health and I think then it's twofold, that we have to continue identifying what the issues are while we're moving ahead to fix the gaps, to fix the system that's just overwhelmed with the need. And next week when we have this think tank, it's going to be interesting because the next step is that discussion.
Brett Johnson [:So as a foundation, let's go back to the basics and a foundation supports organizations that for you, promoting healthy living. Talk about some of the services and programs you're already supporting and what types of services you'd like to build relationships with Visa vis. Hey, talk to us. Maybe we can help you.
David Polakowski [:The relationships, anybody and everybody. The big part, it's interesting. So when I left was leaving the chamber. I called the executive director at the Worthington Chamber, and I'm like, hey, Matt, I'm leaving. Oh, where are you going? And I purposely said, worthington. And he got all excited for who? And I said, the foundation. And he paused and said, why don't I know who that is? Why don't I know them? So that has been my big step and Brett community, getting the word out, filling those gaps, bringing in that service and letting them know. We provide grants, we raise funds to help smaller nonprofits. In the past, we have helped our program at OSU.
Carol Ventresca [:And that's the program that takes care of homeless youth?
David Polakowski [:No, that's the trauma program. Trauma and resilience. I forget what the S stands for, but they work with individuals that have gone through trauma in their life. They're special programming.
Brett Johnson [:Okay?
David Polakowski [:And they're going to be our speaker in October, so we'll get more information than that. So Dr. George Harding, the fourth, passed away last around this time last year. And we did a special campaign for that. And the dollars that went to there from there went to the farmers market in Worthington. The farmers market, which would be well, why are we providing grant funds for that? Well, they have a program that works with Linworth Alternative School to teach and educate Kate, their students, how to garden, how to cook, to take their produce and items that they create to market and sell. And so that was a huge support to them. And if you're out and drive by Linworth School, you know where it is. You'll see the gardens, the community gardens that they set up. And I got to meet the kids and they were incredible. We have had a huge partnership with the Worthington Resource Pantry, which is the food pantry up there, and they serve eight or nine zip codes. And I think it's like 129 sq mi. And it was great to have them at the think tank because a lot of it is generational. But how do we educate the generations to look at those opportunities? So they had a program where DoorDash was delivering for free, and now DoorDash is charging $5 per delivery. So we help fill that gap. There is the final third foundation, ben Levy, I don't know if you've met him. So it's a soccer foundation, soccer organization, working Healthy Wellness. But they have an environmental program which we provided $5,000 towards to again help educate their players on healthy lifestyles, healthy living, growing your own food. And then the other partner that we've had for several years is the Cancer Support Community Center. It was originally started out as Gilda Radner's Foundation. What was her husband's name? Jean Wilder started the foundation after she died, and this has grown into the need. They work with individuals that are going through treatment. They work with survivors and those affected by cancer. I mean, it can be caregivers to teach them mindfulness wellness, good nutrition. So it's a perfect part, but yeah. So those are the main ones that we did this year in looking at programming. We're doing the community chats, looking at other ways to get people to know our mission and who we are and the purpose that we're there.
Carol Ventresca [:If an organization has a good idea that they think would help promote healthy living mental wellness, what do they do? Contact you directly.
David Polakowski [:Correct. Executive Director at H, Harry B. Boyfrankworthington.org. So executivedirector@hbfw.org and is the best way to start. And if anybody wants to learn more, come see me. I am always welcoming people to come to the house.
Carol Ventresca [:Yes, we're going to be visiting.
David Polakowski [:Please do.
Carol Ventresca [:And do we have a notion of when your new website will be up?
David Polakowski [:It's up.
Brett Johnson [:Oh, good. Okay, cool.
David Polakowski [:It went live about two or three weeks ago and the URL is Hbfw.org.
Carol Ventresca [:That's amazing.
David Polakowski [:Yes. We still have some work. We still have some things to do.
Brett Johnson [:But websites are never done.
Carol Ventresca [:We know that well. And listeners too. We're going to have all of this information in our show notes with other community resource resources that are available to you. An important message that I think we need to leave our audience with is that there is hope. There are services and programs that are available not just here, but around the country. Can you provide us with some suggestions for individuals who are in central Ohio who may need assistance from a mental health program?
David Polakowski [:Wow, that's such a huge answer in so many ways. One of the things that we're working on is what their website is trying to create that resource page to the different resources available.
Brett Johnson [:That doesn't exist already.
David Polakowski [:Not that I know of.
Brett Johnson [:Really? That's interesting.
David Polakowski [:We're trying to become the organization that's the go to organization, which is great.
Brett Johnson [:Yeah.
David Polakowski [:Look into Harding hospital. And I'm not saying that because there are history, but they have a lot of resources. Look at their Star program, trauma program. Just reach out if you are a parent, talk to your school principal. Talk to social workers. If you're a religious person, talk to your pastor. Talk to your faith based community. There is always going to be someone there who knows. And for those that are approached, if you aren't sure what to do or how to help, find help this person, help these people find a resource in your community that can help build and move them forward to better mental health.
Carol Ventresca [:Right. Because it may not just be that they don't know, but they may feel such burdened by the situation, they're really just not able to take that step. So if somebody does ask you for help, please follow through.
David Polakowski [:But the simplest way is just listen. Sometimes we need to vent. Sometimes we need that person to talk to that we can share the circumstance and just vent and not want an answer back. Be a listener, right?
Brett Johnson [:We always end with words of wisdom. Like you haven't had tons of them already through this episode. I almost hesitate to ask that because what you just said is words of wisdom there. But I think you've brought a lot to the table, and hopefully the listener of this episode thinks differently about what's going on. As Carol said, there's hope. There's a lot of good things going on there's. A lot of organizations, along with the foundation are just bubbling under the surface that we may not even know about, but it's good stuff happening. But what would you want to leave the listener with?
David Polakowski [:Don't be afraid to ask. Have that conversation. If you're in the conversation, listen, you will know if somebody truly needs that help, help them find their way. And don't be afraid. It's okay. Mental health stigma is going away. It's okay to say I need help because of this.
Carol Ventresca [:Many thanks to our expert, David Polikowski, executive Director of the Harding Bueller Foundation of Worthington, for joining us today and just because we really wanted David to come and say hi and have a good time with us. So thank you so much for your time.
David Polakowski [:Of course. And, you know, anytime. Just a chat, even I can come.
Carol Ventresca [:Sit in the chair okay.
David Polakowski [:And not record. We can just talk like we did for about a half hour before.
Carol Ventresca [:But all of our listeners are going to want to know what gossip we're looking around this table.
David Polakowski [:It's all quality conversation.
Carol Ventresca [:Exactly. It is. Listeners, thank you for joining us, and do not forget to check our show notes on the website for contact information and resources that we've discussed today. You can find all of this information on our website at Looking Forward our way.com, and we're looking forward to hearing your feedback on this and any of our podcast episodes.