CINCINNATI — Chaz Walker strums his guitar. He’s sitting on a piano bench in his home studio in Evanston. The studio is also his dining room. On the wall behind him is a photo of Walker and Bootsy Collins.
Walker hasn’t reached those heights yet, but he hasn’t given up on his dreams. He’s practicing for his next open mic.
“I have schizoaffective disorder,” Walker said. “This is a combination of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.”
That means you sometimes hear voices in your head, which can lead to hallucinations. Except when he’s playing guitar.
walker plays at Hamilton County Recovery Center monthly. A place for people living with mental illness. Downstairs, next to the cafeteria, Walker plugs in his guitar and microphone. An announcement came over the intercom.
Soon, a woman reads a poem about obsessive-compulsive disorder. It’s called “It’s All in My Head.”
“Welcome to open mic,” Walker said after a few minutes. “I hope you enjoy it.”
they are. And so is Walker.
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“We want to give back to people what they lost to the disease,” said Bill Brown, the recovery center’s director of community engagement. “And that’s what we’re doing.”
The aim is to provide a safe space for people to express themselves in a program that goes beyond therapy, but is just as important.
“Part of Chaz’s recovery has to do with open mics,” Brown said. “I’m just happy. It’s a fun time.”
In the conference room, Brian Goddard snaps his fingers. He sings Nat King Cole songs. In the back of the room, the others smile and join him.
“This is a godsend,” Goddard said. “Believe it or not, it actually saved my life.”
After his wife died in 2011, Goddard fell into a deep depression. All he had was music.
“It was the only thing I could rely on when all else failed,” he said.
While singing on a recent Friday afternoon, Goddard began to cry. It’s a similar passion for Walker. At one point he plays the guitar with his teeth.
“Music is my life,” he said.
Walker grew up listening to Jimi Hendrix on repeat. However, in the late ’80s, he hit his head on a dry cleaning machine while at work. He said he woke up believing he was in the CIA. Over the next few years, Walker lost his home, became addicted to cocaine, and then turned his life around.
Walker eventually earned his GED from Cincinnati State University. He praises music, open mic nights, and what he calls “events.” mental health talent show.
“Mental illness is just like any other type of illness,” he said. “But the stigma against mental illness is so deep-rooted.”
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And he tries to use events like this to help others.
“Now it’s my turn,” Walker sings. “To show the world that my dream has come true.”
He can’t stop his dream of showing the world about mental illness.
And no one needs to stop it.
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For more information about Hamilton County Recovery Center’s mental health programs, please visit: this link. To hear more of Walker’s music, you can find him at: Soundcloud.
