Our Voice of ME

10/07/2025

🎙️ New Episode Alert!

In our latest Our Voice of ME podcast episode, we explore what it’s like to vote in Maine with a disability. From navigating accessibility and understanding your rights, to finding the support and resources available to make your voice heard.

We sit down with advocates from Disability Rights Maine and Save Maine Absentee Voting to talk about accessible voting, upcoming election dates, and Referendum Question 1 on this year’s ballot. Plus, we hear from a young peer who shares their personal experience voting with a disability and hopes for the future of voting access in Maine.

🗳️ Tune in for lived experiences, expert insights, and practical resources to help you make your plan to vote.

🎧 Listen now: https://tinyurl.com/3cuzp9y5

09/29/2025

🚨 Last call for submissions! 🚨

Our 2026 Peer Artwork Calendar is accepting entries through TOMORROW (Tue, Sept 30, 2025) at 11:59 PM ET. Maine peers (18+) with lived experience, share original art that reflects the theme “Using Your Voice.”

Submit now: https://maineccsm.org/peerartworkcalendar/
Must complete BOTH parts of application to be considered. Reach out with any questions.

Please share to spread the word! 💚

09/24/2025

🎨 New episode is live today!

In this episode, we wrap up our three part series. Our Voice of Maine welcomes peer artists Bob Bergeron, Ant, and Hope Becker. Each shares their unique mental health journey and how art has supported their healing and connection to others. These chats highlight the transformative role creativity plays in surviving, expressing, and thriving.

🎧 Listen now: https://tinyurl.com/yt38j7jp
💬 If it resonates, share with a friend and subscribe for more!

09/04/2025

🎨 New episode is live today!

Part 2 of our Art & Mental Health series features peers from Shalom House Art Program in Portland: Tenney Swift, John Russell, Kristin, Daniell Moores, and Frank. They share how creativity supports recovery, expression, and community.

🎧 Listen now: https://tinyurl.com/4w4689yn
💬 If it resonates, share with a friend and subscribe for part 3!

08/18/2025

🎨 Discover the healing power of creativity! Our new blog post explores how art, in its many forms, can be a vital tool for mental well-being and recovery. From personal stories of resilience in Maine (featured on the Our Voice of ME podcast!) to the science behind art therapy, we delve into the profound impact of creative expression. Ready to explore your own path to well-being?

Click the link below to read more and be inspired! 👇

https://maineccsm.org/blog-embracing-creativity-for-well-being-how-art-paves-the-path-to-mental-health-recovery/

08/06/2025

🎨 New Episode Out Now!

We’re kicking off our Art & Mental Health series with an inspiring conversation with Natasha Mayers: peer, artist, activist 🎧✨

Hear how Natasha has used art for decades to build community, advocate for change, and support peers in mental health. She is part of the ARRT program and has lead hundreds of community art projects here in Maine and around the globe.

🎙️ Listen now wherever you get your podcasts!
🔗 https://tinyurl.com/2nwd46kh

07/01/2025

🎧 New Special Episode Alert 🎙️
A Conversation with Nio Dipietrantonio: Mental Health and Hospitality

“You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
But are they?

In our latest episode, we sit down with Nio to talk about what it’s really like to work in Maine’s restaurant industry. She is a chef, peer, founder of Serving Up Support: Maine, and ambassador with The Burnt Chef Project. From early mornings and double shifts to burnout, exhaustion, and finding community, this conversation dives into the often unseen emotional toll of hospitality work.

- 80% of hospitality workers report mental health struggles
- Maine’s tourism industry supports over 131,000 jobs, many in restaurants and food service
- Support for the workers behind the scenes? Still far too rare

🎙️ Listen in as Nio shares her lived experience, why she started Serving Up Support, and how peer connection is helping to shift the culture.

📍Available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more at https://maineccsm.org/our-voice-of-me-005/
🔁 Please listen, share, and help amplify the voices of hospitality workers across Maine

06/26/2025

Call for Guests: Share Your Story on Our Voice of ME Podcast!
Are you a mental health peer in the Maine art community? Has art played a powerful role in your mental health journey? We want to hear from you!

Our Voice of ME, a podcast dedicated to sharing diverse mental health experiences, is seeking guests for upcoming interviews. We're looking to connect with individuals who have a deep connection to art and are willing to share how it has impacted their lived mental health experiences. Whether it's painting, music, writing, sculpture, performance, or any other art form, your unique perspective can inspire and resonate with others.

If you're a mental health peer involved in the Maine art scene and are interested in being interviewed for the podcast, please send us a direct message or comment below! or check out our website and submit a guest application Maineccsm.org/ourvoiceofme We'd love to learn more about your story and discuss the possibility of you joining us on Our Voice of ME.

Let's amplify the powerful connection between art and mental well-being together!

06/24/2025

06/10/2025

This is "PSA Youth Resilience - Message to Kids # 1" by Redbird Media Group on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

06/10/2025

🎙️ We’re looking for podcast guests!

Are you a peer with lived experience in mental health who has worked in Maine’s hospitality industry? We'd love to hear your story!

We’re working on a new special episode of Our Voice of ME that highlights the unique challenges and experiences faced by those working in hospitality — Maine’s largest industry — while navigating mental health.

If you’re open to sharing your story and being part of a powerful peer-led conversation, we’d love to feature your voice. We’re looking to record these guest stories this month.

📩 Learn more and apply here: https://maineccsm.org/ourvoiceofme/
📢 Help us spread the word by sharing this post!

06/09/2025

🎥 Meet the Team Behind Our Voice of ME 🎙️

We’re so excited to introduce the passionate peer-led team creating our new podcast — amplifying real stories from people with lived experience in mental health across Maine.

Every episode is built with intention, empathy, and the belief that peer voices matter. Whether you're tuning in for advocacy, inspiration, or connection — we're here for it.

💬 Like our page to follow the journey
🎧 Subscribe to Our Voice of ME wherever you listen to podcasts
🔗 Visit to learn more or apply to be a guest: https://maineccsm.org/ourvoiceofme/