‘Stranger Things’ actress slated for Spa-Con 2017

Spa-Con 2017 will transport visitors into “The Upside Down” with one of its celebrity guests.

Shannon Purser, who stars as the lovably awkward Barb Holland in the Netflix hit series “Stranger Things,” will appear as a special celebrity guest for this year’s Spa-Con, set for Sept. 22-24 at the Hot Springs Convention Center.

The Garland County Library, Spa-Con’s co-sponsor, will give away a limited number of Spa-Con mini comic books on a first-come, first-served basis Saturday at its booth at the Art Springs festival in Hill Wheatley Plaza. The free giveaway will be held to celebrate national Free Comic Book Day, which is May 6.

“Stranger Things” earned high praise from critics for its first season and received a Golden Globe nomination for best drama series, according to The Associated Press. Netflix describes the show as “A love letter to the ’80s classics that captivated a generation, ‘Stranger Things’ is set in 1983 Indiana, where a young boy vanishes into thin air. As friends, family and local police search for answers, they are drawn into an extraordinary mystery involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one very strange little girl.”

Visit Hot Springs Special Events Manager Bill Solleder says Purser will be one of three special celebrity guests featured at the convention.

Solleder was enthusiastic about the convention’s recent acquisition, especially in light of Purser’s character’s current relevance in pop culture.

“It’s a cool get,” Solleder said. “’Stranger Things’ is one of the hippest films, or series, out there. Most people love ‘Stranger Things,’ or they’ve heard of ‘Stranger Things.’”

Since achieving fame as Barb in “Stranger Things,” Purser has since gone on to book a recurring role in The CW series “Riverdale,” has a leading

decades after first being diagnosed when she attended school. She is a graduate of Hot Springs High School.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels and behaves. People with schizophrenia may seem like they have lost touch with reality and the symptoms can be very disabling. Symptoms usually begin between the ages of 16-30 and can be classified into three categories: positive, negative and cognitive.

“Positive” symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions are psychotic behaviors not generally seen in healthy individuals and can cause someone to “lose touch” with aspects of reality. “Negative” symptoms such as reduced satisfaction or speaking are associated with disruptions to normal emotions and behaviors. Cognitive symptoms can cause a person to have trouble focusing, paying attention or memorizing information.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one-third of people with schizophrenia attempt suicide and about one-tenth die by suicide. McGhee said her symptoms only increased when she lost her mother. She said she felt depressed, isolated and helpless.

The CDC defines bipolar disorder as “a major mood disorder in which the individual most commonly experiences episodes of depression and episodes of mania. Mania is characterized by clearly elevated, unrestrained or irritable mood which may manifest in an exaggerated assessment of self-importance or grandiosity, sleeplessness, racing thoughts, pressured speech and the tendency to engage in activities which appear pleasurable, but have a high potential for adverse consequence.”

Bipolar disorder has been deemed the most expensive behavioral health care diagnosis and costs more than twice as much as depression per affected individual. Much of the costs are attributed to lost productivity.

McGhee said she managed her symptoms for much of her life even as she faded in and out of treatment. She said the support of her longtime boyfriend was crucial to her mental health.

“I had somebody to fall back on, because I had Michael,” McGhee said. “I had never been on my own.”

Her boyfriend’s death almost a year ago was the catalyst for her most recent tailspin. McGhee said she became homeless as she turned to drugs for self-medication.

“I thought drugs could help, but I found out they couldn’t,” McGhee said.

OBHAW stepped in and offered McGhee assistance as a Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness provider. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s PATH is a formula grant program that provides financial assistance to states to support services for homeless individuals who have serious mental illness or serious mental illness and substance abuse.

PATH grants are distributed each year to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each state or territory evaluates proposals and awards funds to local public or nonprofit organizations, known as PATH providers.

“A lot of people fight with us, because the first thing you have to do — especially if drugs are involved — is remove them from their environment because they are going to constantly be tempted,” said Boyce Mitchell, a case manager for OBHAW.

Mitchell and Eric Huneycutt, mental health professional, rolled out PATH assistance in Hot Springs more than a year ago. They recently moved to Malvern and expanded the local program.

PATH providers reached 189,336 individuals in 2015 and served 90,054 PATH-eligible clients with services. Eligible programs and activities include outreach services, screening and diagnostic treatment services, habilitation and rehabilitation services, community mental health services, alcohol or drug treatment services, staff training, case management services, supportive and supervisory services in residential settings and referrals for primary health services, job training, educational services and relevant housing services.

McGhee relocated to Malvern. Mitchell said she has been completely compliant with requests, services and treatment since she moved into United States Department of Housing and Urban Development housing.

“I hit rock bottom and came back up,” McGhee said.

PATH funds were used to pay for her first month’s rent and deposits for housing and utilities, as well as food, furniture, appliances and clothing. Stable housing has helped McGhee succeed in her treatment regimen.

“They really helped me so much,” McGhee said. “They helped me get off drugs. They helped me get away from bad influences and my environment.”

McGhee sticks to her medication schedule and attends group treatment sessions multiple days each week. Mitchell said McGhee has been a very successful client and is scheduled to coordinate her finances with a money manager, who will use funds from her social security income to pay her bills. Money managers allocate an allowance for clients after their bills are paid.

“So the only thing they have to worry about is what they want to spend their allowance on,” Mitchell said. “All of their bills are paid. She was totally OK with that. She has agreed to come to treatment four days a week, where it was just sporadic.”

Mitchell said he has seen McGhee make a total transformation. She has not missed any therapy sessions or doctor’s appointments.

OBHAW is now working with McGhee and her physician to combat the physical aftermath of a pair of strokes. McGhee said she plans to continue to comply with requests and treatment from OBHAW and is excited to add cable to her new home this month.

“I feel so good,” McGhee said. “I feel excellent compared to about three or four months ago.”