LYNN — The Northeast Tides of the North Shore Baseball League and their Manager Scott Bleakley are playing some more baseball to raise money and awareness for mental health and substance abuse.
The Tides will play in an exhibition matchup against the Al Thomas Athletics of the Yawkey League at Polar Park in Worcester, home of the Red Sox AAA affiliate Worcester Red Sox, on Monday, Aug. 22 at 7 p.m.
Admission into the game will be $10, and proceeds will go toward a nonprofit agency specializing in treating substance abuse and mental health.
“The ongoing goal, in terms of what we have been able to do, is to raise necessary awareness and money that we can provide to a respective state’s service location and help them with anything that has to do with mental health and substance use prevention, intervention, or resources,” said Bleakley.
Monday’s game is part of the Three States Unite to Fight for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Awareness initiative. A program created by Bleakley in conjunction with Hunter Carey, who is part of a nonprofit substance abuse treatment organization called The Phoenix.
The game will be the final exhibition of Bleakley’s initiative that helps raise money and awareness for mental health. The first game was played at Hadlock Field in Portland, M.E., home of the Red Sox AA affiliate Portland Sea Dogs.
The second game was played during game two of the NSBL’s playoff semi-final series when the Tides took on the Peabody Champions at Gill Stadium in Manchester, N.H. Now the program will make its final stop here in Massachusetts.
When Bleakley is not managing the Tides, he is a professional in the mental health care field, where he works with adolescents. With everything that has happened in the world recently, especially COVID, mental health has taken a substantial hit for the population.
“The repercussions with COVID – I work mostly with adolescents, and I am as busy as I have ever been … there is just an overall shortage of available providers and resources that is considered appropriate to meet the necessary demands,” said Bleakley.
“What I am finding right now is that I get a lot of calls to take on new patients. As much as I feel bad of not being able to service someone looking for help, I cannot add an eighth day of the week, and a majority of my colleagues are in the same situation,” he added.
While Bleakley acknowledged that people are well aware of the mental health crisis going on in the country, he emphasized the importance of giving people the support they need.
“With COVID – I mean the way I look at it, our world just changed – anything that was considered routine, predictable, or structured got turned upside down. I feel like inherently, those are the needs of humans in general, and if those needs are not met, obviously there are going to be negative repercussions, and the consequences of that are going to begin to take a toll,” said Bleakley.
He mentioned that children in school have had to deal with remote instruction, which has thrown younger generations into a loop.
“All students just had the carpet pulled out from under them,” said Bleakley. “It’s one thing to be expected to do your homework from home. But a six-hour “remote school” day from home, that is a different expectation and understanding,” he added.
“Home to students should be their sanctuary, their place to relax and decompress, not a place to associate with the stress of production and work demand and expectations, something that has never been expected of any students before this time,” he continued.
For Bleakley, he says his two passions are his work in mental health and baseball, and there is no better way to come out and support the initiative than watching what will be a great game on Monday.
“I just feel like the tradition of baseball – and the crazy way that the world has been because of the pandemic, there is a symbolic need for something like baseball. It is called the American pastime for a reason,” said Bleakley.
“Part of my goal in organizing these games is to help bring some normalcy to people’s lives. A great way to bring people together for a great cause, just like the famous movie quote from the Field of Dreams, if you build it, they will come,” said Bleakley.
To reserve a seat and contribute to an important cause, visit https://mpv.tickets.com/?orgId=54713&agency=MILB_MPV&eventId=31448 for tickets.
