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Ex-weatherman Fritz Coleman tries to help others whose families deal with mental illness

Orange County Register - 10/18/2021

Oct. 19—Mental health is no laughing matter. Especially when it comes to children's well-being.

But if being funny on stage in front of a few hundred people will help raise money for an Orange County nonprofit whose goal is to improve children's mental health and emotional well-being, then Fritz Coleman is all in. As a parent with a son who suffers from mental illness and substance abuse, the former weather forecaster knows personally how crucial that is.

A well-known Southern California figure, Coleman retired last year from his job as the chief weather reporter at KNBC-TV, ending a nearly 40-year career defined by a wise-cracking demeanor befitting someone who started out as a stand-up comic before a career change.

Coleman, 73, left the TV weather business to spend more time with his family and pursue a passion for raising money on behalf of charitable causes through speaking engagements and a comedy act he never really abandoned, doing shows at The Improv during his TV career.

Coleman's name was mentioned to Extraordinary Lives Foundation founder Mara James awhile back as someone who might be a great headliner for the Comedy Night Gala taking place Wednesday, Oct. 20, to benefit her Orange County-based organization, which focuses on mental health.

It wasn't until she talked to Coleman on the phone that James, mother to three young adults, realized how perfect Coleman would be. They share a desire to make life better for children dealing with mental, behavioral and emotional health issues.

Because they've lived through it. They know other parents are living through it, too.

"It's just something that all families have issues with from one extent or another," Coleman said.

Emotional pain

Coleman, like James, has three adult children — 34, 32 and 21. He lives with his wife, a nurse, in Toluca Lake, and also has two grandchildren.

His father and grandfather were both alcoholics. That made Coleman decide not to touch another drink after a last glass of wine in March 1984, because he wanted to have a better relationship with his children and give them "the gift of sobriety." But his oldest son, whose name Coleman did not want disclosed in order to protect his privacy, has had a difficult life, complicated by depression and addiction.

His son began to fail as a student in late middle school and early high school. He was then diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. The Colemans moved him to a school for children with special education needs; he did better academically.

Coleman's son had always been hypersensitive to any kind of emotional pain, but they attributed that to his artistic nature. What they didn't realize was that he also suffered from depression. By his teens, he began self-medicating, starting with booze at 16, then pot, then opiates. Now a heroin addict, he's been in rehab five times.

At one point, his son disappeared for about three months. Coleman hired a detective who found him living in a homeless encampment at the Tujunga Wash. He was talked into going to a rehab center in Denver, where Coleman said his son had remained sober for six months before the facility was shut down over insurance fraud — a pervasive problem with the drug treatment industry that the Southern California News Group's "Rehab Riviera" series documents.

Now, the only way the Colemans know their son is alive is from random text messages he sends.

"We know he is still using," Coleman said. "But we don't think he's using as much as he used to."

Coleman said he has learned over the years not to beat himself up with guilt: "His depression is what made him self-medicate and self-medication led to the addiction. I understand that now."

But he hopes to help other parents become more aware of the mental health problems children can face and to have the courage and resources to deal with them. That's where he sees the value in supporting James and the Extraordinary Lives Foundation.

"What I'm really excited about is Mara's passion and the passion of the people that work with this organization. I'm happy to help them."

Emotional intelligence

James, 55, said the roots of her advocacy stem from a manic episode that led to her diagnosis of bipolar disorder seven years ago and the challenges her children have faced. One of her sons is on the autism spectrum and also has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; her daughter was diagnosed at a young age with the immune system disorder Grave's Disease.

Medication helped with her bipolar disorder. But she said she also underwent a spiritual transformation that led to the development of a children's book character, Piggie Bear, to help youngsters deal with their emotions. She founded the Extraordinary Lives Foundation in 2015.

Her focus on helping children grew out of confronting her own painful childhood in Long Island, N.Y: "Most or all of my healing was with my inner child."

(All three of her children, 20, 22, and 26, are doing fine these days, she said.)

James initially self-published "The Power of Piggie Bear" in English and Spanish, with illustrations by Matthew Mew. The book is for children ages 3 to 7. Now Brown Books Publishing is handling "Piggie Bear" publication and plans call for a second book.

Here's the thing about Piggie Bear: She has a pig's face on a stuffed bear's body. James wants kids to know there's nothing wrong with that: "It doesn't matter if Piggie Bear is a pig or a bear, it's perfect the way it is. Just like kids are."

In addition to messages of self-acceptance and self-love, Piggie Bear's aim is to help children develop the emotional intelligence to identify what they are feeling and learn how to calm themselves, through such techniques as self hugs and the deep belly breathing James learned through yoga.

James is a big believer in holistic healing as a complement to more traditional mental health treatment, and earlier this year she launched the virtual Hugs for Life Healing Center as a way to "bridge the gap" between Western medicine and holistic practices.

But Piggie Bear is her chief outreach to children. She does readings at schools and other places, including a homeless shelter in Los Angeles. So far, Extraordinary Lives Foundation has donated more than 3,000 Piggie Bear books and other child-friendly mental health tools that include a Piggie Bear plush manufactured by Build-A-Bear, a Piggie Bear coloring book and Piggie Bear power cards.

The comedy night fundraiser and gala, which also features comics Frances Dilorenzo and Karen Rontowski, will help James continue to make donations of the Piggie Bear educational tools to schools and other places that have included domestic violence shelters, children's hospitals, and youth organizations such as Boys & Girls clubs.

James is excited about the upcoming evening.

"What better way to talk about mental health than comedy or laughter? We can either laugh or cry."

Find out more

Information on the Comedy Night Gala and Extraordinary Lives Foundation is at elfempowers.org.

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