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Vol. 70 No. 36
SEPTEMBER 1 - 7, 2022
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Jesse Kinch beats cancer, resumes music By MICHAEl MAlASZCZYK mmalaszczyk@liherald.com
Courtesy Rick Kinch
JESSE KINCH MAdE his triumphant return to the stage after overcoming brain cancer, opening for Josh Groban at Jones Beach in July.
Seaford native Jesse Kinch is quite familiar with beating the odds — he did it by becoming a successful rock musician and he has conquered an even greater challenge by overcoming a brain tumor. Kinch, who learned to play the acoustic guitar as a boy and expanded his musical talents to bass, drums, keyboards, and singing as well, has played in various clubs all over the city and Long Island. That was before he was picked up by a casting director for the televi-
sion show, “Rising Star.” “They found my cover of the song, ‘I Put A Spell on You,’” Kinch said. “And they wanted me to audition for the show with that song.” Kinch ended up winning “Rising Star” in what would be the show’s only run. His career took off from there, touring all over the country and writing an album called “I’m Not Like Everybody Else,” which, according to Kinch, cracked the top 10 charts in the United Kingdom. Then, in January 2021, tragedy struck when Kinch suddenContinued on page 4
Mental health facility sponsors film about family tragedy By MICHAEl MAlASZCZYK mmalaszczyk@liherald.com
The Southeast Nassau Guidance Center in Seaford, a nonprofit organization dedicated to treating mental health issues and fighting substance abuse addiction for almost 65 years, recently sponsored a film to help spread its message. The film, “Scattering CJ,” scheduled to premiere on PBS on Sept. 15, follows the story of a mother, Hallie Twomey, and her family healing from the tragic suicide of her 20-year-old son, CJ. “The family had not been wholly aware of CJ’s suicidal
thoughts, which is very typical of this kind of sad story and makes it even harder to cope,” said Brian Baldwin, a clinical social worker at Southeast Nassau. “This tragedy sent the family into unrelenting grief and guilt.” Twomey thought of scattering CJ’s ashes all around the world and making a film about it to raise awareness for mental health. She worked on it with filmmaker Andrea Kalin of Spark Media, who is the daughter-in-law of Milton Kalin, the executive director of Southeast Nassau. “We saw an opportunity to help tell a story that may hit
o
nce you start sharing it like this, the stigma is greatly reduced. BRIAN BAldwIN
clinical social worker very close to home,” Baldwin said. “A normal family is suddenly struck by this awful thing caused by mental illness.” Baldwin added that the Twomeys were not even from Long Island, but that did not matter to the guidance center.
“They could be a family from anywhere,” he said. “The people that have responded to this film are all over the world. People from seven continents accepted CJ’s ashes being scattered there, and wrote back to Hallie and her family.” CJ’s ashes were scattered in places like Mount Kilimanjaro, the pyramids in Egypt, the
Great Barrier Reef, the Great Wall of China, and even on a rocket ship to space. The Southeast Nassau Guidance Center also runs an outpatient center in Wantagh dedicated more to fighting addiction. Southeast Nassau was founded in 1958 and has been the premiere location in WantContinued on page 15