By RORY MOORE
Tiger Media Network
The High Plains Mental Health Center hosted the second annual Masquerade on Main fundraiser inside the Strand Event Center on Saturday to benefit its endowment. Tipped off by music, dancing, drinks and masks, the night saw items donated by various artists and organizations in the Hays area auctioned off with proceeds to the HPMHC’s mission of improving behavioral healthcare across Northwest Kansas.
Masks are sported at the Masquerade on Main. 
Items donated for the ‘Silent Auction’ at the end of the night. 
Attendees overlook the items up for auction. 
The fundraiser featured a night at the opera theme to make a good time for all guests. 
A masked couple dances to music. 
The donor wall, photo booth, and engagement inside the Stroud Event Center. 
HPMHC Development Officer James Gerstner displays a photo of ‘Big Boy’ donated by Christopher’s Creations. 
Attendees bid on donated items. 
The Live Auction of the Masquerade on Main. 
CEO Craig Poe concludes the night with a speech about the Center’s mission to serve the Hays community.
Part of the endowment is dedicated to supporting the establishment of the Crisis Intervention Center, which will be built this November.
“That will serve individuals who meet the criteria to be either involuntary, voluntary, or sobering for mental health in the community,” CEO Craig Poe said. “Currently, a lot of individuals will be screened and meet the criteria to go to Larned State Hospital, but there are not enough beds. This facility would provide an opportunity for somebody to get therapeutic and psychiatric treatment right away and potentially not even have to go to the state hospital.”
The Center is trying to raise $4 million for the CIC, and the fundraiser played a key role in the larger concept of improving patient care.
“Part of it is understanding we have community support,” Poe said. “All those donations are coming from community members and businesses in the area, and that speaks volumes to what we can do. The money will go directly towards getting items secured for the CIC, whether it’s beds or continued construction costs we have with the facility to get it off the ground.”
The masquerade theme was used to differentiate it from other non-profit events in Hays by encouraging donors to dress up and socialize with their loved ones for the occasion.
“[We had] the idea that we all wear masks,” Development Officer James Gerstner said. “Part of our job in dealing with mental health is to combat the stigma surrounding mental health, and the only way to do that is to talk about it and take that mask off.”
The awareness of the Center’s endeavors brought more donors to bid on the items auctioned off at the fundraiser.
“It’s always heartening to see individuals support a local organization like us,” Gerstner said. “Mental health is hard for some people to talk about, and it’s hard in a rural area of the country. As you get into even more rural areas, it gets harder for people. So, to spend a Saturday night out here benefiting the local mental health center that takes care of our most vulnerable neighbors is a lot to be proud of.”
The leadership of the HPMHC is grateful to see the support given to their causes.
“We’re changing and saving lives and bringing badly needed services to an entire region since we serve 20 counties in Northwest Kansas,” Education and Outreach Manager Kaley Conner said. “There are other ways to donate. We have a website called donatehighplains.com where people can learn more about the CIC, and we put their name on the donor wall.”
Conner noted that people’s support through donations and bidding at the auction is definitive of Hays.
“I’ve lived in Hays my whole life, and one of the many reasons I stay is because of the community and people in it and how genuinely caring, warm, and supportive this community is,” she said. “This event tonight and the wonderful turnout ensures the fact that we’re undertaking such a big project to build the Crisis Intervention Center. All of that is more proof that Hays is a good community, very supportive, and great at seeing a need and stepping up to meet it.”
Donations can be made at https://donatehighplains.com/, where further information can also be found.