Dave Babak, who used music to help treat the mentally ill, died from kidney failure at his Arvada home Dec. 8. He was 57.
Babak was involved for 35 years in helping the mentally ill and the homeless — some of whom fell into both categories.
“Music is an international language, and sometimes, those who are mentally ill never have a chance to be creative,” said David Burgess, who worked with Babak in CHARG, the Capitol Hill Action and Recreation Group, a nonprofit that serves the mentally ill.
“We all felt the excitement when a person struggling with illness suddenly walks up to a piano or guitar and starts playing,” Burgess said. Sometimes, he said, it is the only way a mentally ill person can communicate.
Babak “always believed that music activates a different part of the brain” than other activities, said his wife, Terri.
Dave Babak, a psychologist and musician, had a strong interest in the homeless, worked with agencies to help them get jobs and often found that some of the homeless had participated in music before, though not for years.
Bringing music back into their lives made them “thankful and hopeful,” said John Briggs, a caseworker for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. “It was a piece of their lives they had lost.”
One of the rooms at the coalition was used for recording CDs of music performed by the clients.
Babak had recorded four CDs featuring clients in a program called Starfish on Broadway.
“Dave was tremendously dedicated and competent individual,” said Briggs.
Babak was on the board of Make-A-Wish Foundation and helped the group with fundraising and contacts, said Terry Creech, co-founder of the Colorado Make-A-Wish chapter.
He did a monthly television show on public-access television that featured clients and their music and professionals who gave information on services available to those in need, said Babak’s wife.
David W. Babak was born Aug. 15, 1952, in Detroit and went to high school there. He earned his undergraduate degree at Michigan State University and worked at various mental-health jobs before moving to Denver in the 1970s. He earned a master’s in psychology at Regis University and taught at Community College of Denver and Red Rocks Community College.
He married Terri Talbert on Sept. 26, 2009. He had no children.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his mother, Mary Babak of Warren, Mich.; and his sister, Donna Mrozek of Vienna, Va.
Glen Bell Jr.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
