In the photo above, Tara Jean Robinson is speaking on behalf of suicide prevention. Last year when speaking at an American Foundation for Suicide Prevention event, she had a barber shave the suicide prevention lifeline number into her hair. It was creative, bold, and brave - just like Tara Jean herself.
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may recognize Tara Jean. She provided me with the first interview for one of the Our Voices Matter features. Since talking to her last year, I've gone on to interview published authors, national experts in suicide prevention, a Superbowl winning NFL player, and many others whose lives have been touched by suicide. Each time I interview someone, I have to push through some initial shyness on part. That shyness is exacerbated in no small part because of the difficulty of the subject matter.
Becuase of this, I often think how lucky I am that Tara Jean was the first person I interviewed. She is so honest and courageous when she speaks. Tara Jean is both an attempt survivor and a survivor of suicide loss. Anyone who has ever met her will tell you that she is extremely enthusiastic and committed to her advocacy work. Her bravery in speaking to me, in turn, helped me be brave about continuing to reach out to others and to keep writing the features for this blog. One of the big pluses when you yourself act with courage, is that you inspire others to act with courage as well. Certainly that's what Tara Jean did for me.
If you want to see Tara Jean's courage in action - join her at the San Francisco Out of the Darkness walk, on Saturday, September 22, 2018, at Mission Creek Park. She will be the keynote speaker.
Click here to learn more about the San Francisco walk, specifically.
Click here to see Tara Jean's Our Voices Matter feature, on this blog.
(To see a directory of all of the Our Voices Matter features, click here.)
Click here to learn more about the AFSP Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walks
