Once again, I have been asked to help kick off an AFSP Out of the Darkness Walk. The opportunity to speak to both survivors of attempts and survivors of loss, as well as those who support us, is beyond an honor. At these events, when I speak I make every effort to not only speak tothose of us whose lives have been touched by suicide, but also to speak on our behalf. The Oakland event is an early one, but please feel free to join me and all the others who are making a difference in the fight for suicide prevention!
Event Details
Walk Date: 10/19/2019 Walk Location: Lake Merritt - Oakland, CA Check-in/Registration Time: 6:00 am Walk Begins: 6:30 am Walk Ends: 9:00 am
Remembering and honoring those who have been lost and/or those who have attempted suicide, is always my goal when writing, speaking, and advocating on behalf of suicide prevention. On October 19, I will be proudly wearing the following beads:
If you are interested in forming a team, volunteering at the event, or making a donation, please click on the image below:
For more information about the Oakland event, please contact:
Contact Name: April Collins Contact Phone: 707-968-7563 Contact Email: aprilcollinsd@gmail.com
Yesterday, September 21, 2019, I had the honor of speaking to over 1,000 participants of the San Francisco AFSP Out of the Darkness Walk. Today, I am happy to share my remarks.
Good morning! I am so honored to be here today. I know that everyone here has had their life touched by suicide. Most of us are survivors. Survivors of suicide attempts or survivors of suicide loss, Sometimes, like me, we are both.
There’s no question, I’m looking at a group of incredibly courageous people. So, when I say that I’m honored to speak to you today, it’s true. Let me tell you the reasons I am here.
Seventeen years ago, I lost my mother, El Collie Kress, to suicide. Two and a half years ago I lost my boyfriend, John Macaluso, to suicide. Since then, I have lost other close friends too. I understand, on a personal level, the profound heartbreak that suicide leaves in its wake.
I’m also here because I’m a survivor of suicide attempts. My first attempt was at age 17, and my second attempt was six years ago. I was 44 years old. The reasons for my attempts were varied. My personal risk factors include childhood trauma that led to PTSD, struggling with an eating disorder, and being an alcoholic and addict. I have been in recovery for many years now, but the shame associated with all of these things has at times been overwhelming.
My journey of healing after these attempts has involved many different things including hospitalizations, group therapy, and individual counseling. Getting clean and sober has been critical to my ongoing recovery. The most important thing I can say to those of you who struggle with thoughts of suicide, is this: I have had those thoughts too, but know that today, I am glad to be alive. This is so important. I have been at the bottom, I have wondered how it would be possible to live another day, and yet today - I am glad to be alive. Suicide prevention is such an important cause. I truly believe that we all have a life worth living.
For those of you who are here for your first walk, welcome. The first Out of the Darkness walk took place in 2002, the same year that my mother died. Still, for over a decade I wasn’t willing to participate in a walk. I was ashamed of the ways that suicide had touched my life. I wanted my story to be different. I didn’t even want to say the word suicide out loud. Two years ago though, when my boyfriend died, I knew, I could no longer ignore what was happening. Ignoring suicide was no longer an option for me, and I wanted to do something to make a difference. I started a blog where I post about suicide and suicide prevention regularly, I learned more about mental illness and other risk factors, and I got involved with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Through AFSP I am an active advocate for this cause. I’ve written letters to senators, I’ve joined AFSP at the California State Capital on advocacy day. I’ve attended survivor day events, and because of these AFSP efforts, I have learned that I am never alone.
I know that when suicide has touched our life, there is often a profound sense of helplessness.
Why couldn't we have fixed whatever was wrong?
Why couldn’t we have saved someone’s life?
Or, why didn’t we see it coming?
One of the most empowering things about AFSP is that they remind us that we are not helpless. They provide education about what we can do in the fight against suicide, and they provide us with the tools we need in order to get the job done. By volunteering with AFSP, I’ve been made to feel as if my efforts truly make a difference.
I will end with this. People often ask me how I’ve made it through so many losses. Some who are new to their loss have asked me: How can you cope with such intense grief?
My answer is this: I fight stigma whenever I can, I educate myself about suicide and mental illness, and I work with organizations like AFSP to make lasting strides in the fight for prevention.
Most importantly, no matter your connection to suicide, let yourself love and be loved. Today, think about the people here who are standing beside you, Think about our combined strength, our combined commitment, and our combined courage.
Thank you so much for letting me speak to you today. As we walk today, know how grateful I am to all of you. There is no other group of people I’d rather have by my side.
It is not too late to make a donation to this year's walk. Click on the logo below in order to learn more. Thank you for supporting this important cause.
I am honored to have been asked by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
to speak at their September 21, 2019 Out Of the Darkness Walk, in San Francisco, California.
The walk is free and open to the public. While you are encouraged to register as a team or as a individual walker, all are welcome. I will be speaking at 10:00 a.m..
Event Details
Walk Date: 09/21/2019
Walk Location: Lot A at Oracle Park - San Francisco, CA
Check-in/Registration Time: 9:00 am
Walk Begins: 10:00 am
Walk Ends: 2:00 pm
Remembering and honoring those who have been lost and/or those who have attempted suicide, is always my goal when writing, speaking, and advocating on behalf of suicide prevention. On September 21, I will be proudly wearing the following beads:
If you are interested in forming a team, volunteering at the event, or making a donation, please click on the image below:
Contact Name: Emily Ladow
Contact Phone: 707-968-7563
Contact Email: OOTDSFWalk@gmail.com
Whether you form a team or not, please come out to support the walkers and the cause. I hope to see you in San Francisco on September 21, 2019!
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.
You keep it up You try so hard To keep a life from coming apart And never know What breaches and faults are concealed In the shape of a heart
Jackson Browne - In the Shape of a Heart
On May 6, 2017, I was invited to attend a memorial barbecue held at the home of a woman who'd lost her son, one year earlier, to suicide. I didn't know her, but a friend invited me along because he knew that she and I had something in common. At the barbecue, the attendees ate and talked. Many of us laughed a little. Most of us hugged, a lot. For me, the most beautiful part of the day came when each attendee was handed a white balloon. A prayer was said. A few memories were shared. And then we were invited to release our balloons in memory of the young man whose life had been cut short a year prior.
Me? I thought of this woman's beautiful son, I thought of her incomprehensible loss. But I thought of my loss too. And when it was time to release my balloon, I whispered John's name. I looked around and marveled at how releasing these balloons didn't symbolize letting go of anything, at all. Instead they symbolized all of the love that remains.
May 6, 2017 marked one year to the day that Nancy Varella Lendway lost her beloved son Vito Curreri, to suicide. On the day of the barbecue she held in his memory, her husband and her best friend stood at her side, when she released her balloon. Nancy didn't see it when it happened, but both her husband and best friend noticed that Nancy's balloon popped while in the air. They watched as it floated back down to the ground and one of them picked it up. The next day, they gave her the remnant of the balloon she'd released in memory of her son. Nancy looked at it and laid the piece of rubber flat. The remnant had fallen from the sky in a very distinct shape. Vito's balloon had floated back down to his mother, in the shape of a heart.
I want to tell you about Nancy. I want to tell you about the indescribable dichotomy of what one person looks like when they carry both the face of beauty and the face of grief.
But I cannot tell you about Nancy without first telling you about her best friend, her greatest love, and the most important person in her life. Her son, Vito.
Vito Joseph Curreri served his country honorably and with pride. For eight years, Vito was a Navy Corpsman, an enlisted medical specialist. His entire Naval career was dedicated to helping others. This is not a surprise. Nancy describes her son as a sensitive soul. From childhood on, Vito loved animals and cared about people. Those who knew him were always touched by his kindness, and Nancy knows that this is a large part of how he will always be remembered. Nancy also talks about his humor and sweetness. As sensitive as he was, he was just as often carefree and easygoing. This was the son she knew. Vito changed, Nancy says, after he did a tour in Afghanistan. When she spent time with him, she could see a new and concerning hypervigilance. Vito was suddenly exhibiting fight or flight reactions to stress. These were things she'd never seen in him before. Sometimes he would be fine, and at others he was not the Vito she knew. He was like Jekyll and Hyde, she explained. All of these symptoms are hallmarks of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, (PTSD). But it was difficult for Nancy to get her son to talk about his experiences in Afghanistan. She knows that he was exposed to profound tragedy - injuries and loss of life that would be difficult for anyone to describe. In fact, Vito was present when his own best friend lost his life. The most telling thing Vito told Nancy about these experiences spoke to the torment and impact that PTSD has on a person:
"I have seen so many things I cannot unsee."
PTSD is a significant public health crisis, and its treatment is impacted by stigma and a lack of understanding about the condition itself (even among health care professionals).
Treatment, services, and resources are inadequate. This is particularly true within the US Veteran's Administration (VA).
The stigma surrounding PTSD remains difficult to surmount. During the Vietnam era and in prior wars, suffering from PTSD was still being referred to as being 'shell shocked.' It was seen as a character defect, often attributed to a lack of courage by those who suffered from the condition. The lingering impact of these misconceptions about PTSD is difficult to overcome. Like all mental illnesses, those suffering from PTSD should not be made to feel ashamed. This type of shame often deters individuals from getting the help they need.
Even if a person suffering from PTSD does reach out for help, stigma often means that the resources needed to provide adequate services are not available. Treatment is not always considered a priority, despite the fact that severe PTSD can be life threatening.
Addressing these issues is critical. PTSD related to the recent (and ongoing) gulf wars is quickly catching up to the numbers seen in the Vietnam war. In the near future, the number of gulf war veterans who will suffer from PTSD will likely surpass those sufferers who served in Vietnam.
Vito was honorably discharged form the Navy in 2014. Two years later, he was struggling with many close relationships in his life. He had pushed Nancy away, his marriage was impacted by the strain of his PTSD, and he had other difficulties as well. To most though, he was still someone who was easy to get along with. He retained the sense of humor he was known for, and he continued to care a great deal for everyone around him. His pushing away those closest to him was particularly out of character. Nancy loved her son tremendously and she was concerned for him. But, when he told her he needed time and space from her, she agreed and stepped back. Nancy assumed that Vito was getting the help and support that he needed from the VA, and that he would contact her soon. Like many survivors of suicide loss, Nancy grapples with this now - sometimes questioning if she could have done more for him. She recognizes that she was doing her best by respecting Vito's wishes, but she says it's difficult not to look back and ask herself what she might have done differently. Ultimately, in the last months of Vito's life, Nancy operated under the assumption that Vito was going to be ok, and that soon they would be as close as they'd always been, again. "I fully expected Vito to call me and say, 'Ok Mom, I'm ready to talk,'" Nancy says. But that day never came. On May 6, 2016, after sending messages to family members telling them that he loved them, Vito ended his life. It was two days before Mother's Day. Vito Curreri was twenty nine years old, when he died.
Nancy spends a lot of time talking to other survivors of suicide loss. She is a member of a number of different online support groups, and in-person groups as well. She believes in getting support, and giving support.
Two weeks after Vito's memorial barbecue this past May, Nancy attended the San Diego Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk fundraiser for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. She is also involved with T*A*P*S, The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (of the loss of someone who has served in the military). Nancy is sometimes frustrated when people tell her they think that she should be moving through her grief more quickly. She is doing everything she can to move forward. Luckily, she has the support of experts who are well versed in grief and loss. They reassure and remind her that grief has it's own timetable.
When we sat down and spoke, she acknowledged that all survivors of suicide loss have a particular type of grief that is unique to them. The two of us share a lot in common. I was often in tears when she was sharing her experience. I understood much of what she was saying about the emotional impact of suicide on the loved ones left behind.
But, the parents of those who have died by suicide are grief stricken in a way that is hard to put into words. Every parent she knows of who has suffered this kind of loss has expressed the same thing - a deep longing for the time when they can be with their children, once again. This fact makes it no less than a miracle that these parents are surviving at all.
I do want to say this though - it is in seeing these parents take another step into another day, that I am reminded that somehow - I can find a way to do the same thing.
Nancy is not angry with her son, and she does not blame him. She recognizes the pain he was in. Vito tried to get help, Nancy explains, but he wasn't given the treatment and resources he desperately needed.
She doesn't blame others who were close to Vito, either. This includes his other family members, his friends, and his wife. Nancy says that what it comes down to is that anyone who loved Vito made his life happier when he was still alive. That is enough for her. She focuses on this truth, instead of blame. Ultimately, her feelings about others are guided by her appreciation for all of the love that Vito had in his life. Nancy is, however, very frustrated with the inadequate services that Vito received from the VA. Among other friends and family members of veterans, and veterans themselves, Nancy is not alone in this frustration.
According to the US Veterans Association Suicide Prevention Program - among all U.S. adult deaths from suicide, 18% were identified as veterans of the U.S. military. This statistic is alarming and suicide among veterans must be prioritized as the crisis that it is. In 2013, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs released a study that covered suicides from 1999 to 2010, which showed that roughly 22 veterans were dying by suicide per day. Recent studies suggest the number may be closer to 20 veterans a day, but the difference is negligible. The fact remains the same. The numbers are horrifying. Researchers have found that the risk of suicide for veterans is 21 percent higher than for civilian adults. From 2001 to 2014, the rate of suicide among veterans jumped more than 32 percent. We are not getting better at addressing this issue. In the United States, our ability to support the mental health of service members returning from combat zones, is getting worse by the year. By these numbers, just during the time that Nancy and I sat down and talked - somewhere in the United States, at least one more veteran of the US Military, died by suicide. We must do better for the men and women who enlist to serve our country. We must.
Vito Curerri in Guam, April, 2009
Any parent who has lost a child will tell you that there is never a full healing. It is a broken heart that cannot be unbroken. Really, all that parents are left with is the monumental task of turning away from the greatest sadness that there is, and finding a way to turn toward the love that will always remain for their child.
Nancy Varella Lendway depends on her memories and her heart to always keep Vito near. When she is at her most distraught, she still asks Vito help her. She says when she does this, she is often comforted by the sense that his spirit is present. She tells a story about a day soon after his death, when she began weeping, not knowing how she would make it to another day.
"Suddenly I felt his presence. I turned, and I could see him as a young child. He was just as I remembered him, and when he spoke, he reminded me that he loved me and that he would never leave me."
Twenty years ago, Vito wrote a poem for his mother. She has it still.
Mommy,
As beautiful as the wind.
So shall she follow her soul.
And when she follows her soul,
there will be love.
I can only hope that this poem is reminder to Nancy that she does have a beautiful soul, and that the love of her Vito is with her, always.
I truly believe that's true. I do.
Nancy Varella Lendway at her son Vito Curreri's gravesite, in San Diego, California.
Veterans who are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, and those who know a Veteran in crisis, can call the Veterans Crisis Line for confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Call 800-273-8255 and press 1, chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat, or text to 838255.
When I started this blog, I received a lot of feedback from people who thanked me for giving a personal voice to the many ways in which suicide touches lives. Quickly, I realized that I was not the only one with a valuable story, and I was not the only one who wanted to share their experiences around pain, grief, and most importantly, healing. So, I am happy to introduce an ongoing series on this blog. I'm excited to share the stories of others whose lives have been touched by suicide or mental illness, either peripherally, directly, or as experts in the field.
I hope that others will find the Our Voices Matter series on this blog helpful and hopeful.
This year's main speaker at the Oakley, California, Out of the Darkness Walk for suicide prevention. was an exuberant young woman named Tara Jean Robinson. Out of the Darkness is a fundraiser for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Suicide prevention is a cause that Tara Jean is passionate about, and her efforts mirror that passion.
In fact, at the event, she made sure that everyone who saw her was reminded of the National Suicide Prevention Hotline phone number. Tara Jean shaved the phone number into her hair!
1-800-273-8255
Tara Jean Robinson with the
Suicide Prevention Hotline phone number shaved into her hair.
October 14, 2017, AFSP Out of the Darkness Walk, Oakley, California
Tara Jean's hairstyle wasn't the only thing that impressed me about her. When Tara Jean tells her story in front of a crowd, she is charismatic and powerful. At twenty nine years old, her energy and attitude belie someone younger, but her experience and self reflection do not. Two weeks after the Out of The Darkness Walk, Tara Jean and I sat down to talk, and she told me her story.
Tara Jean says that her own suicidal thoughts started when she was young and were complicated when she realized she was gay. When she tried to come out to her family, her initial experiences were of not being accepted. In attempting to please them, she says, she tried to date men. She tried to change herself into who she thought they wanted her to be, but the pain and rejection she felt was overwhelming. And, she said, trying to become 'straight' didn't work. She only felt as if she were betraying herself and letting everyone down at the same time.
As a member of the LGBTQ community, Tara Jean is not alone in struggling with suicidal feelings. According to a comprehensive study done by the University of California, Santa Barbara:
High rates of suicide and distress among LGBTQ individuals are widely attributed to the adverse social conditions that LGBTQ youth frequently experience as a result of the stigma that society attaches to their identities. Gay and gender non-conforming youth are frequently met with discrimination and hostility. LGBTQ young people are at increased risk for experiences with violence, which can include behaviors such as bullying, teasing, harassment, physical assault, and suicide-related behaviors.
Suicide statistics as they relate to the LGBTQ community are no less heartbreaking.
Despite not being able to come out to her family publicly, Tara Jean shared that she did have the support of her father.
"He told me he didn't care - even if I decided I loved a tree, he'd still love me," she said.
Still, in March of 2014, at the age of twenty five, Tara Jean attempted suicide. Despite the seriousness of her attempt, it was not successful. Afterward her family asked her to keep it a secret, and they discouraged her from going to an emergency room or hospital.
Again though, it was Tara Jean's father who was the most supportive about the situation. He had been suicidal himself, he confided in her. When she and her father talked about it, they made a promise to one another that neither one of them would ever follow through with plans for suicide.
A few weeks after her father told her about his own suicidality, Tara Jean had a nightmare about his death.
When she told him about her dream and how upset she was, her father told her that he hadn't really been suicidal in the past, and that she needn't worry about that anymore.
I asked her if she believed him when he said this.
"No, I thought he was lying then, as opposed to lying when he told me about wanting to die," she explained.
Still, Tara Jean's efforts over the next year were focused on her own healing, something she says she is still working on.today. It is when she begins talking about her experience as a survivor of suicide loss that her strength and courage truly becomes evident.
A year after her own attempt, her father died by suicide.
Like many survivors of suicide loss, after her father's death, she found herself dealing with people who didn't know what to say or do to comfort her. Some people gave her unsolicited advice about what she should have done. Others who had been friends before, now avoided her.
"I didn't need anything special from my friends," Tara Jean explained. "I just needed them to be there. Even, if it were to just sit with me and not say anything. I just needed my friends to be there."
Also like many survivors of suicide loss, following her father's death, Tara Jean experienced insensitivity and blame. 'See what you started when you tried to kill yourself!' one person said to her, suggesting that Tara Jean's attempt had emboldened her father to take his own life. The fact that someone said this to her still frustrates her and causes her pain. She doesn't like the suggestion that another person can cause someone else to kill themself, and she also doesn't like the suggestion that a suicide attempt is a 'choice' that someone makes. She made up a saying in order to explain to people that depression can have a voice of its own:
It's not a choice - it's that little dark voice.
Even after her own attempt and after her father died, Tara Jean's life continued to be rocked by suicide. In August of 2016, a close friend of hers died by suicide, and in September, another. For the past few years however, she has been working to strengthen her own recovery and to help others by getting involved in suicide prevention and advocacy. Tara Jean likes to share one of the most important things she has learned as a survivor of suicide loss.
"Suicide doesn't end the pain, it just passes it along to someone else."
Tara Jean says that it is her spirituality that gives her the most solace, and it is in speaking out that she has found her strength and healing. She is tired of the stigma around mental illness and suicide. She has decided to share her story and her truth whenever and wherever she can. She says she wants to be the support for young people that she wished she'd had.
"If people try to shut me up or shut me down, I'm just going to get louder." Tara Jean says.
She is involved with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and has been helping with the Out of the Darkness walk in her hometown of Oakley, California, since the walk started there. This year, she was asked to speak at more than one event. Tara Jean says that when she was young, she was very shy and even introverted. Now though, she speaks up about her experiences as a gay woman dealing with an eating disorder and other mental illnesses, and about the ways that suicide has impacted her. In an East Bay Times article, Vanessa Perry, Chairperson of the Oakley event, explains the importance of people talking about suicide and the reason why events that allow people to do this are crucial to healing. “I get people coming up to me all the time who tell me that because of the walk they’ve been able to talk about their loss,” Perry said. “The walks help people overcome their struggles and heal by finding that it’s safe to talk about what they’ve gone through and their losses."
Tara Jean agrees. Today, she realizes that she can both heal and make a difference for others, because as a survivor of a suicide attempt and a survivor of suicide loss, she recognizes that our voices matter.
Jo Macaluso, Chelise Stroud, Tara Jean Robinson
October 14, 2017, AFSP Out of the Darkness Walk
Oakley, California
Tara Jean speaking at the Out of the Darkness Walk on October 14, 2017:
You will lose someone you can't live without, and your heart will be badly broken.
And the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved.
But this is also the good news. They live forever in your
broken heart that doesn't seal back up.
-Anne Lamott
Today was the second AFSP Out of the Darkness Walk that I've attended this year. A few weeks ago I attended an event in San Francisco, California, and served as a volunteer. Today, I attended an event in Oakley, California, and I was there as a participant. I wore red beads because I have lost a love to suicide. I wore gold beads because I lost my mother to suicide. I wore green beads because of my personal struggle with suicide. I wore teal beads because I have friends who have attempted suicide. But today, the most important beads I wore, were blue.
I support suicide awareness and I believe that one day, we will be better at preventing these tragic losses. I support suicide awareness and prevention because of John, and my mother, and myself, and my friends, and all of the other people who have lost the ones they love to suicide, and all the other people who have attempted suicide, and all the people who have lost their lives. I know that the best way for me to keep the people I love alive is to honor them, every day, by giving everything I can to this important cause. They remain forever in my heart, broken as it may be. And in the end, that is very good news.
On Sunday September 23, 2017, I volunteered at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Out of the Darkness walk, in San Francisco. Over one thousand people who'd been personally touched by suicide gathered together to honor and remember those who have been lost. Participants brought awareness to the issue of suicide. All of these efforts were concrete steps in the critically important effort to end stigma. The event was useful, hopeful, and healing.
Chelise Stroud with Heather McDowall Schaefer
September 23, 2017, San Francisco, CA
In the field of grief counseling, we often encourage those who are moving through the process of grief recovery to get into action. Action often refers to 'returning' to life. Adjusting to life without the person they've lost can be a challenge. One symptom of grief is feeling as if you no longer have a purposeful place in the world without your loved one. Getting into action by helping others can be tremendously healing. Further, offering your time and talents to causes you feel an affinity for can be particularly healing. The website 'Open To Hope' explains why volunteering for an organization whose cause you feel a personal connection to can make a difference:
'Now that you’ve found your own way through the many challenges of grief, you have a great deal to share with others who are suffering: you can identify with their struggles, empathize with their sorrows and doubts, and offer valuable information and support.'
In addition to helping the causes that need us, we also personally benefit from volunteering. United Health recently commissioned a study that showed volunteering your time to causes you care about can improve your mental well-being and your overall happiness.
'The majority of survey participants reported feeling both physically and mentally healthier after a volunteer experience. Most of the participants cited mood improvement, lower stress levels, an enriched sense of purpose and just feeling healthier as a result of volunteering.' Whether you are a survivor of suicide loss, an attempt survivor, or a person who just cares about the cause, there are many ways that you can make a difference in raising awareness and preventing suicides. Click on the box below, to learn more!
On October 14, 2017, I will also be at the Oakley California AFSP walk. This time I'm not volunteering, I am participating. I will be walking alongside a team put together by John's family.
John's sister writes:
'We walk for those who struggle every day to see the grace of God in their lives. There is nothing worse than the loss of hope. We know that suicide is a result of mental health issues - for no one who is thinking clearly would take their own precious life. I personally walk in remembrance of my brothers David and John Macaluso whose struggles were beyond our understanding. Not a day goes by that we wish this was not our story - but we walk because we cannot imagine the struggles that they faced - and for the countless others that face mental health issues every day. We walk to raise awareness - you never know someone's back story and all that they endure. We walk to end the stigma of suicide. We would love for anyone interested to donate in support of this cause.'
If you would like to support The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, please consider making a donation to our team by clicking on the link below:
Sources:
Open to Hope; Healing Greif Through the Gift of Volunteering; http://www.opentohope.com/healing-grief-through-the-gift-of-volunteering/
Vitas.com; Volunteering is the Best Medicine for Grief; https://www.vitas.com/resources/volunteers/volunteering-the-best-medicine-for-grief
UnitedHealthGroup.com; Health and Volunteering Study; http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/~/media/UHG/PDF/2013/UNH-Health-Volunteering-Study.ashx
National Service Government Website: http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/07_0506_hbr.pdf
