Suicide Prevention

If your loved one dies while serving in the United States Military, whether they are killed in action or by accident, you will receive a letter of condolence from the President.  Presidents have been doing this since Abraham Lincoln.  If your loved one serves in the military and kills themselves , however, you will get many of the same things that other families get, but you will not receive a letter from the Commander in Chief.  That has been true at least since the Clinton administration. There is a push on from some military suicide survivors to change that policy .  They argue that ... Read Full Story

I got a call from a friend tonight that I hadnt seen in a couple of years. He reminded me of a long ago conversation. We had talked about life and love, and deciding not to die today. We had talked about hope and courage. I told him “every life matters.” He lives. But I remember a time when things were at there worst that many of his friends were close to giving up. IT IS NEVER TOO LATE. Is there someone that needs a call from you? Someone once told me that everyone needs someone to be their 3 am phone call. Reach ... Read Full Story

I’m going to let Amy tell you her story in her own words, but before I do I just wanted to preface this remarkable lady’s account with a comment. I met Amy Kiel on Twitter and was immediately taken in by her sparkle, her compassion for others, her terrific sense of humor and her absolute dedication to helping others who, like her, are struggling on a dark path of depression, pain and suicidal thoughts. Read Full Story

In honor of national suicide prevention month I will be re-posting a couple of older posts from this blog as well as from “16 minutes” ( http://everysixteenminutessomeonedies.blogspot.com ). Remember no one has to die. I have a close friend who almost died. She used to describe for me what a day was like when you were suicidal. She said it was like a prison, but she could never leave. Everywhere she went it came too. It was like a thousand voices telling you to do something you really didn’t want to do and when you looked to see who was talking to you all ... Read Full Story

I only met her once. She was in a support group with her 19 year old daughter. When her daughter started talking about her last suicide attempt I looked at her mom’s face. She seemed fresh-cut and I knew in listening she was at that day again. Her daughter talked quietly. In pale tones she described the day she jumped off a bridge. She had broken many of the bones in her body and she described the pain, but I thought the pain in her heart might have been worse. Her mom cried without sound. She talked about her husband. He didnt believe in ... Read Full Story