I'm off to D.C. tomorrow for the annual American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's advocacy event -- per FB post:
"Tomorrow more than 200 AFSP volunteer-Field Advocates from across the country will be heading to Washington D.C. for our annual Advocacy Forum. On Thursday, they will be going to Capitol Hill to meet with their members of Congress to urge more support for suicide prevention and mental health care."
I feel as if I should have something profound to say in advance of this trip. But I have only a few observations to offer:
We're staying and working in the same hotel in which our young family stayed on two trips to Washington when the kids were small. Not so easy.
I called the local county-seat-city newspaper for Small Church Village and environs yesterday to suggest a story. Pastor-Goes-to-Congress sort of thing. No response. I think the topic is too scary. I don't have a lot of patience for that kind of apprehension, you know? I'm going to write my own article for the community-produced newspaper in my home town, which is an edgier kind of place, and send it to county-seat paper. We'll see.
Last month I went to a suicide prevention workshop for clergy and mental health professionals. As far as I know, I was the only suicide survivor in the room of about one hundred people. The tenor was quite different from what I've experienced in the presence of survivors. I'm realizing that we've become pretty fierce people. We are way beyond "let's help people and do good."
I'm not taking my computer, so look for me on FB and Twitter. Being fierce.
Prayers that you will be truly heard for you have so much wisdom to share. God bless.
ReplyDeleteRobin, I will submit the article to our diocesan newsletter. The editor wants to publish the homily I preached for the funeral of a person who died of suicide. I gave the editor a link to this blog. He may be creating a resource for us? Anyway, when you write it, if you email it to me I will send it on to him. As I suffer with the pain of yet another Facebook friend whose son died of suicide last Friday, on his final day of high school, I am grateful ever more for the work you are doing.
ReplyDeleteTerri, I'm so sorry. Turns out the editor of the paper IS interested in an article. I spoke too soon. But I'm still going to write one for the community-written paper.
Delete"We are way beyond "let's help people and do good."
ReplyDeleteI can well imagine that survivors cut a quick path through rhetoric and fluff. Good. What's the point of beating around the bush? Especially after reading the last comment about the son's death on his final day of high school. It is a fierce fight.