Send them an angel: IMAlive & Suicide Prevention

Posted by Liz on Sep 10, 2013 in Uncategorized | 3 comments

Did you know that suicide is the third leading cause of death among American teens? Or, that the vast majority of these young people who think about suicide or make actual suicide attempts have underlying mental disorders?

Pretty shocking, isn’t it?

I would like to take a distinctly different path on Flashfree this week and share a story with you, a story about a young man with a promising future and a unique vision who didn’t see what others saw in him. This past July, this beautiful, vibrant 17-year-old took his life, and with it, an unrealized life path that would have definitely turned out very differently than the pathway that his despair showed him. I know his parents, I heard firsthand, the anguish in his mother’s voice, and I witnessed the outpouring of love that would have been his for the taking. I wish he had known.

Teen suicide is alive and real. And unless we take action to start helping our teens, we will likely lose a huge piece of our and their future.

Yesterday was World Suicide Prevention Day. However, the entire week marks National Suicide Prevention Week, comprising efforts to raise global awareness of the warning signs of suicide and help promote help for those who need it most. In honour of this week, and most importantly, of teens like my friend Jacob Weiskopf (who, because of an underlying depression, may be unaware of the choices that they can make to get their lives back on track), I am raising money for the Kristin Brooks Hope Center. This money that will go toward making the IMAlive online help line a 24-hour/7 days a week reality for teens and adults who are likewise, considering a path of no return. And, I am asking you to join me and some of my friends on Team Jacob and make the 24-hour window a reality. A little – $10, $20 – can go a long way toward our goal of $10,000.

One life is huge. How about it? Can we send Jacob and others an angel?