People’s rally: Those attending Team of Mercy’s Stand Against #Suicide event Tuesday toted signs offering encouragement to 12 Points motorists.
It was an evening for transforming anguish into hope: Team of Mercy’s Stand Against #Suicide event Tuesday night at Grace Community Church in 12 Points sought to elevate awareness of the scourge of #mentalillness and #suicide and offer encouragement to the passing motorists.
“In our world today, people’s #mental and emotional health is so stressed, and we want people to know that they don’t have to be alone, there are better alternatives to #suicide and we can provide that,” said Mike Pringle, pastor of the church. “We’re here wanting to provide help.”
Christina Crist, executive director of Team of Mercy, said, “Our Stand Against #Suicide events are to bring the community together, to talk about a hard topic and bring awareness to #suicide and to spread love. Most of our signs have a loving message to just get drivers’ attentions. Every time that we’ve had our event — this is the fourth one — we usually get one to three calls that somebody in fact actually had a plan and one of our signs caught their attention.”
Most of the signs at the rally included the #suicide hotline’s phone number (800-273-8255) and recommended those in need texting “HELP” to 741741. Some placards read “You Matter,” “You are not alone” and “#Suicide Sucks.”
#Suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the #UnitedStates, causing 130 deaths every day. In 2020, there were over a million estimated suicide attempts. Team of Mercy reported on its #Facebook page that there have been six suicides in the Wabash Valley this past week.
#Suicide remains difficult for many to address because a persisting #stigma envelopes the very subject, Crist said. “We at Team of Mercy believe that people find it difficult because there is so much that is unknown about #suicide and that’s what makes people scared. When you don’t know about something, you tend to pretend that it doesn’t exist because if we don’t look at it, then it’s not there. But unfortunately, that is helping kill people.”
She added, “We need to make #mentalhealth conversations as normal as anything else.”
Many participating had lost loved ones to #suicide or even struggled with #suicideideation themselves. Pat Moore carried a sign reading “I Miss Him” in honor of her father, who took his life with a gun.
“It’s something you never get over,” she said. “You wonder why and the questions go unanswered, but you have to find peace. My mother was home when it happened and she was getting ready to cook dinner. He had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and he hadn’t been himself because they put him on all kinds of medication. My mother finally came to terms and forgave him for what he did.”
Moore found peace for herself through prayer and talking to family members. “I just think of the good things” about her father, she said. “One thing I can’t get out of my mind is when I drove up there after I got the phone call, the sound of a helicopter. I keep remembering that sound, but he had signed a do-not-resuscitate order so we had to let him go.”
Kristy Kingsbury recently moved to Terre Haute but has already attended several Team of Mercy events. She has lost several friends and family members to #suicide.
“Death is one of those things where you get used to it and you start living every day, but you never get over it,” she said. “You miss them every day.”
In participating in Team of Mercy activities, Kingsbury finds solace. “By doing these events, it really helps,” she said. “Communicating with other people and just understanding that it’s OK not to be OK.”
#James Donaldson notes: Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes. Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use. Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.#http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle
Order your copy of James Donaldson’s latest book, #CelebratingYourGiftofLife: From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy
Mark Baker, who has quickly become a 12 Points mainstay, was there with his wife, Tiffany, and their children. As his 4-year-old daughter rummaged through the available signs, he noted with a chuckle, “This one can’t pick a sign — she’s changed her mind about 15 times already.”
Baker himself is a #suicide survivor, having lost his father in 2018 to a self-inflicted bullet wound.
“It was a shock,” he recalled. “We found out when we were living in Japan, and we had 48 hours of travel time to try to process it. It was the first time I realized that everybody who’s traveling through an airport is not traveling for business or for pleasure, some people are actually experiencing the worst day of their life and that happened to be us at that given time.
“I had 20 hours of flights to sit and reflect on it and what I was going through,” he continued. “Hitting the ground in Terre Haute, I got slapped in the face with it when you see the reality of it.”
He added, “Luckily, we have an organization like Team of Mercy here that has the resources and can help you get through something like that.”
Leah Myers was there representing #MentalHealth America of West Central Indiana, where she serves as director of education. #Mentalillness runs in her family, she said, “So it’s important to me. I want to make sure that anybody who needs help can get it.”
Myers said this event was just another invaluable service Team of Mercy was providing (the organization also offers #grief counseling and biohazard cleanup resources).
“When people are driving by and they see the signs and how much everyone cares, Team of Mercy is helping to save lives with this event,” she said. “I think we need more of this, just standing on a corner holding up a sign saying we care about you — we want you to be here. These events really do make a difference. They really matter.”
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James Donaldson is a Washington State University graduate (’79). After an outstanding basketball career with WSU, he went on to play professional basketball in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics, San Diego/L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz. He also played for several teams in the European Leagues in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and he toured with The Harlem Globetrotters to wrap up his career. James was an NBA All-Star in 1988 while playing center for the Dallas Mavericks. In 2006, James was inducted into the Pac-10 Sports Hall of Fame and also the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2010, James was elected as a board member for the NBA Retired Players Association.
James frequently conducts speaking engagements (motivational, inspirational, educational) for organizations, schools, and youth groups.
In 2010, James was the recipient of the NBA Legends of Basketball ABC Award, awarded for outstanding contributions in Athletics–Business–Community.
He believes in being a role model for success and professionalism to the scores of young people to whom he devotes so much of his time. He currently serves on several boards and committees and is a member of many organizations.
James believes in developing relationships that create a “Win-Win” environment for everyone involved, and in being the best he can be!
For more information about James Donaldson or to request he speak at your event, contact him at:
James Donaldson is the author of “Standing Above The Crowd” and “Celebrating Your Gift of Life” and founder of the Your Gift of Life Foundation which focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, especially pertaining to our school aged children and men.
If you’re interested in having James come and speak to your group of young adults, business entrepreneurs, aspiring political and community leaders, and athletic teams, please contact him at jamesd@yourgiftoflife.org and or leave a personal message for him at 1-800-745-3161. Keep up with him and read about how he is reaching out and making a difference in the lives of so many around the world at www.yourgiftoflife.org
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