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The Lens of Loss: Perspectives of Family Members Following Suicide Loss
When we think about the suicide of a loved one, we think of profound loss, of grief, of finding a way to endure amid unyielding pain. But we gain something in the aftermath, one nearly as burdensome. It is a new perspective: Loss becomes a lens through which life is lived. And it can be difficult...
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Families and Suicide: How to Engage Your Child in Conversation
As parents, we must balance our feelings of anxiety and uncertainty, on top of our own emotions with those of our children. There are many aspects to the relationship between suicide and families, especially having conversations to find out if children are thinking about suicide. Many parents are...
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You Don’t Have to Do this Alone: 988 Lifeline Offers Support for Loved Ones Concerned About Suicide
At a recent fund-raising event I attended for St. Vincent’s, CNN correspondent Randi Kaye was honored for her efforts to promote suicide prevention. In her acceptance remarks, she spoke about her family’s shock, disbelief and unanswered questions when her father died by suicide. She...
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The Silent Battlefront of Veteran Suicide and the Measures Being Taken to Help Them
On Friday, May 30th, 2014, I woke up to one of the most devastating phone calls I’ve ever received. My best friend for almost a decade, Joshua Drury, who was in his mid-thirties at the time, had taken his life. Joshua had served many years in the U.S. Army prior to our meeting. While he told us...
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Family Mental Health: How Your Organization Programs and Services Are Helping
For over 50 years, Vibrant Emotional Health (formerly known as The Mental Health Association of NYC) has been fulfilling its mission to help people achieve mental and emotional well-being with dignity and respect. The work of the organization has branched into comprehensive direct service programs...
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How Mental Health Stigma Drives Suicide Risk
The inter-relationship between suicide risk, mental illness, and stigma against mental illness is multi-faceted and strong. Both mental illness and suicide are highly stigmatized. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) identifies mental illness as a significant risk factor for...
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To End the Drug Crisis, Bring Addiction Out of the Shadows
When I was six years old, as I was having dinner with my mother and three sisters, my mother received a telegram. She broke down crying as she read it. Her father - my grandfather - had died. In her grief, she locked herself in her room and would not let me console her. The memory of my inability...
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Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra Kicks Off National Tour to Strengthen Mental Health
Following President Joe Biden's State of the Union Address on Tuesday, February 2, 2022, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra kicked off the National Tour to Strengthen Mental Health in an effort to hear directly from Americans across the country about the behavioral health...
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Suicide Prevention is Everyone’s Business
September 10th of each year is World Suicide Prevention Day and that concurrent week is Suicide Prevention Week in the US. WellLife Network (WLN) routinely provides and offers community awareness and trainings for NYC and Long Island Communities. We would like to ask all agencies in NYC to...
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988 Suicide Lifeline Expected in July 2022 Thanks to SAMHSA Grant
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced Vibrant Emotional Health (Vibrant) will be the administrators of the new 988 dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline). A pair of the agency’s grants, totaling $48 million and...
