Putting the Pieces Together
This past summer has been exciting, energizing, encouraging, and sometimes exhausting. We are ready to head into cooler weather and to hear the crunch of leaves under our feet! Here’s some of what we’ll be doing to stay busy as we head towards winter.
We are happy to report that the CyberStrong Mesa County Youth Vision magazine and film PSA project is complete! Please stay tuned to the CyberStrong Mesa County website so you won’t miss the launch. It was such a pleasure to work with youth who have strong hearts for resilience education and peer encouragement.
Collaborating with other organizations and individuals who support Colorado West Pride was inspiring! We had a blast tabling with West Slope Youth Voice, Positive Women’s Network, and the Western Colorado Writer’s Forum and attending the 3rd Annual Slamming Bricks poetry competition.
And HEY did you see Governor Polis’ shout out to our local youth?!?! On Saturday during Pride Fest, Gov. Polis posted: “a total of 169 new laws that were passed during Colorado’s 2021 legislative session took effect, addressing a wide variety of issues in our state, from preventing discrimination to laws surrounding climate change, public safety, and housing cost in Colorado. Here are some of the most notable laws championed by my administration:” It has been such a pleasure to work closely with our local youth who designed HB21-1119. Woohoo West Slope Youth Voice!!!
LOSSteam and Pathways training and the continuing interest among our community members along the Western Slope shows that suicide loss services are essential. We gathered survivorship and socioeconomic data from LOSSteam participants (below) to gauge who is most interested in taking these services to the community. Adjusting accordingly, we provided a follow up planning session on Sept 10th.
Here are a few of the pertinent outcomes from LOSSteam training. It is encouraging that so many existing providers in our community want to continue their work and also so many who want to start new projects.
Brandy Lidbeck began working with LOSSteam and Pathways graduates to help us envision and design what a sustainable suicide loss response system could look like in Mesa County and along the Western Slope. We are fortunate to the have received funding from the Colorado National Collaborative, through St. Mary’s Foundation, and the Western Colorado Community Foundation for funding these first steps to wider collaboration among existing and new postvention partners.
As a result of Brandy’s focus groups we were able to drill down into the immediate needs of Mesa County and the wider western slope. A couple of great new peer support groups are on the horizon. These will be led by Janice Curtis, past Postvention Alliance board member and founder of Mind Springs Peer Support program. Both groups will be assisted by others who completed LOSSteam and Pathways training during the summer. Another peer support program led by Shannon Robinson will launch soon.
Friends for Survival
Marilyn Koenig and Susan Reynolds provided a wonderful 4 week organizing training for Mesa County.
These folks run a charitable, national non-profit bereavement outreach organization available to those who are grieving a suicide death of family or friends. They also assist professionals who work with those who are grieving a suicide tragedy. Friends For Survival, organized by and for survivors, has been offering suicide bereavement support services since 1983. All staff and volunteers have been directly impacted by a suicide death.
Our follow up focus group has decided upon resource material specifics and, with generous support from Rocky Mountain Health Foundation, we have designed a loss services navigator website and Mesa County versions of Pathways loss support pamphlets are already on order. These will go to print next week and will be shipped out for distribution before Survivor Day! Please sign up for the newsletter so you’ll know when the website and pamphlets are available. Pamphlet preview is available by clicking on the linked words: When Someone You Love Dies of Suicide which covers practical matters, and Grief After Suicide which covers some common experiences of this grief.
Between now and International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day on November 20th, lots of like-minded locals will have gathered (and will gather) to work on building family and youth efforts. Please join in with any or all of the events listed below.
What?! There’s down time in postvention work?
Yes, because our work is difficult and we need to take time to just relax and be together.
Nov 11-12. Please consider joining St. Matthew’s in the FIRST EVER Sources of Strength Community training on the Western Slope! CLICK HERE to sign up or get more info.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2021
This year’s Survivor Day event will be extra special. On Nov 20th, we’ll begin with arranging a memory table, hearing a convocation, and sharing refreshments.
Just after the convocation, the Stronger Together 3k benefit walk for HopeWest Kids & Grief Camp will begin! The City of Grand Junction has graciously provided the Tranquillo Shelter and the path around the Butterfly Pond for the event at the east end of Las Colonias Park.
REGISTER HERE
Butterflies symbolize grief transformation. A butterfly is often seen as a symbol of the release of the pain of grief. May you see symbolism in the release as letting go of the past and embracing a future in which your special person is remembered and honored.
3K sponsors below
Postvention work is palliative in nature. We believe in comfort, education, and recuperation is necessary to process to navigate our new realities after tragedy. Thank you for visiting our news feed!