By Gwen Mousin | Project Manager
We would like to provide you with an update on activities related to our efforts to reduce suicide in New England. Your generous donations have helped us promote mental health and emotional resilience in Vermont and throughout New England through public education, promotion of prevention policies, and training opportunities to a wide cross section of individuals, schools, and communities.
Our objectives are to equip youth and adult gatekeepers with the knowledge and skills necessary for responding effectively to signs of distress, and to intervene early with those who are showing warning signs of mental health issues or suicide. We encourage strategies for promoting mental health wellness which includes healthy coping mechanisms among both youth and adults.
In the past year, we have trained 760 individuals in the areas of mental health promotion and suicide awareness and prevention. Our audiences have included:
Some testimonials from these trainings include:
We will continue to reach out to individuals and organizations throughout the region.
"No One Has To Walk Alone" Fundraiser - In our last report, we told you about Betsy LeBlanc who was about to embark on a month-long 272 mile hike of the Vermont Long Trail, one of our country's most beautiful and challenging long distance trails, in support of the Umatter - Suicide Prevention in New England project. From her own struggles with mental illness and suicide, she wanted to foster an open and inclusive conversation about suicide and depression with the hope of creating a culture where no one who struggles with these issues has to walk alone. We are happy to report that Betsy successfully completed her hike and raised a total of $6,325! Follow Betsy's journey at her Facebook page at the link below.
There is still an opportunity to support Betsy's efforts at the project below. We thank Betsy for her efforts! And thank you to all of her donors!
Your support of our work will allow us to to continue our efforts in reducing the level of suicide in our communities.
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
