AFSP Virginia First Policy Day 2018

AFSP 2018 Rally Day Participants fighting for suicide prevention bills

We got our feet wet today at the General Assembly in support of American Foundation of Suicide Prevention. Haley Thompson worked like a dog to get everything set up. Abolishing the law that says suicide is a crime was defeated early in the session unfortunately. I’d really like to see this one passed.

We are supporting and want it to be mandatory that all school personnel trained in suicide prevention. Teachers spend more time with our children than most people. I know that it was a teacher that pointed out that Charles might be suffering from depression.  It is mandatory that school counselors be trained already.

Heard everyone’s stories of what inspired them to support suicide prevention. Very moving.

Here are some pictures from the day.

Visiting with my delegate, Betsy Carr and Conner Kish. She had a bill for the cause that I hope to help with so we can get it through next year
Anne Moss and Del Kay Korey who sponsored the bill to abolish the law that says “suicide is a crime.” It failed but we are not giving up

My first suicide prevention workshop at NIMH

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AnneMoss Rogers

AnneMoss Rogers is a mental health speaker and suicide education trainer and consultant. She is author of the Book, Diary of a Broken Mind and co-author of Emotionally Naked: A Teacher's Guide to Preventing Suicide and Recognizing Students at Risk with Kim O'Brien PhD, LICSW. She raised two boys, and lost her younger son, Charles, to addiction and suicide on June 5, 2015. She combines lessons learned from her experience with proven strategies to help organizations build a wellness culture that drives results and saves lives. She speaks at conferences as a keynote, at workplaces,and at K-12 schools and universities.

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