In-person: Zero Suicide Initiative Town Hall meeting, Beaver County, Pennsylvania

Audience: ~200 community and coalition members, suicide loss survivors, clinicians, first responders, education leaders, and instructors

Keynote Topic

Turning Pain into Purpose Description: TEDx and emotionally naked storyteller, Anne Moss Rogers, has built a following on the tabooist of subjects—suicide, and the mental illness and addiction that often trigger it. After trying to find help for her once joyful son and rap artist, including wilderness therapy and therapeutic boarding school, Charles met heroin, a love/hate relationship that ended with his suicide on June 5, 2015. This presentation is about her journey to healing by dragging an unpopular topic into the spotlight, how giving back has helped her heal, and how a blog community that came together in their shared pain has saved lives in the most surprising and unconventional of ways.

Takeaways:

• One mom’s unconventional way to save lives
• Turning grief into action to find a path to healing
• What to say or do when someone is struggling
• How everyday people can prevent suicide

Themes include mental illness, SUD/substance misuse, crisis resources, safety planning, hope, and healing. Anne Moss follows safe messaging reporting guidelines on suicide.