We interviewed four people from the Samaritans community about how Samaritans has impacted them, and why they support the Every Conversation Counts campaign.
Apratim, Samaritans Board Member: I consider myself a very lucky dad, or parent, of a daughter who survived three very serious suicide attempts that required hospitalization, and then luckier even that she actually got back to a very normal life after 12 months of intense hospitalization.
It was challenging, to be honest, very challenging, and that fear never goes away from your heart, but we have somehow figured out how to live with it, how to take each day at a time and celebrate every moment with her.
Jeanine, Samaritans Volunteer: My mom died by suicide in January of 1986. I was a senior in high school. I was 17 years old, and it really came out of the blue. She had a huge network of friends and family who cared about her and loved to have fun with her and were there to support her.
But for some reason on that day that she died, I think she felt that she was in pain and didn’t know where else to turn. It’s really a shame because she was such a strong and funny and amazing person who motivated my sister and I to always do our best and think for ourselves.
Alex, Two-Time Suicide Loss Survivor: You know, you’re holding a glass ball. That’s your life. Everything you think you are is that glass ball, and when you lose somebody to suicide, picture that ball shattering.
How do I live in a world without my brothers? I just wish that they could see everything that I’ve been able to accomplish.
Paula, Suicide Attempt Survivor: I never really shared my attempt. I didn’t share that part
of me often with others or like my loved ones, and then I did have a loved one that attempted suicide.
So yeah, it stayed with me thinking like, oh, maybe if I shared a little bit more about me, would it open space to have dialogue and have conversation? I’ve come full circle into this journey that I’m in a comfortable space to do that in hoping that my story, my experience, can create some comfortability by being vulnerable myself.
Apratim: The importance of supporting Samaritans cannot be overstated. As an organization taking thousands of phone calls a month at the other end of a phone call, there’s a potential life in danger.
Jeanine: What if my mom had known about such a resource and called and could that have made a difference?
To be there for others in their time of need? You can’t really do more important work than that.
Paula: It’s helpful for people to realize that every conversation does matter. Conversations are powerful. They’re important.
Alex: Through hearing stories of people who were further out in their grief journey than I was, I was able to realize that there was hope and that I wasn’t going to be stuck in this whirlwind of emotion forever.
Apratim: Being involved with Samaritans has changed my life, and it’s one of the very rewarding experiences in my life. So it’s not about actually what you give, it’s also what you get.
Alex: Without Samaritans, I would’ve been lost in grief. It was really through SafePlace and attending those meetings that I was able to start processing my grief and really moving through it.
There are nuances to being LGBTQ+ that can be scary. The LGBTQ+ SafePlace meeting takes away that barrier so people really can share their authentic experiences. Becoming a facilitator, it was my way of giving back to Samaritans for how much SafePlace has given me.
Paula: We all have a role to play, that we can play, in supporting someone that might be having suicidal thoughts.
Jeanine: This work matters and has the power and possibility to save a life.
