Blog Archives by Date Blog
April is the month with the highest suicide and suicide attempt rate out of the entire year. Read on from an annonymous Heartland employee's blog about their hindsight and experience in the matter, and how to tell if someone is at high risk of taking their life.
"Cuts don't heal wounds." That was my recovery mantra, the phrase I coined for myself. I wrote it everywhere. It was on my mirror, my notebooks, random sheets of paper, sticky notes, my wall... everywhere I might look during a moment of struggle. Cuts don't heal wounds. A reminder that the superficial infliction on my skin, over and over again, would never heal the wounds of trauma that sat much deeper than my blade could reach. While my cuts expressed on my body what my words failed to relay, it did nothing towards my healing and recovery. Instead I dug deeper into a place of pain and despair, which at the time, felt inescapable. Today, almost fifteen years post suicide attempt, without a single cut since, I still so vividly remember.
In the last ten[+] years, Heartland for Children has established strong community partnerships and effective programs that have positively impacted our tri-county area. Under their leadership, child abuse has decreased. This change has been a result of strong commitment to prevention and evidence based programs. Additionally, their focus on trauma focused care has made a tremendous impact on children and families that have experienced abuse, neglect, and out of home placements. Heartland for Children is the model of community based care for our state.
As a social worker who was involved in the transition to this model of care in our state, I fully support and endorse their continued work and leadership in Hardee, Highlands and Polk counties.
Mary Jo Plews - Former Executive Director, Healthy Start Coalition