In mid-October, I had the pleasure of presenting at the New York State School Boards Association with Joanne Harpel on the topic “Teens, Technology, and Suicide: Understanding Causes, Effects, and ‘Bullycide.'” In the coming year, we will be working to bring this presentation to school districts throughout the tri-state region and beyond.

After fifteen years with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Joanne has created her own non-profit organization, Rethink The Conversation, to assist organizations, schools, and families address “issues of serious concern that have been tinged by stigma, misinformation, and indifference, bringing them to the frontlines of social consciousness and activism.”

As a non-profit organization, Rethink The Conversation is eligible to receive charitable donations. Please consider clicking on the following link and making a donation to help support this important work. The text of the holiday appeal is set out below.

Donate to Rethink the Conversation

Rethinking Holiday Giving This Year: A note from President and CEO Joanne Harpel

As the holiday season is upon us and 2015 is drawing to a close, it feels like the perfect time to share some news and ask that you please consider including Rethink The Conversation in your year-end charitable giving (the link’s below). Here’s just some of what we’re working on:

The “Bullycide” Myth – debunking the dangerously oversimplified media narrative connecting bullying and suicide, this program was developed in partnership with Frederick Lane, a world-renowned expert in cybersafety, was featured by the New York State School Boards Association at their 2015 Annual Conference, and will now be rolled out nationwide.

What Do I Do When . . .? What Every Rabbi Needs to Know About Mental Illness – a clergy education initiative created in collaboration with Sinai & Synapses, an organization that explores topics from scientific and religious perspectives, founded by Rabbi Geoffrey A. Mitelman and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Talking OutLOUD: Teens and Suicide Loss – a documentary designed to fill a critical gap in the support available to grieving teenagers, through the familiar, anonymous, and safe medium of film. Directed by Rethink’s Chief Creative Consultant Geoffrey Cantor, this will be our first major media project.

Care for the Caregiver™ – a series of experiential retreats exploring the impact of personal loss on clinicians, which will first be offered at the National Center for Death Education. Co-creators include Jack Jordan, PhD, and Franklin Cook, MA, CPC, chairs of SAMHSA’s Survivors of Suicide Loss Task Force.

You can help Rethink The Conversation achieve its mission of raising awareness about issues that have been tinged by stigma, misinformation, lack of attention, or indifference. My own longstanding passion for this work is in loving memory of my brother, Stephen, who took his own life just a month shy of his 27th birthday — please consider a gift of $127, $270, $527, $1027, $2700 (or more, of course). You can donate online at www.paypal.me/rethinktheconvo. If you’d rather donate by check, just make it payable to “Rethink The Conversation” and send it to 45 W. 54th Street, Suite 3C, New York, NY 10019.

With so much gratitude, and all best wishes for a peaceful new year,

Joanne

p.s. If you don’t already, please like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RethinkTheConversation/ … and follow us on Twitter at @rethinktheconvo.