The History of Survivors of Suicide Loss Day
In 1999, Senator Harry Reid, who lost his father to suicide, introduced a resolution to the United States Senate which led to the creation of International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day. Also known as Survivor Day, the day was designated by the United States Congress as a day on which those affected by suicide can join together for healing and support. It was determined that Survivor Day would always fall on the Saturday before American Thanksgiving, as the holidays are often a difficult time for suicide loss survivors.
Our Event
Parkwest Medical Center, Peninsula, and the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network are hosting the first-ever local Survivors of Suicide Loss Day for the Knoxville-area.
Join us in our observance of Survivors of Suicide Loss Day, a day set aside for providing healing and support to those who have lost someone to suicide.
Speakers include:
- Jamie Tworkowski, Founder of To Write Love On Her Arms. To Write Love on Her Arms is a nonprofit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. Jamie didn’t set out to start a nonprofit organization. All he wanted to do was help a friend and tell her story. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and invest directly into treatment and recovery.
- Nancy McGlasson lost her eldest son Lee to mental illness and suicide in 1998, and began to gather pieces of memories that very week for her project. Years later she retired early from UTK where she was Director of Undergraduate Admissions so she could write a creative nonfiction book about Lee entitled Flying Kites at Night, and is currently seeking a publisher. She volunteers with TSPN , serves as a co-facilitator for the Knoxville Suicide Grievers Support Group, helps plan AFSP’s local Out of Darkness Walk, and is a judge for the Paul Quinnett Lived Experience Essay contest for AAS. Her work with suicide awareness is always guided by the advice her younger son Luke gave her about her book: “Tell the truth, Mom, even when we look bad. That’s the only way we can help.”
- Christinea Beane, creator of Makes Cents Jewelry. Every piece of jewelry she makes includes three elements: a guitar string to represent how we use music to express ourselves, whether through creating or listening; gears to represent psychology and looking beneath the surface in order to understand; and a penny to represent one’s story, the unique path one has traveled. One piece of jewelry may be similar to another, but no two pieces are exactly alike.
Event will be emceed by Opie Joe from Q100.3.
The Date
Everyone is invited to join us on Saturday, November 23, 2019, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. for this free community event.
Who Should Attend Survivor’s Day
This celebration is intended for anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide.
Location
The classrooms at Parkwest Medical Center, 9352 Park West Boulevard, Knoxville, Tennessee. Please enter outside the new entrance marked “Surgery Entrance.”
How to Register
To register for Survivors of Suicide Loss Day you can call (865) 374-7275 or complete our online registration here.