Hello everyone, and welcome to a celebration of life and living. Our resilience is what keeps us strong and helps hold each other up in times of need. The celebration of International Suicide Survivors Day is on Sat, Nov. 18th, 2023. I would like to express my excitement and show my gratitude for all of the people involved in this special day.
International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day
"International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day is an event in which survivors of suicide loss come together to find connection, understanding, and hope through their shared experience. This year, International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day is Saturday, November 18, 2023. You can find a current list of registrations here. If you have questions please contact your local AFSP chapter or email survivorday@afsp.org." (Click here for more information.)
Learning How to Tell Your Story: (NSSB at MVMC)
The NO Stigma Speakers Bureau
There are many ways to get involved in telling your story to others. The No Stigma Speakers Bureau is a great place to start. NSSB is a session at the My Voice Media Center Project, located in the Arts Consortium. It is part of our project, the My Voice Media Center, and is a mental health outreach for adults with a lived experience in mental health. We are an outreach to all of Tulare County.
Corine at the Sunrise Rotary Club in Visalia, CA; July. 2023
Sheila at the Sunrise Rotary Club in Tulare, CA; Oct. 2023
Sheila at a Recovery Home in Visalia, CA; July. 2023
Many of our participants think about joining the NSSB, some sometimes it takes time. We have many success stories about participants who didn't talk much, would only join one session, or had a hard time getting to our sessions, but once they began writing about their story having the help of our Peer Support Specialist as our NSSB facilitator and building the confidence to speak, their stories have touched many!
The stories that NSSB tells are practiced, rehearsed, and provided to the public for educational purposes. We want your stories to be told, your voice to be heard, and to hear about how you were successful using the path of wellness and recovery. This first-hand knowledge can be a great influence and tool in getting the word out there about mental health and the resources, like My Voice Media Center, that work.
Just like "Healing Conversations" that people have prepared as presentations, the NSSB works to be a voice in the community and to those in positions like the police, fire, emergency, nursing, and recovery homes, for instance.
You can contact Olivia or Hope for more information on how the No Stigma Speakers Bureau can come to your organization and share their success stories with you!
Olivia: myvoicemediacenter@gmail.com
Hope: mvmc@artsconsortium.org
Works Cited:
American Foundation For Suicide Prevention; International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day, Nov. 18th, 2023;