In honor of Suicide Prevention month, volunteers circled around the Now’s The Time (NTTP) microphone with Melissa & Tara to discuss their personal perspectives & tell stories of why this cause is near to their hearts.  

Melissa kicks off recounting a collaborate blog piece recently posted to the Now’s The Time’s Blog by Jennie Hughes: Teen Team No Stigma Finalizes 2024 AFSP Campaign

It features Teen Team No Stigma & Team No Stigma.  No Stigma was founded by one of the two featured guests: Lisa Miller.  

The other guest, Wynn Hayes, holds an impressive work history & has a deep giving well of volunteerism living within her. Wynn courageously comes to the table with a keen sense for synchronicities; “funny” observations that she has made in the past year or more regarding her family’s story of trans-generational history with suicide. Wynn begins the most truthful tale she can piece together about the loss of her grandmother as a result of it.

Unfortunately, the trauma inheritance of suicide strikes Wynn with a double whammy being that Wynn lost not only her paternal grandmother to suicide but also an opportunity of ever knowing her; particularly attention worthy as her grandmother’s death preceded Wynn’s birth & is her namesake.  

Become inspired by Wynn’s ability to reframe the hard parts of such inheritance & re-route it into a constructive action step: volunteering. Count on Wynn to find the beauty even on the darkest of topics. 

Listen closely as she weaves threads of familial history together with fundamental information about the co-founder of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Mariette Hartley. For more on Mariette check out the LA Times article she was featured in.

Wynn adds threads & for now, knots it together with an explanation of her intention; her personal desire to support Teen Team No Stigma, No Stigma & the AFSP. In the future, Wynn will return to talk more on this topic so consider this the beginning of the talk & tales of a tattooed woman (or not). In the end, Wynn reveals her status.

Melissa & Wynn’s oracle card reading transitions to Lisa who boldly begins to share the story of being a suicide survivor under the frame & context of losing her brother to suicide over thirty years ago. 

She also sheds light on what her volunteer work looks like behind the scenes. Lisa is an active volunteer for the AFSP & has been intimately involved with the Out of the Darkness Chicagoland Walk for decades now. 

Sit with us as Lisa takes us along the way & tells the tale of her dedication & reason in volunteering; giving nuggets of Team No Stigma’s history & quick references to the AFSP as she goes. 

Lisa’s team, No Stigma grew significantly, like a ripple effect, once she started using her voice to spread awareness in & around her community. The group she joined, along with her team & many others, grew so large that the walk needed to be relocated from a patch of woods in the suburbs to the city! So, in essence, if you walk in any of the AFSP walks around the nation, you are literally on the foundational steppingstones of Lisa’s work!

Lean in as she uses her voice yet again, on a unique platform, in honor of her brother. Her intention is to keep her brother’s voice alive through this conversation. If you wish to support Lisa in her endeavors, reach out.  Become connected.  

In honor & memory of Frank Nicholas Baron

11/25/71 - 10/15/93

#myBrothersKeeper

Spirit Glyph Oracle, Earth Transitions by Alison Fast

Tara's Instagram @ Tara WFager

Tara's Facebook @ Tara WFager

Melissa's Instagram @ todayIchoosewithMelissa

Melissa's Facebook @everydaylivingwithintention

Teen Team No Stigma

AFSP

AFSP in Illinois

Lisa's Team No Stigma Page

Lisa's Instagram

Wynn's Facebook

Wynn's Instagram