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October 2009
Welcome to this issue of CONNECTIONS from the KARLA SMITH FOUNDATION.
Welcome to the October 2009 issue of CONNECTIONS, the e-mail newsnotes from the KARLA SMITH FOUNDATION. Feel free to forward these notes to anyone on your e-mail list. For copies of this edition as well as previous CONNECTIONS, go to our website:
www.KarlaSmithFoundation.org.
The Third Annual KSF Dinner Auction is coming soon: November 7, 2009 at the Fountains Conference Center in Fairview Heights, IL. There are some new and exciting features this year: get information about auction items and register on-line at www.KarlaSmithFoundation.org; an upgraded, more efficient check-out procedure, and more space at our new location. Our auction items are outstanding, with a backstage visit with Glenn Close in New York on the set of Damages as the headliner. Other items include a trip to West Palm Beach, Fl; a second trip to New York; a “Jewel Bar”; an Albert Pujols autographed baseball; a week at Camp Ondessonk, and many more. We also promise a great meal and lots of fun with Dave Schumaker as our auctioneer once again. Other surprises are in store as well as a way to raise awareness and help erase the stigma of mental illness and suicide. If you haven’t registered yet, do it now! Better yet, get a table of 8 people together and register as a group.
Our on-going support groups, one for the family and friends of anyone with mental health problems and another group for anyone who lost a loved one to suicide, continue to attract new members along with participants who have been with us for a number of years. We always have room for more, so if you or if you know someone who could benefit from one of the groups, please join us on Thursday evenings at The Peace Chapel, 10101 W. Main Street in Belleville from 7:00pm to 8:30pm. The first and third Thursdays are for families and friends of anyone with mental illness, and the second and fourth Thursdays are for anyone who lost a loved one to suicide.
We have recently started another KSF support group in Maryville, IL as the Foundation reaches out into Madison County. This new group also serves anyone who lost a loved one to suicide. This group meets from 7:00pm to 8:30pm on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at Copper Creek Christian Church, 2184 Vadalabene Drive in Maryville, IL 62062. Offering this group at a different time and location provides grief support to more people who experience the unique pain of losing a loved one to suicide.
The KSF website continues to receive hits from all over our county as well as many international areas. One consequence of this activity is continuing e-mail correspondence with a number of people who seek our help. The website is one of our primary ways to fulfill our mission of providing hope to the families and friends of anyone with mental health problems or who lost a loved one to suicide.
KSF is co-sponsoring a series of film events followed by a panel discussion featuring the movie “Jumping Off Bridges.” The film’s focus is four high school friends as they respond to the suicide of one mother and the impact of this tragedy on the family and friends. The program is part of a state-wide campaign called “Say It Out Loud” which promotes mental health. So far, the film was shown at SIUE and to over 250 mostly high school students at the Lincoln Theater in Belleville. We are planning similar viewings in Sparta and Waterloo. The hope is that people suffering from depression, other mental disorders, or thoughts of suicide will seek the help they need to deal with these issues effectively.
Recently Fran and Tom spoke at the Belleville area Teachers’ Institute and the Belleville region Catholic priests meeting. These presentations have led to many follow-up contacts, including our first Home Visit with an elderly mother who lost her son to suicide. If you know of a group who would benefit from a KSF presentation or a Home Visit, please let us know.
The third annual Erase the Stigma Conference, co-sponsored by KSF, was held October 2 and 3 at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, with the theme of “Walking the Talk: Turning Words into Action as Caregivers and Companions of those Living with Mental Illness.” Over 100 people participated and the evaluations are very positive. The conference this year featured Rev. Craig Rennebohm, author of Souls in the Hands of a Tender God and three helpful panels.
Please contact us at any time with your comments, suggestions, or questions about KSF. You can reach us through e-mail at KSF@KarlaSmithFoundation.org or call at 618-628-3129. We appreciate your continuing support as, together, we provide hope for a balanced life to family and friends of anyone with a mental illness or who lost a loved one to suicide.
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