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December 2007
We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and a 2008 that
is even better than 2007. For KSF, 2007 was a year of growth as well as a time
to strengthen our basic services. We are pleased and humbled at how well
people have responded to our mission, collaborated with us in our activities, and
supported us in our work. We are extremely grateful to all of you for both your
personal encouragement and financial contributions. Our mission to “provide
hope for a balanced life to family and friends of anyone with a mental illness or
who lost a loved one to suicide” has resonated with many compassionate
people.
After two years, we believe we are still beginning to meet the needs identified
in our mission. Statistically, in St. Clair County alone, there are over 10,000
people with some form of mental illness (an estimated 4% of the total
population of 260,000 people). If there are at least four people who are the
families and friends of a person with mental health problems, that means there
are over 40,000 people in St. Clair County alone who are the target recipients of
KSF services. Eventually we hope to reach them all.
There are also 32,000 suicides a year nationally. We know from experience with
our support group for people who lost a loved one to suicide that suicides in our
area are all too common. We want to help with the unique grief related to these
untimely deaths as well as prevent more suicides.
Those are statistics. In our support groups, we are privileged to meet face to face
with some of the courageous people who struggle with these issues. We are
continually amazed by their desire to overcome the obstacles in their life and to
seek ways for a more balanced life.
Besides our support groups, KSF also co-sponsored a very successful two-day
conference to help “Erase the Stigma” of mental health problems and suicide at
the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in early June. Over 200 participants
listened to presentations and discussed issues related to mental illness and
suicide, and the evaluations were uniformly positive. We are planning now with
the Shrine, the Apostolic Services department of the St. Louis Archdiocese, the
St. Clair County Mental Health Board, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Behavioral
Services department, and Chestnut Mental Health services for next year’s
conference which will be Aug 22 and 23. Join us for an informative and
inspiring conference.
Our first annual KSF Dinner/Auction on June 30 was extremely successful!
Over 200 people enjoyed the evening and contributed $35,000 which we are
using as the base of our 2008 budget. The KSF Fundraising Committee did an
excellent job in planning the event, the auctioneer and guest speaker were
spectacular, and the spirit was joyful yet serious. The committee is already
planning next year’s dinner/auction at the Shrine on November 1, 2008. Mark
your calendar now!
We are launching a new program called Visits With Families in which KSF
representatives visit the families or friends of someone with mental health
problems or suicide in order to help them cope. We will discuss their
difficulties, acquaint them with our nine strategies, and help them access local
resources.
In the beginning of 2008, we will produce a 15 minute DVD which will describe
the frustration of the families of people with mental illness or who lost someone
to suicide, and then we will identify the services of KSF as a response to that
pain. We will use this DVD to spread the message, mission, and programs of
KSF.
We have contracted with the Psychology department of the University of Illinois
– Champaign to do research on the effectiveness of KSF programs. This
research will document the benefits of these programs and offer us objective
data in order to make adjustments if necessary.
Catholic Social Services in Carbondale, Illinois will begin a KSF support
group for families and friends of a loved one with mental health problems in
January, 2008. We met with the Director and a Counselor of CSS-Carbondale
about the KSF approach and strategies in conducting this support group. We
wish them well and offer our continuing support for this first non-local KSF
support group.
KSF received the 2007 ICHTUS Award from the Southern Illinois Association
of Priests for ministry in the Diocese of Belleville. We are grateful for this
recognition, particularly because it gave us another opportunity to draw
attention to our mission and the work that still needs to be done.
In April 2008, KSF will receive the Rev. Charles Rubey award at the annual
brunch of L.O.S.S. (Loving Outreach to Survivors of Suicide) program in
Chicago. This event attracts over 500 people and is the primary fundraiser for
this 28 year old, Chicago based ministry to people who lost a loved one to
suicide. KSF models much of our suicide survivor efforts on L.O.S.S. Once
again, we are humbled by this recognition, and yet another opportunity to
promote our mission.
Thanks to all of you – our wonderful Advisory Council, our four dedicated
committees, our courageous support group members, our generous donors, and
all those who encourage us to continue our work. Together we can bring
balance to the lives of people with a mentally ill loved one or who lost a loved
one to suicide. |
