National Survivors of Suicide Day
Watch 2009 & 2008 Webcasts
Every year, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, simultaneous conferences for survivors of suicide loss take place in communities worldwide. This unique network of healing conferences helps survivors connect with others who have survived the tragedy of suicide loss, and express and understand the powerful emotions they experience. Each conference site is organized locally, but they’re all connected in spirit as participants across the globe watch a special 90-minute AFSP program together on that day.
Programs from the past two years are saved as webcasts on the AFSP website so survivors can watch free of charge throughout the year. The 2008 program is also available for viewing in Spanish.
ABOUT THE 2009 PANELISTS & SPEAKERS:
- Rob Desmond, of CT, lost his older brother, Jerome, in 1997. Jerome loved the game of hockey and taught Rob how to skate, instilling in his younger brother a lifelong love for hockey. Rob is on the board of AFSP’s Boston Chapter, and is a volunteer with its Survivor Outreach Program.
- Robert Gebbia has been AFSP’s Executive Director since 1997.
- Michael Keenan, also of CT, lost his 20 year-old son, Michael Joseph Keenan, to suicide in 2004. Michael was a culinary student and to honor his memory, the Keenan family has established an annual scholarship that goes to a graduating senior with an interest in culinary arts.
- Joanne Harpel is AFSP’s Director of Survivor Initiatives. She is a survivor of the 1993 suicide of her brother Stephen, who was a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School.
- John R. (“Jack”) Jordan, Ph.D., is a psychologist specializing in bereavement, and the founder and Director of the Family Loss Project, a research and clinical group based in Boston, MA. Dr. Jordan has worked with survivors for more than 25 years.
- Doris Smith of Atlanta, GA, lost her 27 year-old son, Mark, in 1992. He was a singer, writer, percussionist, arranger, and producer who had also been studying for the ministry. Doris is a founder of the National Organization of People of Color Against Suicide (NOPCAS).
- Carla Stumpf-Pattonwas 9 months pregnant with her first child when her husband, D.I. Sgt. Rich Stumpf, U.S. Marine Corps, a 24 year-old Gulf War veteran, killed himself. Carla is now completing her Doctorate studies in Counseling Psychology and facilitates a monthly support group.
- Cari Wheat was 29 years old in 2003, when her father, Curt, who had suffered from depression for many years, killed her mother and took his own life. Curt was 61 years old and a geologist; Marie was 59 and an elementary school teacher and librarian. Cari has worked as a crew member on AFSP’s Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk.
- Sidney Zisook, M.D.,is a Professor and a Program Director for the Department of Psychiatry at the University of CA, San Diego. He serves on AFSP’s Survivor Research Working Group and on the board of the AFSP San Diego Chapter.
ABOUT THE 2008 PANELISTS:
- Luanne Cali lost her former partner, Linda Konu, a 48-year old construction site manager, in 2004. Luanne and Linda met in the Army in 1975, and were “partners for four years, best friends forever, and soul mates.”
- Lizette Martinez lost her older brother, 24-year old Miguel, in 2004. He was a recording and sound engineer.
- Peggy Morse’s son and only child, Bryan Michael Gajdarik, took his own life in June of 1997; he had just turned 16.
- Christian Pitkin lost his father Bill, a longtime senior executive in the insulation and fiberglass industry, in 2003, at the age of 67. Christian describes his Dad as the person he would “always first go to for advice.”
- Debra Clancy’s husband and high school sweetheart, David, an U.S. Air Force veteran and electrician, took his own life in February, 1995, at the age of 35. At the time of David’s death, Deb had three young children, ages 7, 9, and 11.
- Robert Gebbia has been AFSP’s Executive Director since 1997.
- Joanne Harpel became AFSP’s first-ever Director of Survivor Initiatives in 2002 after having served on AFSP’s national Board of Directors. She is a survivor of the 1993 suicide of her brother Stephen, who was a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School.
- John R. (“Jack”) Jordan, Ph.D., a psychologist in private practice specializing in bereavement, is the founder and Director of the Family Loss Project, a research and clinical group based in Boston, MA. Dr. Jordan has worked with survivors for more than 25 years, and is the co-author of After Suicide Loss: Coping with Your Grief, available through AFSP.
- Sidney Zisook, M.D., is a Professor and Director of the Residency Training Program for the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Zisook is best known for his work on bereavement, stress, mood, suicide and psychiatric education, for which he has won numerous awards.
