Hello My Fellow EVCers,
Constantly we spend time arguing and debating one another, trying to find the most logical solutions to the questions that affect us, whether they are in Faith, Science, Math, or Philosophy. However, as the Gun Control Threads point out, there is one area where we all seem to agree and that is that mental health treatment in the United States is abysmal. It is in this vein that I make the following request to all of you that I have had the honor and privilege of getting to know through first being a lurker and finally a participant on this forum.
On June 1st, 2013 my Fianc and I will be participating in our second Out of the Darkness Overnight walk to support suicide prevention and mental health research. This year the event will be walking 16 miles throughout the night in Washington D.C. The purpose of this event is to bring suicide, which carries with it a social stigma, out of the darkness and into the light of civil discourse. In the United States 21 million people, or 7% of the population, are afflicted with depression. Many of these individuals do not know who they can contact for help because they are afraid of what other people will think of them. It is time that we, as a Nation, realize that depression and suicide are not something to be swept under the carpet; rather these are topics that deserve discussion and research into possible solutions. This is the primary goal of this event that is put on by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
The proceeds from this event will go toward many beneficial items for those afflicted with depression and suicidal thoughts. These items include research and treatment for mental health afflictions, providing grief counseling, expanding survivor networks, and distribution of information (so individuals will know they are not alone). I know that in the gun control thread we have pinpointed that mental health afflictions are a large contributor to the gun death numbers within this country. I find any task that searches for a solution in that regard to be worthwhile.
If any of you would be willing to donate to the cause, please visit this link:
Out of the Darkness Overnight WalkMy Fianc and I would greatly appreciate any help that anyone is willing to give toward the cause, although obviously no one is obligated to do so. Please, if you can find it in your heart, help us to do our part to bring suicide out of the darkness and to do what we can to find a solution that will save lives that should never be lost. If you are unable to give that is definitely understandable, however, we would like to ask that you keep this cause in your minds, debate the solutions, which is something I know can get done on this board. Remember that without civil discussion about this topic a solution may never be found and individuals will continue to feel lost, alone, and like the only escape that remains is through death.
Thank you all for you time and consideration. And also, thank you for allowing me to become a member on one of the greatest forums for actual intellectual discussion that I have ever found.
Sincerely,
Matt Washkowiak
All you need is Love
-The Beatles-
The theory of evolution by cumulative natural selection is the only theory we know of that is in principle capable of explaining the existence of organized complexity. - Richard Dawkins
Creationists make it sound as though a 'theory' is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night. - Issac Asimov
If you removed all the arteries, veins, & capillaries from a person’s body, and tied them end-to-endthe person will die. - Neil Degrasse Tyson
What would Buddha do? Nothing! What does the Buddhist terrorist do? Goes into the middle of the street, takes the gas, *pfft*, Self-Barbecue. The Christian and the Muslim on either side are yelling, "What the Fuck are you doing?" The Buddhist says, "Making you deal with your shit. - Robin Williams
™ Version 4.2
