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September 10, 2020 | 2:00 p.m. Eastern | 11:00 a.m. Pacific (1 hour)
Free for NAGC Members and Guests
Presentation Description
What is it like to be a young teenage male and lose your mother to suicide? To be left behind by the person who’s supposed to love you the most? Not knowing who to turn to for emotional support in the face of such a devastating loss? If you did seek help, personal or professional, and voice your grief and fears and litany of questions, would you be perceived by others, by society – or worse, see yourself -- as a weakling? Do you have the inner strength to remain silent, uncomplaining, ignoring your hurt, anger and confusion, and push forward as “real men” are supposed to do?
When Rick and David met in 1966, they were lonely, frustrated, subdued 17-year old boys whose mothers had ended their lives with sleeping pills just a few years before. Soon realizing the terrible “secret” they shared, they became friends instantly, brothers soon after. Whether it was fate or coincidence that brought them together, their friendship proved to be their salvation. At a time when the word “suicide” was taboo and family support services were scarce and perceived skeptically by many, including their fathers, they opened up to each other in ways they’d been unable to do with anyone else. In so doing, they soon grasped – and eventually confronted – the mix of pent up emotions that threatened to destroy them, as they had their mothers. During their 60-year friendship, they talked candidly about their mothers’ suicides only with each other (and years later, with two other close friends who had also lost a parent to suicide). Until recently, that is, when they were moved to share their story with family and close friends via Sons of Suicide: A Memoir of Friendship. Seven years in the writing, the book frankly reveals their uncertainties and dilemmas, regrets and triumphs -- and discloses snapshots of how their abiding friendship guided them through life’s most vulnerable moments. And still does, especially when it comes to the baffling, inescapable trauma of their mothers’ suicides.
In this webinar, they’ll share recollections, insights and lessons learned, and field questions regarding their experiences as life-long grieving children and survivors of suicide loss.
About the Presenters
Rick Knapp and David Pincus, co-authors of Sons of Suicide: A Memoir of Friendship, have been close friends since meeting as high school seniors more than 50 years ago. Both attended the University of Maryland as undergraduates – Rick in journalism and David in political science. Subsequently, Rick earned his M.A. in journalism at The Ohio State University, while David stayed at Maryland for his Master’s and Ph.D. in organizational communication.
Following stints in the U.S. Air Force and at AT&T, Rick’s professional life was spent as a management consultant, partner and leader with global consulting firms Foster Higgins and Mercer, focusing on employee and organizational communication and human resources. He retired in 2012, but has yet to slow down. He serves on the boards of Cleveland Play House, America’s first regional theatre, and ideastream, the public media organization in Northeast Ohio. Among his passions are photography, cooking, baseball and travel. He and his wife Ellen still live in Cleveland.
By contrast, David’s professional life followed two distinctly different directions, yet also within the field of communication. The first was in business, most notably as Marriott Corporation’s first organization-wide employee communication director. His later and longer role was in academia, where he held faculty and leadership positions in the communication and business schools at Cal State Fullerton and the University of Southern California, then as MBA director at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Now also retired, David and his wife Karen reside in Oceanside, California, and like Rick, David is an avid photographer, a huge baseball fan and an ardent world traveler.
September 29, 2020 | 2:00 p.m. Eastern | 11:00 a.m. Pacific (1.5 hours)
Free for NAGC Members and Guests
Presentation Description
Understanding the magnitude of childhood bereavement is a necessary and essential first step in elevating the issue to a level of critical public health importance nationwide. The Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model (CBEM) derives national and regional prevalence rates. This presentation will introduce the CBEM Roadmap, a guide designed to help you navigate using national, state, and local data to advocate for increased childhood bereavement awareness, education, and resources. Presenters will provide a general overview of 2020 CBEM results at the national and state levels, explore how publicly available data can contextualize results, and review several resources developed by Judi’s House and JAG Institute to create action steps.
Please pre-submit any CBEM related questions for this webinar to
Objectives
At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Articulate the prevalence of childhood bereavement at the national and state level using 2020 CBEM results
- Identify demographic statistics that can help contextualize variations in childhood bereavement nationally and locally
- Establish practical strategies for understanding childhood bereavement in your community
About the Presenters
Michaeleen (Micki) Burns, PhD, is the Chief Clinical Officer at Judi’s House and JAG Institute (JH/JAG). She is a Licensed Psychologist with 17 years’ experience providing assessment and therapeutic support to families facing adversity. In her work, she has witnessed the lasting, negative impact of unaddressed grief. She is dedicated to ensuring that appropriate services are available for all and to raising childhood bereavement to a level of critical public health importance. She oversees JH/JAG’s core initiatives—Direct Service, Evaluation and Research, and Training and Education—that work towards the JH/JAG vision that no child should be alone in grief.
Laura Landry, PhD is the Director of Evaluation and Research at Judi’s House/JAG Institute. She has 12 years’ experience evaluating community‐based programs and large‐scale prevention initiatives as well as building the capacity of organizations to utilize data to drive decisions. In her role, Laura oversees the Evaluation and Research Initiative, a core component of the Comprehensive Grief Care Model® followed at Judi’s House/JAG Institute. This Initiative focuses on evaluation of our services, research on the impact and course of childhood bereavement, and dissemination of data on the prevalence of childhood bereavement to inform advocates and practitioners working in the field.
No continuing education credit is available for this webinar