National Alliance on Mental Illness: New Hampshire

The greatest gift that I gained from NAMI was the gift of hope. When my nephew died and we were grieving terribly, I found a support group; I found people who were listening to me, who made me feel like my feelings were normal and natural, and that it was okay to talk about my nephew and honor him. I believe that I learned from NAMI so many things and I’m so grateful to them. They’re the unsung heroes in my life and in many people’s lives.

And I was trying to explain to my husband and my children. I told them that we would learn from this, and that we can’t be quiet, that we must ask questions of these young adults all the time. Josh’s gift to us would be to help others. And that we would be able to reach out to other young adults through Josh, and that we would remember him always in a positive light, and with hope; and that that would be his legacy.

If we can hold on to young adults, and keep them here and seeing that they have a lot of choices and options that are different than the choice of death by suicide, then perhaps we can help them make different choices. I found that peace and that ability to reach out to others through NAMI New Hampshire.