SURVIVORS OF SUICIDE

King/ Pierce/ Thurston County Support Groups JULY/AUGUST, 2014

NEWSLETTER

Website: www.auburnsos.com e-mail: support@auburnsos.com

WHAT IS S.O.S.?

S.O.S. stands for Survivors of Suicide. S.O.S. groups provide support for anyone who has lost a loved one to

suicide. Based on guidelines established by the American Association of Suicidology, the groups are self-help

and peer-led. The goal is to help deal with the loss and trauma and grief associated with that loss. Auburn

S.O.S. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization as defined by the IRS.

LOVE GIFTS:

If you would like to remember your Loved One who has completed suicide in the form of a Love Gift it will

be mentioned in the newsletter if we have your permission. There are no dues or fees at S.O.S. Donations are

always welcome to help defray such costs as printing, postage, and the purchase of new tapes and books for

our lending libraries and other costs associated with the community awareness programs we are involved in.

Donations may be mailed to the address below or made at any meeting. Please make your checks payable to

Auburn or Olympia SOS.

Auburn Survivors of Suicide

28824 21st Ave. S.

Federal Way, WA 98003

Contact information for both groups

and its facilitator is on page three.

To all of you who left something in the donation boxes, thank you!

We appreciate the donation from United Way.

Please remember that the only thing that pays the postage or the website or buys the books –

is your donation! Thank you!

Check with your payroll folks to see if they match donations!

To all of you who so generously drop something in the donation box – thank you!

IF YOU NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE:

Please do not hesitate to pick up your phone and call another survivor from the S.O.S. group if you are

having a hard time. We’ve all been there!

Ron Callahan 253-226-3689 Lost son Kathy Melsness 253-446-6500 Lost daughter

Andee Nydegger 253-820-1911 Lost brother Joan Tabrum 253-838-8947 Lost husband

Janis Fesenmaier 360-866-2509 Lost brother Kathy Sterling 206-244-8729 Lost grandson

José Martin 206-228-7413 Lost son Kathy Crowley 253-471-9412 Lost son

Call José if you would like to speak to another survivor in Spanish.

Me gustaria ayudar a la gente que necesite hablar espanol

Thinking of You Especially:

July 1 Coach Roach Lost his son Mark

July 1 Daniel Herman, Michelle Meyer Lost their sister Lisa Marie

July 4 Sarah Wiebersch Lost her nephew Jeremy (Phoenix)

July 5 Teresa Tradewell Lost her son Brandon Green

July 5 Deana McDaniel Lost her friend's son Brandon

July 5 Michelle Corder Lost her mother Mary

July 6 Bonnie Benson Lost her partner Chris

July 6 Fred / Sue Miller Lost their son Terry

July 7 Curtis Costner Lost his girlfriend Arwen

July 8 Andee & Dave Nydegger Lost her brother Abel Church

July 8 Jory Brown Lost his mother Katherine

July 10 Danielle Munich Lost her mom Dixie Puckett

July 10 Jessica Giles Lost her mother Debbie Reames

July 10 John Villamor Lost his friend, mentor Harris Moriguchi

July 10 Liz St. Louis Lost her husband Tom

July 11 Jonathan & ManheimLeigh Lost their son Garth

July 12 Katie Wilkinson Lost her best friend Raul Villanueva

July 13 Danielle Thompson Lost her husband Carl Thompson

July 13 Patsy Genoway Lost her son Carl Edward Thompson II

July 17 Roy / Karen Petschauer Lost their son Roice

July 18 Carol Johnson Lost her Dad Richard

July 18 Holly Hobbs Lost her daughter Stacy Hobbs

July 18 Jason Calland Lost her sister Stacy Hobbs

July 18 Joan Williams Lost the father of her children Richard

July 18 Karen Shane Lost her son Robby

July 19 Cheryl Shane Lost her step-son Robby

July 19 Gabe Behm Lost his wife Elena

July 20 Julie Wunderlich Lost her sister Jennifer Dill Reinhard

July 20 Nathan Williams Lost his ex-wife Casey

July 20 Patti Mossberger Lost her son Mark Daniel

July 20 Rose Morrison Lost her brother Rod Morrison

July 23 Jessica Giles Lost her sister Angie Reames

July 24 Jessie Stark Lost her mom Carol Stark

July 25 Troy Williams Lost his wife MaryJo

July 26 Tom & Julie Amos Lost their son/stepson Cameron

July 27 Nancy Thomas Lost her friends' son Sonny

July 27 Rosie Breen Lost her son Sonny Petra

July 27 Susan Zweigler Lost her brother Randy

July 28 Connie & Bea McTigheu Lost their son Alan McTighe

July 28 Bob Sheaffer Lost his friend Alan McTighe

July 29 Cleve / M Pinnixarty Lost their son Jack

July 29 Stephanie Covall-PInnix Lost her husband Jack

July 29 Jennif Hartmaner Lost her husband Robert

July 30 Barb Clough Lost her son Jonathan

July 31 Chris / Gary Davis Lost their son Jeff Robertson

August 1 Bradley Thompson Lost his partner Dean

August 4 David Gerry Lost his brother James

August 6 Irene Chavez Lost her brother Joe

August 6 Karen Gardner Lost her son Shawn

August 6 Pam Williams Lost her son Josh

August 7 Denise Simpson Lost her son Phillip

August 8 Marie Payne Lost her brother John

August 9 Karalee Rae Lost her son Jerry

August 9 Maxine Johnston Lost her son-in-law Dmitri

August 11 The Smith Family Lost Alexander

August 14 Angie Neilson Lost her husband Jon

August 14 Jim Scott Lost his brother Bob

August 14 Patricia VanDragt Lost her son Jonathan

August 17 Debbie West Lost her son Christopher

August 17 Rhonda Lundquist Lost her son Jon

August 20 Troy Louvrak Lost his son Joshua

August 23 Suzanne Lane Lost her brother Steve

August 24 Shannon Blake Lost her father Gary

August 26 Linda Jacobson Lost her husband Randy

August 26 Robert and Judy Knoyle Lost their daughter Robin

August 28 Amanda Ruston Lost her father Wayne

August 28 Heidi Smith Lost her son Tristan

August 28 Nicole Yates Lost her grandson Jacob

August 29 Kimberly and Kenn Rivers Lost her twin brother Chris

We also remember our loved ones whose birthdays are in the following months:

July birthdays: Jacob, Stacy, Joshua, Molly, John, Jimmy, Billy, Antonio, Christopher, Joe, Bob, John, Larry,

Carollyne, Vinnie, Donald, Angie, Jeffrey, Alicia, Louie, Larry, Loyd, Jim, Wesley, Brenda, Palmer, Carly,

Alexandria, Roy and Kaylan.

August birthdays: Stephen, Marie, Greg, MaryJo, John, Nita, Wesley, Debbie, John, Ray, Paul, Glenn, Jennifer,

Mark, Lana, Jerry, Derek, Justin, Eric, Alexander, Gregory, Jimmy, Randy, James, Tina, James, David, Gary, Abel,

Jonathan, James and Randee.

We strive for accuracy. If we are missing the name of your loved one or if the information is

incorrect please let us know so we can correct it! Send an e-mail to newsletter@auburnsos.com

MEETINGS FOR JULY AND AUGUST:

The Auburn Group meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month. Meetings are held at the Auburn Fire Station

located at 1101 D Street in Auburn from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. If you have any questions or need directions please

call Pam at 253-921-7829.

The Olympia Group meets on the third Tuesday of every month. Meetings are held at the Westwood Baptist Church

in room E-10, located at 333 Kaiser Road in Olympia from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. For more information or

directions please call Janis at 360-866-2509.

The Burien and Tacoma Groups are not meeting until further notice.

There is no fee to attend either of these groups. For more information send an e-mail to support@auburnsos.com

Please note that the Auburn Group currently meets only on the 4th

Tuesday of the month.

LIBRARY: A lending library is available to survivors. Information pertaining to suicide and grief

may be checked out for a period of 30 days. Please return any books or publications you have checked

out so that others may use them. Thank you! Is there a book that you have found particularly helpful?

Let us know and we will pass that on to others!

“To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because

if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.”

― Alan Wilson Watts

It wouldn’t have

happened without

all the crew and

volunteers!

Lane from Bainbridge Is.

Liz and Janis from the

Olympia Group on the

Medical team

Carolyn from North Bend

Sue and Char

Bill from North Bend Opening ceremonies

The Overnight is organized by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the leading national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research, education and advocacy, and to reaching out to people with mental disorders and those impacted by suicide.

In Seattle and

Philadelphia over

3.2 million dollars

raised for suicide

awareness!

And, yes, it rained!

Judy from Green Lake

Agata from Snohomish

Catherine from Federal Way

Luminary bags line the steps

A suicide attempt happens every minute of every day. Every 14 minutes, someone in the U.S. dies by suicide.

Speak Up SOS!

We’d like to hear from you! Someone in the Olympia group brought up the idea of how her brother's suicide affected her trust. She was mostly

referring to trust in herself, but I thought the idea was compelling. I know that my own brother's suicide has affected my

ability to trust in life. Many folks in the group seemed to relate to the idea of waiting for the next bad thing to happen

since the loss of their loved one. Noelle

Send in your thoughts about how trust, the lack of, or the trouble trusting, has impacted you since losing a loved

one to suicide. We will print the replies in the next newsletter. Please get your e-mails to us by Sept. 10 for

them to be included in the next newsletter.

“Everyone suffers at least one bad betrayal in their lifetime. It’s what unites us. The trick is not to let it destroy your trust

in others when that happens. Don’t let them take that from you.” Sherrilyn Kenyon, Invincible

“Laugh, even when you feel too sick or too worn out or tired. Smile, even when you're trying not to cry and the tears are blurring your vision. Sing, even when people stare at you and tell you your voice is crappy. Trust, even when your heart begs you not to. Twirl, even when your mind makes no sense of what you see. Frolick, even when you are made fun of. Kiss, even when others are watching. Sleep, even when you're afraid of what the dreams might bring. Run, even when it feels like you can't run any more. And, always, remember, even when the memories pinch your heart. Because the pain of all your experience is what makes you the person you are now. And without your experience---you are an empty page, a blank notebook, a missing lyric. What makes you brave is your willingness to live through your terrible life and hold your head up high the next day. So don't live life in fear. Because you are stronger now, after all the crap has happened, than you ever were back before it started.”

Alysha Speer

We’d like to make this a regular feature. Send us your thoughts, comments and experience. Have an idea for a topic for the next time? Send that too! We’re waiting to hear from you!

Send all e-mails for this feature to speakupsos@yahoo.com

Void

I have everything-

except your clever hands

that could fix anything

cook a stir fry in minutes

and rub my tense back.

I have everything-

except your quirky mind

that bypassed the power meter

watched ‘The Matrix’ fourteen times

and kept secret suffering.

I have everything-

except your red gold hair

we called it ‘strawberry blond’

it was thick and wavy

my fingers remember the texture.

I have everything-

except your tender heart.

You shared it with me.

I didn’t think it was so fragile,

until you killed it.

Liz St Louis (Olympia SOS)

“Have enough courage

to trust love one more

time and always one more

time.”

― Maya Angelou

Forefront: Innovations in Suicide Prevention is holding its Annual Celebration and fundraiser.

RSVP TODAY!

Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Time: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Location:

The Mountaineers Club

7700 Sand Point Way NE

Seattle, WA 98115

Please contact Forefront at ffront@uw.edu or 206- 543-1016 with any questions."

Join us with a few of your friends to celebrate the growing

Forefront-led social movement to reduce suicide in

Washington.

This is an evening not to be missed with contributions by

local artists, Gina Sala and Mari Earl, and nationally

recognized filmmakers, Francine Strickwerda and Tracy

Dethlefs.

While there is no cost to attend, guests will be encouraged

to make a meaningful gift in support of our collective

commitment to suicide prevention.

Join us in 2014 for the Out of the

Darkness Community Walks

Walking 18 miles through the night a little much? Not up for the fundraising? Then the Community Walk might

be just want you need! A great way to connect with other survivors! And - There is no fee to register!

Join us in 2014 for the Out of the Darkness Community Walks. Many locations are currently open for registration. Join

us and help us raise more in 2014 by kick starting your fundraising now!

Spokane 9/20

Poulsbo 9/21

Bellingham 9/21

Olympia 9/27

Aberdeen – 10/05

Seattle 10/12

We anticipate being involved in the Community Walks

in various ways, please join us on a walking team or

helping with a booth or the memorial garden!

For more information go to www.afsp.org

We are looking for a coordinator for the Memorial Garden at the Seattle Walk.

Send an e-mail to support@auburnsos.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

YOUR DONATIONS ARE ALWAYS NEEDED, APPRECIATED AND ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE.

Please mail your donations to:

28824 21

st Ave. S., Federal Way, WA. 98003

In memory of:

Name

Address

City, State, Zip

“Deciding whether or not to trust a person is like deciding whether or not to climb a tree because you might get a wonderful view from the highest branch

or you might simply get covered in sap and for this reason many people choose to spend their

time alone and indoors where it is harder to get a splinter.”

Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

Auburn SOS

28824 21st Ave. S.

Federal Way, WA 98003

Return Service Requested

Non profit Org

US Postage Paid

Federal Way, WA

Permit #58

You can find Auburn SOS on Facebook.

Go to Facebook and type ‘Auburn SOS’

in the search box or go to our website and

follow the link on the first page.