Restoring Connections unites diverse people for
spiritual transformation and social justice.
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September is national suicide awareness month. This is a good time to remember loved ones who have been lost through suicide and to educate ourselves proactively about risks, warning factors and how to help. It’s also an opportunity to reflect on our own quality of self-care, how connected we are to a sense of meaning and purpose in our own lives and the importance of nurturing personal relationships.
On Friday, August 23, we graduated another cohort in our Formation Program for Soul Care Providers. It was a day of real celebration. It also marks a letting go. This will be the final offering of the program through Restoring Connections.
August 17 is National Nonprofit Day. This is an important opportunity to learn more about nonprofits and to celebrate their important contributions. Nonprofits play a vital role in community development. They provide essential services that would otherwise be unavailable. They provide direct services like food and shelter and supportive services like skills training and mentoring. They foster the culture of the community. They inspire and bring people together to heal, to challenge, to advocate for change and to ensure the common good. Communities with strong nonprofits score higher on societal health, positive lifestyles, community stability and social cohesion.
I’m personally celebrating 25 years as a volunteer working with people during incarceration and re-entry. It was August 1999, when Restoring Connections began volunteer programs in Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. Since that time, we have companioned over 1,350 individuals during incarceration and re-entry. Ninety-four percent of the individuals who have been released remain successfully in the community and are employed, completed some kind of training or schooling and some are homeowners.
During July we had the opportunity to recognize and to reflect on the gifts that grandparents and elders bring to the community. We enjoyed our in-person and online workshops on grandparenting as well as the opportunity to share in writing some important research on the impacts of this special relationship.
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. We hope you can join us for a day of prayer and fasting for the people of Ukraine. We invite you to light a candle and place it in your window tomorrow evening.
During these early days of the fall season, we are reviewing with all our mentors and soul care providers vital information about suicide prevention and the needs of survivors of suicide loss. All of us can make a difference. Relationships are important.
If you are concerned about a friend or family member who may be at risk of suicide, call or text 988. It’s a direct connection to professional support.