A Lighthouse Through the Storms
Donation protected
Life can be a lot of fun, filled with so much joy and beauty. It can also be very painful. Sometimes we get lost and have a hard time seeing the bright side of life – for instance, after losing a job, when a relationship ends or after the loss of a beloved friend, a parent or even a child. It can be difficult to think straight, to keep everything in perspective.
It can be so difficult that a person may turn to alcohol or drugs to numb the pain. One in 12 teens cuts themselves as a way to control emotional pain. Sometimes the darkness becomes so intense that a person may forget just how important they are to the world and decide they just don’t want to go on living. Young people can be especially susceptible as they figure out who they are and what their place is in the world. The number one killer of teenage girls around the world now is suicide.
The Goal. My goal now is to create a lighthouse of sorts – a website that lifts spirits, helps light the way, provides inspiration and empowers people to weather the inevitable storms of life and come out stronger on the other side.
I intend to create a place where people can find hope, see they’re not alone, remember that they matter and that the world needs them, and easily be connected to the right resources if they would like help, because goodness knows navigating the health system and many websites can be challenging, especially where mental health is concerned.
As a long-time journalist, I will write for the site and share information on topics like
• how to experience more happiness
• inspiration to keep life in perspective
• what to do if you're in crisis
• how parents can stay connected with their kids so their kids thrive and stay alive
• how to help a loved one who is struggling
• how to be mentally prepared for the high-risk life of being an entrepreneur
The chances of creating something that will succeed in helping people are high for many reasons:
• Personal Experience. As someone who has weathered severe depression and anxiety many times in my life, I can create something that is more personal than a lot of what's available online and share many tools I have learned. Nine years ago after being laid off many times during the dot-com bust in Silicon Valley, I lost my way, thought I was a burden and nearly ended my own life. I was lucky. I survived and fought my way back. I learned a lot along the way, like the importance of developing strong coping skills to weather any storm (see my video below to learn more about my story and my greater vision).
• Connections to Mental Health Organizations. Since "coming out" last year about my life story in the video above, I have built relationships with many mental health organizations and learned about a wealth of resources available to help people.
• Award-Winning Journalist. As an award-winning journalist who specializes in covering medicine, I know how to sift through complicated information, get to the important stuff quickly and share it in a way people can understand.
• Promotion. I can promote the site so people are aware of it due to all the connections I've made over the years through my work. I have produced medical news for “The Today Show” and “NBC Nightly News,” and reported the news in San Francisco, Seattle and St. Louis. I regularly appear on local TV and radio. I have written for very popular blogs for nearly a decade and I have a YouTube channel, which has been viewed nearly a half million times (see sonjashin.com for more information on my background).
• Website Knowledge. I am very knowledgeable about websites, having designed and built them for NASA and Stanford in Silicon Valley.
• Commitment. I have spent countless hours speaking about my experience and the state of mental health in the media, connecting with mental health professionals, researching what's available and where there are gaps. I am willing to put in the time and effort to make this happen and yet I need help. I don't have the funds on my own to make this a reality in a timely way. And I think time is of the essence.
I want to help people find hope, weather the inevitable storms, live happier lives and thrive.
Would you be willing to help build this lighthouse?
Together we CAN make a difference.
I greatly appreciate donations of any size and letting people know about this campaign.
Show People You Care. All donors will be acknowledged on the site. There are also opportunities to sponsor different parts of the site. Please contact me if you'd like to discuss something different than the reward levels listed (contact me at: love at sonjashin.com).
To learn more about this project, watch my interview on Fox 2 News at http://fox2now.com/2015/07/01/online-fundraiser-for-new-suicide-prevention-website/
Thank you,
Sonja
Costs for this project:
• $3000 to build the website
• $5000 to do initial research, work with mental health organizations, write articles and create site resource centers for different groups of people (e.g., people who are in crisis, and parents and spouses)
• $1000 for marketing and promotion
• Any additional funding raised will go toward more research and creating more content for the site (for instance articles about how to handle bullying and self-esteem issues, and videos on what to do if you want to kill yourself, how to help your kids and what to do if you're being bullied )
It can be so difficult that a person may turn to alcohol or drugs to numb the pain. One in 12 teens cuts themselves as a way to control emotional pain. Sometimes the darkness becomes so intense that a person may forget just how important they are to the world and decide they just don’t want to go on living. Young people can be especially susceptible as they figure out who they are and what their place is in the world. The number one killer of teenage girls around the world now is suicide.
The Goal. My goal now is to create a lighthouse of sorts – a website that lifts spirits, helps light the way, provides inspiration and empowers people to weather the inevitable storms of life and come out stronger on the other side.
I intend to create a place where people can find hope, see they’re not alone, remember that they matter and that the world needs them, and easily be connected to the right resources if they would like help, because goodness knows navigating the health system and many websites can be challenging, especially where mental health is concerned.
As a long-time journalist, I will write for the site and share information on topics like
• how to experience more happiness
• inspiration to keep life in perspective
• what to do if you're in crisis
• how parents can stay connected with their kids so their kids thrive and stay alive
• how to help a loved one who is struggling
• how to be mentally prepared for the high-risk life of being an entrepreneur
The chances of creating something that will succeed in helping people are high for many reasons:
• Personal Experience. As someone who has weathered severe depression and anxiety many times in my life, I can create something that is more personal than a lot of what's available online and share many tools I have learned. Nine years ago after being laid off many times during the dot-com bust in Silicon Valley, I lost my way, thought I was a burden and nearly ended my own life. I was lucky. I survived and fought my way back. I learned a lot along the way, like the importance of developing strong coping skills to weather any storm (see my video below to learn more about my story and my greater vision).
• Connections to Mental Health Organizations. Since "coming out" last year about my life story in the video above, I have built relationships with many mental health organizations and learned about a wealth of resources available to help people.
• Award-Winning Journalist. As an award-winning journalist who specializes in covering medicine, I know how to sift through complicated information, get to the important stuff quickly and share it in a way people can understand.
• Promotion. I can promote the site so people are aware of it due to all the connections I've made over the years through my work. I have produced medical news for “The Today Show” and “NBC Nightly News,” and reported the news in San Francisco, Seattle and St. Louis. I regularly appear on local TV and radio. I have written for very popular blogs for nearly a decade and I have a YouTube channel, which has been viewed nearly a half million times (see sonjashin.com for more information on my background).
• Website Knowledge. I am very knowledgeable about websites, having designed and built them for NASA and Stanford in Silicon Valley.
• Commitment. I have spent countless hours speaking about my experience and the state of mental health in the media, connecting with mental health professionals, researching what's available and where there are gaps. I am willing to put in the time and effort to make this happen and yet I need help. I don't have the funds on my own to make this a reality in a timely way. And I think time is of the essence.
I want to help people find hope, weather the inevitable storms, live happier lives and thrive.
Would you be willing to help build this lighthouse?
Together we CAN make a difference.
I greatly appreciate donations of any size and letting people know about this campaign.
Show People You Care. All donors will be acknowledged on the site. There are also opportunities to sponsor different parts of the site. Please contact me if you'd like to discuss something different than the reward levels listed (contact me at: love at sonjashin.com).
To learn more about this project, watch my interview on Fox 2 News at http://fox2now.com/2015/07/01/online-fundraiser-for-new-suicide-prevention-website/
Thank you,
Sonja
Costs for this project:
• $3000 to build the website
• $5000 to do initial research, work with mental health organizations, write articles and create site resource centers for different groups of people (e.g., people who are in crisis, and parents and spouses)
• $1000 for marketing and promotion
• Any additional funding raised will go toward more research and creating more content for the site (for instance articles about how to handle bullying and self-esteem issues, and videos on what to do if you want to kill yourself, how to help your kids and what to do if you're being bullied )
Organizer
Sonja Jones
Organizer
St Louis, MO
