A book to help someone in crisis

Hi, my name is Gina.

Full disclosure: This is one of the most uncomfortable things I have ever done. With that being said, sometimes you just have to swallow your pride and do what you have to do. Even if it means being completely vulnerable to strangers, or friends from the past.

I wouldn't say this is 'my story' per say, but it is my current reality. I am unemployed, stay-at-home, single mum of my beautiful three-year-old daughter. I worked at a crisis line for over a decade, and I was let go at the end of my maternity leave. Which was a blessing from God to be able to spend more time with my daughter (because of my severance package).

Lets go back a ‘few’ years to when I was in high school, my friend Aaron Decou took his life. Aaron and I weren't close; however, we were in the same group of friends. He was a good guy that was quite funny. I will never forget the impact his death had on me and our friends. Throughout the years I have thought about him and how old he would be today and what he would be like. If he would be married or have kids, or what career choice he would have made. I always wished I could go back in time and do something. To help him see how much he is worth and that the world needs him, something to make him change his ultimate choice of leaving the world. But I can't. Since I am not Marty McFly with a Delorian, all I can do is to be there for others now who are struggling. To help them see their worth and view their situation in a different light. There is nothing worse than feeling alone and thinking that your only option is to take your own life. Can you imagine how sad and scared they feel? Our world is filled with people who care, and I want to give those people the tools on how to support someone when someone they love or someone they know (or don't know) are in a very dark place in their mind.

While on maternity leave, I created a TikTok account (Gina&BabyG) to teach people how to help when someone is in crisis. However, being a new mum with a lack of sleep and exhaustion prevented me from making many videos. It was hard to find any time when I struggled to take care of myself, because what little energy I had, was all given to my lovely daughter. She is my Happily-Ever-After. I had a miscarriage while pregnant and she held on. Which I give credit to Jesus for answering my prayers and to my baby girl for listening when I begged her not to leave through Jennifer Hudson's song "And I'm Telling you I'm Not Going" The nurse even said to me "Do you know what physical strength it took for your baby to hold on? With all that blood? Your body was evacuating the womb and she literally held on for life." I replied through tears, "A miracle from God." I even named her (middle name) Hudson after JHud to remember for the rest of her life how strong she is. Looking after my sweet little girl takes a lot of energy and so I didn’t make more videos as they took energy I didn’t have. However, I decided the other day I would start to work on new videos. As I know how many people feel lost on what to do and say when their friend/family is not doing too good.

I have been in meditation classes, the grocery store, libraries etc. meeting new people and while sharing my passion for loving the world and how to ‘help’ others in need I have been asked “When is your book coming out?” or told “I wish I had this book years ago to help a friend” or shared “this book is going to help so many people, thank you for doing this” Yes, there is a book :)

I am the author of the upcoming book "This Little Light of Mine '' Your Bible on How to Help Anyone in Crisis. The book is almost finished, my publisher (10-10-10) let me know the editing as well as the webpage that I need for the success of my book is going to cost me. I know with every ounce of my soul my book is going to be a New York Times Best Seller. Not because I’m the J.K Rowling of the self-help section but because this book is needed, I am a good story teller and a bit funny and so many have showed interest in learning these skills. It's not some boring psychology guide on what to do, it is short, simple, straight to the point what to do and not to do and how to apply it. With some real-life stories for flavour.

I went to college, university and many training sessions over the years to learn how to support someone, so you don't have to. Being a social worker is in my blood. Working at a crisis line for over a decade, training thousands of volunteers on how to support someone in crisis. I am not a therapist, or psychologist or ventriloquist (since I am listing things I am not). What I am is a regular-degular person, just like you, with maybe just a few more skills on how to listen and support someone. While I was employed at the crisis line one of my responsibilities was to teach the volunteers on mental health, mental disorders, values, addictions, crisis, suicide, anger, LGBTTQ2I, Solution Focused Support, Elder Abuse, Aging and Self Care, blah blah blah. Let me ask you this, do you know what to say and what not to do when someone is in the worst place they have ever been in their life? A lot of people don’t, and some think they do... and they really don’t. They have the best of intentions but can make things worse. My book is, in short, to help you save lives.

I created a GoFundMe to ask for help in bringing my book to fruition and supporting me while I finish it. As finding a daycare that has a spot available is like finding the gold ticket in the Willy Wonka chocolate bar. Okay, its not that rare but some wait lists I have been on for a year. I really don't want to send her to a daycare. However, it would give me the time to write all day. I need your help in making my book a reality, only if you are able to and want to.

So, what does that look like? Thanks for asking. I need finances for editing my book, developing a 5 page website and helping to buy food (as food banks unfortunately don’t always have vegetables and meat and rarely are there gluten free, dairy free and corn free options) My daughters' allergies have been challenging for me to get proper food. Being on Ontario Works is a blessing however getting $1,000 a month to cover rent, bills, food, daily living expenses is challenging. I have reached a point where I don’t have much to sell on FB Marketplace of any real monetary value. Here is the breakdown of what I am asking for and why

Breakdown:

$1,773.52 ($1,297 US dollars). Editing and formatting for word document with up to 100 pages (this is what the publisher asked for to complete this for me). With that being said I am researching cheaper ways to do this.

$1, 773.52 ($1, 297 US dollars). Website development. 5 pages. (Again this is what my publisher has asked for to complete this for me.) With that being said I am researching cheaper ways to do this.

$300 print book copies

$880 Food, Probiotics and Gas for 2 months

$1,120 Bills for 2 months

$32.96 Transaction Fees (GoFundMe needs a small transaction fee to operate safely and securely from each donation. So I used this amount to round up and took a guess

=$6,000.00

“Every year, approximately 4,500 people in Canada die by suicide, which is equivalent to 12 people dying by suicide every day. For every person lost to suicide, many more experience thoughts of suicide or attempt suicide. Every day, more than 200 people in Canada attempt suicide.” Statistics Canada January 2024

I want to thank you for making the time to read my long GoFundMe. Your time is valuable so thank you for spending it on me and my cause. Even if you aren’t able to help financially, I ask if you could please text or email my GoFundMe to 3 people that you think may be interested in supporting the cause of getting a book published that will teach the world how to help someone who is struggling. I know there are a lot of people out there who have lost someone to suicide or are struggling with their mental health and need that guidance on how to help. 12 people a day die from suicide, you can be the one that helps. From my heart to yours, “Thank you”

I dedicate this book to you Aaron, I am sorry I didn't know how to help you in high school because if I did maybe you would still be here.

Love and Light