Help Joyce Get a Wheelchair Van to Stop Suicide

Help an Inspired, 88-Year-Old, Disabled, Visually-Impaired Woman, Get a Wheelchair Van to Continue to Help Stop Suicide and Relieve Depression and Grief

 

Joyce H. Brown runs a small non-profit organization that she started to help stop suicide, but now her 22-year-old wheelchair accessible van, which she relies on to get around, urgently needs to be replaced.

 

She is unable to drive herself because she has severe visual impairment as a result of scarring due to wet macular degeneration. Because she is unable to walk or sit upright for long (as a result of multiple failed back surgeries, and multiple herniated disks) she also requires a power chair with a back tilt which means she has to hire a driver to drive her wheelchair accessible van, rather than simply calling an Uber or Lyft.

 

 

Despite her disabilities, however, Joyce, a 33-year survivor of ALS, is a real go-getter who continues to work full-time running a non-profit, Stress and Grief Relief, Inc., a 501(c)(3) which she founded in 1999 to help prevent suicide and its causes, including traumatic stress, anxiety, depression and grief.

 

In order to help her continue in this important, life-saving work, let’s help her pay for a good, used replacement van which she so desperately needs. A new wheelchair handicap van is very expensive (around $75,000). We have found some good used wheelchair accessible vans for $15,000.

 

I have known Joyce since 2004, when my mother gave me a copy of her book. I have also seen firsthand the life-saving, life-changing impact she is having with those folks struggling with depression, grief and suicide. In fact, her book changed my life as well. Please keep reading to learn more about the great work she is doing, and how we hope to help.

 

About Joyce’s Suicide Prevention Work

Naturally, Joyce has her share of important personal appointments which require transportation. But what makes this matter even more urgent is the important suicide prevention work she is doing.

 

In fact, it’s no surprise suicide is on the rise. And while Joyce, a crisis chaplain and Board Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress, continues day-after-day to pull people back from the brink of suicide through her counseling calls and through the educational materials, programs and books she donates, there are still a number of meetings and onsite events she needs to attend—all of which require her to have safe and reliable transportation.

 

No doubt, technology has made it increasingly easy to work from home. But when Joyce needs to visit with groups of teens at a youth detention center, inmates at a prison, at-risk kids in schools, various different groups in churches, or older folks struggling with grief or depression at home, technology still has a long, long way to go.

 

She also devotes quite a bit of her time as a guest speaker. She attends conferences and health fairs, running a booth for the non-profit, sharing information about how to reduce stress, depression, and grief, and prevent suicide. These types of events often require her to travel much longer distances, making both her power chair and a reliable, wheelchair accessible van absolutely essential.

 

About the Old Van

The 22-year old van is now unreliable and unsafe with defective handicapped equipment and parts that can no longer be replaced. She has also personally spent thousands of dollars repairing the van and trying to keep it running. Given the mechanical problems, the extensive miles, and the unreliable handicap equipment, I believe Joyce and the hurting people she serves deserve for her to have reliable transportation.

 

There are so many hurting people in the world today. There are so many people who are struggling with thoughts of suicide as a result of traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, and grief. Along with her extraordinary energy, passion for the work, and outstanding record of success, Joyce has a big, big heart for those struggling with hopelessness and despair. She desperately wants to save as many lives as she possibly can and help people find joy and peace of mind. But she needs our help!

 

Will you please help us help her by making even a small donation so we can replace her old van, and help her continue in her critical suicide prevention work?

 

Please help us and share this fundraiser.