(This was originally posted on myspace but I thought it beared repeating...)
Hey all,
To Write Love On Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to helping those who struggle with depression, self-harm, addiction, suicide and their (often times, even more) devastating effects.
Depression itself is a disease; a debilitating, unstoppable mind-fuck and a constant rollercoaster with no climbs uphill - just a breathtaking plummet down. It affects 121 million people worldwide and will manifest itself in 121 million different ways; no two people will suffer the same fate at the hands of the illness. Some will isolate themselves away from the people they love; others turn to addiction, self-medicating with drugs, drink and sex. A growing number, though, seek relief through self-harm.
Through cutting, burning, picking, hair pulling, it's estimated that 4% of the population struggles with self-harm. It's as complex and confusing an issue as the person suffering from it and each one will have their own reasons for engaging. It's not simple and it's not easily grasped; many times the ones dealing with it don't even understand what the hell they're doing or why. It's a temporary release; a momentary respite from an even greater pain.
Organizations like TWLOHA exist to inform, assist and (most importantly) resurrect hope for those whose daily struggle includes depression and its overwhelming side-effects.
If you're going to be in the Phoenix area on August 2nd or 3rd, please come to Central Christian Church for one of the Third Format services. Jamie Tworkowski, the founder of TWLOHA will be speaking about how God has moved and shaped their group and the impact it's making in the lives they touch.
And if you can't make it, please take a look at the TWLOHA website or myspace page - make a donation, read the story and educate yourself.
Third Format Service Times:
August 2nd, 6:30pm @ the Mesa Campus (933 N. Lindsay Rd.)
August 3rd, 6:30pm @ the Gilbert Campus (955 E. Germann Rd)
For more information on the event, visit the 3F website: Third Format dot com
I've watched some really beautiful people wage war on depression and I've fought the battle myself. Chances are you know one of those 121 million; it's more common than you think.
Don't let them suffer alone.
If you made it this far, thanks. But please don't stop here.
To Write Love On Her Arms website & myspace
To Write Love On Her Arms & 3F
It's July in AZ and the A/C is out
Huff!
Other than that sweaty turn of events, this weekend/beginning of the week has been spectacular.
I got the chance to have an extended lunch on Sunday after LP with one of the students, Nichole. She'd recently moved back to town after living in WA for the past year. We hadn't been close previously but we stayed in touch via myspace and, oddly enough, bonded long distance.
As much as I love the huge group events, I absolutely thrive on the one-on-one face time that I get with them. I remember all too clearly what high school was like and it startles me how much I've learned just in the past 7 years. It's a unique perspective to listen to their problem and realize, with shock, that while I understand where they're coming from, I also have the added luxury of hindsight and knowing where I went wrong. They come to me for advice. It's pretty earth-shaking to a see someone watching you with eager eyes, drinking in your every word. You start to measure what you say a lot more. It's frightening and exilerating; they trust me simply because I have a couple years on them.
Tuesday I had the much anticipated, highly disorganized meeting with the LP Director about finally getting a drama team in place. We've worked on skits and sketches for the past two camps and I've had 5 of the students approach me separately about a more permanent team. They had a blast and did a friggin' outstanding job both times. Mae and I discussed what she wanted and then she printed out the lesson plans for the next few months so I could hatch out some ideas. I got the names and addresses of all the students interested and after I've sketched out some basic framework I'm going to contact them all.
I'm ridiculously excited.
