Cedric Brown

Conference on September 27 aims to address root causes of suicide

August 29, 2014

Detroit, MI – Mentoring Youth Network (MYN), an organization whose mission is to inspire change in Detroit’s youth, is taking a proactive approach to preventing the tragic deaths among the city. On Saturday, September 27, MYN will host the I’mpossible Suicide Awareness Conference for children and parents at Redford Church of Christ located at 16776 Lahser in Detroit from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event’s keynote speaker will be Frank Turner, formerly of WXYZ Channel 7 television. The event is free and open to the public.

This is MYN’s second time hosting the I’mpossible Suicide Awareness Conference. The inaugural event took place in 2012 at Impact Church, where attendees took part workshops that covered depression, bullying, conflict resolution and relationship building. Katrina Hancock, a former sports reporter for WDIV Local 4 television, served as the event’s keynote speaker.

“The impact of our first conference served as evidence that children and their parents need support systems for issues that they don’t always know how to express,” said Tony Weston, Mentoring Youth Network President. “While I’m proud of the impact we made two years ago, I’m personally hurt by the fact that I’ve lost four of my friends to suicide since our first event. This, and the news of other recent suicides in our area, including that of Robin Williams, inspires me to lead our organization to reach out to more people who may be in need. We may not be able to stop everyone, but we’re fortunate to be able to provide a solution for those that truly want help.”

Unique to this year’s I’mpossible Suicide Awareness Conference is the workshop for those interested in dealing with domestic violence issues. This new workshop will be held concurrently with ones for previous topics including depression, bullying, conflict resolution, and relationship building.

To generate awareness for suicide prevention, MYN is selling “I’mpossible” t-shirts which feature the yellow ribbon to honor families who have lost loved ones to suicide. The phrase “I’mpossible” stems from turning a negative word into a positive statement. T-shirts are $15 for sizes small through extra-large and $17 for larger sizes. Proceeds from t-shirt sales will be used towards funding the organization and can be ordered by calling MYN’s office at (313) 552-3831.

For more information on the I’mpossible Suicide Awareness Conference, the I’mpossible campaign, or to become a sponsor, contact Tony Weston at (313) 408-9506 or mentoringyouthnetwork@gmail.com.

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ABOUT MENTORING YOUTH NETWORK

The Mentoring Youth Network is a local mentoring organization in Detroit for children in grades K-8. Created in February 2009, Mentoring Youth Network focuses on the development of young males and young ladies. Their mission is to motivate and prepare young men and women for “real-world” experiences through self-esteem building, higher education, entrepreneurship, creative thinking and practical life skills training.