Inner Harbor Anniversary Happenings
August 29th was the one year anniversary of Inner harbor. I have such mixed feelings about that day. I am incredibly proud of the work that I have accomplished in the past year, but of course, I remember that day is also the anniversary of the death of a beautiful young man that inspired the creation of this work, and that sucks. I can only hope that he would be happy to know that there are other young people like himself that are receiving the support that could have helped him as well. And I hope he also knows that he is thought of every day as I work to educate and support college campuses in his memory.
I have been thinking about what Inner Harbor has accomplished over the past year, as well as my goals for the upcoming year. Let me share a few highlights:
Inner Harbor started with a podcast, The Mourning Meeting, as a way to get information to a large audience in an efficient way. To date, we have dropped 39 episodes, downloaded to 46 states and 25 countries! I have interviewed students, parents, college advisors, authors, mental health professionals and suicide attempt survivors. It has been an amazing experience with some great feedback from people like you! We are currently recording season 3 which will begin airing on September 14th. Stay tuned! Catch up on Season 1 and 2 here. If you think you'd be a good guest, or want to nominate someone to be on the show, reach out to me here.
The number one priority of Inner Harbor has always been to educate and support college campuses who have experienced a loss. Who knew when I was planning to start this organization that a pandemic would throw every single one of us into a loss experience like none other! So the need is bigger than I had ever anticipated. The good news is that schools across the country are also becoming more and more aware of this, and are starting to prioritize student mental health and grief support like they never have before. Without leaving my basement, I have been fortunate to be part of the healing and training of staff, students and communities from New York to California. I have trained colleges and universities, nonprofit organizations, student-run clubs, religious offices, counseling centers and funeral homes. I have also started to schedule in-person trainings and supports beginning in September. If you are interested in learning more how I can provide services for your organization, reach out to me here.
Over the past year, I have also been creating a ton of content, from worksheets about toxic positivity, book recommendations, grief activities and the language of suicide loss. Check out my blog articles to find these resources and more.
In the next year, I have some big plans as well! I am working on my first grief retreat with a private college for the spring, consulting with other grief organizations to create content for them, providing ongoing support to several agencies and schools who are working with grieving students and reviewing bereavement policies that focus on equity for all. It's going to be a busy year and I hope you will join me! Let me know what you are looking for and we can schedule a time to talk about how we can work together. Thank you to all of those who have trusted me to provide services to you in my first year at Inner Harbor. Although I have been doing this work for over 20 years, trusting a new organization has its risks and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the confidence you put in me.