Hope and Help: You are Not Alone
Hope and Help: You are Not Alone
“Hope and Help: You are Not Alone” is a locally produced audio special for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. The conversation is with experts and advocates from throughout Alabama working and specializing in areas around suicide and suicide prevention. Recorded at the studios of WBHM, it is an honest conversation which explores the topics of stigma around mental health, asking for help, suicidal ideation, as well as practical advice for how to help others. The experts include individuals from UAB Medicine, The Crisis Center, Alabama Suicide Prevention Coalition, and others.
Hope and Help: You are Not Alone
| For those experiencing a suicidal crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. |
Meet the Experts and Advocates
Angela Sullivan is the Assistant Dean for Admissions & Enrollment Management & Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Behavior in the UAB School of Public Health.
Dr. Sullivan is the Board President for the Alabama Suicide Prevention and Resources Coalition (ASPARC), serves on the State and Territorial Advisory Committee for the national Suicide Prevention and Resource Center (SPRC), and is an advisory board member for the Project Zero Suicide Oversight Consortium.
She holds a BS in Criminal Justice, an MS in Criminal Justice, and a PhD in Health Education/Health Promotion. Her work as a suicidologist focuses on suicide prevention through intervention development and evaluation.
Fanicy H. Sears is the owner of eMotion Therapy,LLC a private practice mental health agency located in Birmingham, Alabama. Ms. Sears is dual licensed, practicing as both a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Professional Counseling Supervisor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
As a mental health therapist, Ms. Sears has dedicated her practice to understanding the psychosomatic effects of chronic trauma in family systems. She is a Nationally Certified Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapist, 200 HR Registered Yoga Teacher and Psychedelic Integration Therapist.
ASPARC Board President Cheryl Dodson, lost a friend to suicide in 2015. She is now an advocate for suicide prevention and is a Certified QPR Gatekeeper Trainer. She has co-hosted over 100 QPR Gatekeeper Training presentations since she began working with ASPARC. Cheryl founded the Annual Wildflower Walk and Wellness Fair in Woodstock, Alabama in 2018 to help raise mental health awareness and provide suicide loss survivors with a public event to honor their loss. Cheryl serves on the Indian Rivers Behavioral Health Board of Directors & the State of Alabama Mental Illness Planning Council.
Jess Tomlinson is the Rape Response Outreach and Education Coordinator with Crisis Center Inc. in Birmingham, Alabama. In this role, Jess raises awareness in the community about sexual harm and how the Rape Response team assists those affected. This job includes a great deal of advocacy, but this isn’t where Jess’ passion for the work began. They studied Journalism and Communication Studies at the University of Alabama and participated on the Speech and Debate Team. It was through this program that Jess found their voice and began speaking about the sexual violence they had experienced. Through their story, Jess learned how to advocate for themself as well as how to alert others of this atrocity that affects every demographic.
Shaheed Tawheed is the resident Hip Hop Artist with UAB’s Arts In Medicine. He also is the executive director for the Hip Hop educational foundation Knowledge Rhythm and Understanding (K.R.U.) and he is 1/2 of The International Hip Hop group Shaheed and DJ Supreme. Shaheed teaches and uses the elements and the Art of Hip Hop as a wellness tool to help individuals especially the youth express themselves in a positive productive way.
John Bayles, the Program Director at the Recovery Resource Center, a program of the Crisis Center, has worked in the substance use treatment and recovery field for eight years serving as a program manager, community outreach coordinator and treatment guide and crisis consultant. He’s a UAB graduate who lived in New York for 10 years working as a journalist and in development for a nonprofit whose mission was ending homelessness in NYC. John is a person in long-term recovery, a father and a husband who finds purpose through helping others. Working for the Recovery Resource Center allows him to be of service to the clients, the community and to other organizations.
More Resources From the Experts and Advocates
WBHM’s Resource and Support Guide
a comprehensive list of community organizations that provide assistance with essential needs such as housing, healthcare, food, and crisis support. It serves as a helpful directory for individuals seeking services in Alabama.
Special Made Possible By:
