In The Community
988 Regional Conference
Our keynote speaker, Toy Burton, kicked off the conference with an incredibly powerful speech. She spoke of her own struggles being both a suicide loss and attempt survivor, as well as her journey to creating DeeDee’s Cry, an organization dedicated to suicide prevention efforts, named for Toy’s sister who she lost to suicide. A powerful quote from her keynote address was, “The more we say it out loud; say ‘suicide’ out loud, the more we break the stigma.”
We heard from speakers on updates to georouting, the network agreement, and data analytics. There were presentations on how to better serve remote populations and the importance of cultural competency. We also participated in breakout discussions on effective hybrid and remote staffing, exploring funding opportunities, and why we chose to work in this field.
We walked away from the conference feeling inspired and filled with hope for the future of our organization. It was a terrific opportunity to network with the other 988 centers, as well as our state’s DPH team in person. We strategized ways to improve our communications so we can collaborate more with the other centers in Massachusetts, and we look forward to the growth we will see as a result of our partnerships.
Celebration of Life: Jarryd Jay Leeks
On July 11th of this year, the Leeks family hosted a celebration of life event in memory of Jarryd Jay Leeks. The event was held in honor of the 10 year anniversary of Jarryd’s passing. On July 11th, 2014, Jarryd lost his battle with mental health and died by suicide at the age of 24. Since then, his family has done their best to cope with this tremendous grief by becoming advocates in suicide prevention, awareness, and support for fellow survivors of suicide loss.
Jarryd’s Life and Family
The words eccentric, unique, and creative don’t do justice to describe Jarryd’s larger than life personality. He was a skateboarder, DJ, graffiti artist, and self taught musician who played both the piano and guitar. He could befriend anybody he met and would go out of his way to help anyone who needed it.
His sister, Jessamyn Leeks, says, “It’s a cliche, but his smile really did light up any room he walked into. I remember one time when we got into a small argument when speaking on the phone and I decided I wouldn’t talk to him when he came over, only to find myself laughing with him almost immediately upon his arrival. We could never be mad at each other for long, he was my best friend just as much as he was my brother.”
Jessamyn has been working with the Samaritans on Cape Cod and the Islands since April of 2022. She began her work as a Crisis Line Associate, answering calls and helping those who needed support. She then became a supervisor for the crisis line in 2023, before joining the admin team as our Crisis Line Coordinator in January of this year.
Jarryd’s father, Eric Leeks, has been facilitating Survivors of Suicide Loss groups for the past three years and is very active in suicide prevention and awareness events that take place in Maine. Eric had this to say about his time with the survivors group, “Making a difference by facilitating the group is something I’m incredibly passionate about. I benefited greatly from it early on in the grieving process and can’t imagine not trying to help others who have suffered the tragic loss of a loved one. It’s a very difficult door to walk through for the first time, but soon it’s obvious there’s a lot of love and compassion in that room. “
About the Event
The event, “One Decade Later: Remembering Jarryd Jay Leeks” was held at Bruno’s Restaurant in Portland, Maine. Small businesses and individuals donated prizes to be raffled off during the event. Donations were also collected via GoFundMe and through t-shirt sales. All proceeds from this event were donated to the Cape Samaritans, which totaled $9,400.
“Seeing Jarryd’s old friends and acquaintances, some of whom we hadn’t seen in over a decade, absolutely warmed my heart,” Eric says. “It was as if Jarryd’s spirit was alive and well that night. The stories and laughter we shared at the event was amazing. It was great to see all attending were able to remember Jarryd’s unforgettable life and not his death. I’m so unbelievably grateful to all who attended and/or donated in his honor to the Samaritans.”
“I’m so incredibly grateful for everyone’s support in this event,” Jessamyn writes. “I especially want to thank Marcia Doucette and Jassi Singh for their help with running the raffle table, as well as two of Jarryd’s friends, Alec Dacar and Brody Preston, for their beyond generous donations. Everyone who came out to the event helped to make it the success that it was and I will always remember the kindness you have all shown our family over the years. Jarryd would have been proud of how it turned out, and that’s exactly why I got into this line of work to begin with.”
Eric added, “Needless to say I could never express how incredibly proud I am of Jessamyn and the tireless work she’s doing to make a difference and literally save lives. I’m sure her brother watches over her and is undoubtedly beyond proud, as well.”
Turning Loss into Hope
“We had the idea for this event last year and hoped we could get everyone together and raise awareness or support, but it snowballed into something so much greater,” Jessamyn writes. “Thanks to the generosity of Jarryd’s family and friends, we were able to make a great donation to an incredible organization. If there’s one takeaway, I hope it’s that a single person has the power to make a profound and meaningful impact. My dad touches so many lives in his support groups, and I can recall a few times where I know I helped save someone’s life on the crisis line. I see our Crisis Line Associates going above and beyond for our callers and saving lives all the time. When that life is saved, their families will never have to endure the pain we have felt for the past ten years. There are people out there who may have no idea who we are, and yet their loved one is here because of us. The tragedies that are prevented daily by crisis lines would have impacted many more lives than just the caller’s. Everybody in that banquet room showed up because, even a decade later, Jarryd’s suicide still impacts their lives in some way. I know firsthand how much work is done on the crisis line and behind the scenes to prevent tragedies like ours, so choosing the Cape Samaritans to receive our donation in Jarryd’s honor and memory was an easy choice for us.”
