Take My Hand Support Series with Jean Voice Dart

The Wellness Universe's "Take My Hand Support Series" features interviews with guest speakers on suicide awareness and prevention. It provides resources and education, empowering individuals, providers, and communities.

Join host Jean Voice Dart, an expressive arts psychotherapist, as she interviews expert guests who share tools, wisdom, and insights for suicide prevention and mental wellness. Heartfelt, life-saving, and life-changing conversations will directly connect you to those providing aid, comfort, and care.

This interview series offers an educational and safe space to help ourselves and our loved ones as we heal and recover from challenging times.

Let's celebrate life! Let's pivot challenges into joy. Let's tap the resources we need for ourselves and those we care about.

Join the live sessions:
Second Saturdays, Bi-Monthly
Noon ET

2025:
July 12
September 13
November 8

2026:
January 10
March 14
May 9

Register here: https://bit.ly/WUTakeMyHandSupportSeries

JULY 12 2025
It's OK to Not Be OK: Helping Kids Cope with Family Loss

During this event:
• Gain tools, resources, tips, and techniques for supporting children who have experienced the loss of a family member.
• Hear actionable steps for parents who are transitioning after loss.
• Identify signs when others need professional help, therapy, or additional resources.
• Listen, ask questions, and connect with a supportive, safe community to access mental health tools for well-being and recovery.

The Wellness Universe believes that happy, healthy, healed humans lead to peace globally. Wellness For All events are offered on a donation basis, making them accessible to all. We are grateful for your contribution to support this program. A portion of the Wellness Universe donations are directed to episode-specific organizations. Attendees may also make direct donations to their preferred organization.

Each program in the series is approximately one hour long, recorded live, and available shortly afterward on replay.

HOST
Jean Voice Dart, MS, RMT, CATP, Expressive Arts Psychotherapist of nearly fifty years, has lost multiple family members to suicide. Jean is a certified teacher, coach, and therapist specializing in grief, trauma, and chronic pain. She is a best-selling author who has worked closely with children and adults with special needs, helping them feel, reveal, and heal after experiencing trauma.

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JULY GUEST SPEAKERS

Dr. Mary Welsh, SPHR, SCP, is the President and Co-Founder of Susie Q's Kids, a nonprofit providing comfort bags to children. She holds a Doctorate in Executive Leadership, is a board member of Bereaved Parents of the USA, and is a community partner with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). Dr. Mary is a suicide and grief session facilitator, speaker, and coach helping others cope with loss and adversity.

Carrie Hopkins-Doubts is Chair of the ICF Ethics Independent Review Board, a best-selling author, and a PCC specializing in life transitions. As Founder of "Life's Next Chapter Coaching," she helps widowed individuals reclaim purpose and power. Carrie developed the nine-step "Rebuilding Your Life After Loss" program and contributed to the 2023 review of the ICF Code of Ethics. A workshop leader and writer, Carrie empowers people to embrace change with resilience.

CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION
Susie Q's Kids, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, is a two-time Community Partner of the Year with the AFSP, supporting suicide prevention and children's mental health. They work with businesses and youth groups to create comfort bags, inspiring kindness and community service. Their Smile Makers team distributes essentials, including panda bears, blankets, socks, hygiene kits, and grief support items, to children in hospitals, shelters, foster care facilities, advocacy centers, and other locations.

EMERGENCY AND CRISIS RESOURCE LIST
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, it is essential to seek help. Call, text, or chat 988 to speak with a trained crisis counselor who offers support 24/7/365. Find more emergency resources here:

The Wellness Universe Emergency and Crisis Resource List
https://www.thewellnessuniverse.com/emergency-and-crisis-resource-list/

EMERGENCY AND CRISIS RESOURCE LIST
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, it is important to seek help. Call, text, or chat 988 to speak to a trained crisis counselor offering support 24/7/365. Find more emergency resources here:

The Wellness Universe Emergency and Crisis Resource List
Emergency and Crisis Resource List | The Wellness Universe
https://www.thewellnessuniverse.com/emergency-and-crisis-resource-list/

Take My Hand: Supporting Youth held September 2024
The event focused on preventing youth suicide by offering practical tools, compassionate insights, and life-affirming resources to parents, educators, and caregivers. Speakers explored how to support highly sensitive teens, reduce access to lethal means, and deepen trust with young people—creating a safer, more connected world for the next generation.

The event host Lisa Bonta Sumii, LCSW, CMPC, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Mental Performance Consultant®, is known for her work in mental health and performance in sports.

- Expert speaker Judy Giovangelo, Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist and Founder of Ben Speaks, shared wisdom from her lived experience and guided participants in how to support empathic, sensitive teens.

- Dr. Joshua Stein, Psychiatrist with PrairieCare, taught the CALM method to reduce access to lethal means, emphasizing the life-saving importance of “removing the how” to give time to uncover the “why.”

- Gayle Nowak, Communication and Emotional Wellness Coach, offered strategies to help adults nurture deeper, trust-filled relationships with youth through self-awareness, healing, and authentic connection.

This meaningful conversation kicked off a support series focused on suicide prevention, community healing, and mental wellness.

Disclaimer from The Wellness Universe:
This program may offer health, wellness, and nutritional information and is designed for educational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. Do not disregard, avoid, or delay obtaining medical or health-related advice from your healthcare professional because of something you may have read, heard, watched here. The use of any information provided in this program is solely at your own risk.

Developments in medical research may impact the health, wellness, fitness, and nutritional advice that may be shared here. No assurances can be given that the information contained in this program will always include the most relevant findings or developments with respect to the particular material.

The experts in the program are sharing tools, practices, and knowledge with you with a sincere and generous intent to assist you on your health and wellness journey. Please contact them with any questions you may have about the techniques or information they provided. They will be happy to assist you further!