speaking of teammates

the lovespeaks series

Speaking of Teammates with John Trautwein Episode #13 / Season Two On this episode of the lovespeaks series we are speaking teammates. John Trautwein is a dear friend, author of My Living Will: A Father’s Story of Loss & Hope, and founder of the Will to Live Foundation – dedicated to preventing teen suicide by improving the lives and the “Will to Live” of teenagers everywhere through education about mental health and encouraging them to recognize the love and hope that exists in each other. John and his wife Susie lost their beautiful son Will 10 ½ years ago to suicide. In those 10 years, they have built a foundation of hope and love for teenagers through the Will to Live Foundation and a whole lot of LOVE. This candid conversation is something every parent should listen to, whether your child is struggling or not. I have learned so much from John’s message and his work and I can honestly say it’s been lifesaving. If you are a regular listener, you know as a mental health advocate, this work means the world to me. Please pass this along to someone you love who needs to hear this message today. Quotes from John Trautwein: Will Trautwein is the oldest of our four kids and he left us 10 ½ years ago to mental illness – depression which led to suicide. He truly loved to see his friends succeed. Remember 13 became their cry. If he told me he was struggling I would have talked him out of it. What I did wrong? I didn’t know about depression. Like most parents that are listening, you cannot stand to see your kid not okay. You have to fix it and you have to fix it now. And that’s really hard. It’s the last thing your kids want you to do. That’s what I learned the most. These kids are really living in a world that I could not relate to. I knew I had to do something positive about this awful thing in my life, otherwise I knew I wouldn’t make it. My goal was to get people to talk. I’m going to create a foundation that’s going to encourage kids to talk by understanding the love and the hope and the understanding that they have for the people sitting right next to them – in the classroom, in the dugout, in the sidelines, the band, the orchestra, the scouting group, the church youth. Whatever team they’re on there’s people who love them. (Life Teammates) If I can get kids to say, “I love you” maybe I can get kids to say “Hey, I’m struggling.” I played in thousands of games. I don’t remember scores. I remember bus rides. The 1 in 5, the 1 in 6 have now become 1 in 2. Now it doesn’t mean 1 in 2 are contemplating suicide. But it means 1 in 2 are struggling and so the awareness level has to be higher for parents whose kids are stuck in a room all day. The human spirit craves companionship. What’s really fun about my world and the foundation is I’m just telling kids to love each other. They say a good coach has the capacity to love his players. And I don’t think that’s enough. I say a great coach shows it. I try every single day to go where the love is. It’s okay not to be okay. These kids wake up knowing that if they make a mistake everyone they’ve ever known will know about it before dinner. I try to become the audience. What you will learn: The signs of suicide. How to encourage kids to talk about their struggle. How to encourage kids to say “love ya man.” How to find your life teammates. It’s okay not to be okay. Resources: Will To Live Foundation: will-to-live.org My Will to Live: A Father’s Story of Loss & Hope: tinyurl.com/trautweinwill Erika’s Lighthouse: erikaslighthouse.org National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ Suicide Hotline: