By Rubin E. Grant
Cheryl Dodson was struggling.
Seven years ago, her friend John B. McLemore, a brilliant but eccentric clock repairman from Woodstock in Bibb County, died by suicide.
The story surrounding him taking his life is featured in a podcast called “S-Town” that’s been downloaded more than 100 million times.
Dodson, who also lives in Woodstock, had difficulty coming to terms with the nature of McLemore’s death and overcoming her grief. She described the suicide as a “very public situation.”
“I was so ashamed,” Dodson said, “and I was dealing with it publicly.”
The experience eventually led Dodson to become a mental health advocate. She also began attending QPR Gatekeeper Training and conducting classes for it. QPR is an acronym for Question, Persuade, Refer in dealing with suicidal behaviors.
Dodson is now executive director of Alabama Suicide Prevention and Resources Coalition. She will be one of the featured guests during Community Grief Support’s “Unmasking the Complexity of Suicide” conference Aug. 17-18 at Canterbury United Methodist Church.
The two-day conference, being held in partnership with ASPARC and the University of Montevallo, is open and free to the public and is for all mental health professionals, nurses, funeral home directors and staff, and graduate students. Community Education credits are available.
According to Catherine Pittman Smith, administrative director of Community Grief Support, the conference is a response to the rise in suicides in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Since COVID began in early 2020, we as a nation, state and community have individually and collectively experienced significant loss – with the accompaniment of depression, anxiety, trauma, complicated and exacerbated grief,” Pittman said in a news release about the conference. “Suicide deaths rose dramatically during and since COVID. In response to this challenging time, Community Grief Support wanted to take a lead role as an educator in our community to help provide more awareness, more understanding, more education.”
Smith said Alabama’s suicide rate consistently ranks higher than the national rate.
“Simply put, there isn’t enough education on suicide prevention, or mental health for that matter,” she said. “We wanted to create space where people can ask questions and learn more about suicide, including what resources are available, how to help and how to make a difference.
“We live in a grief-avoidant society, and we tend to label and put a mask on the subject of suicide with myths, misperceptions and misinformation.”
Among the other special guests at the conference will be Noah Galloway and suicide expert Judith Harrington.
Galloway, a military veteran, Purple Heart recipient, author, double amputee and fitness enthusiast, will be the first of three keynote speakers, which include Dodson and Karen Cook Thomas, an ASPARC board member.
Galloway, a Birmingham native, also is known for his inspiring 2015 performance on “Dancing with the Stars.” On the first day of the conference, he will share his story of his battle with depression and PTSD to find mental and physical wellness.
Dodson, who Pittman describes as a “kind of a suicide guru,” and Thomas will share prevention and intervention strategies and ways to help loved ones in a mental health crisis, as well as providing resources for support and understanding. Their presentation also will be live-streamed.
On the second day, Harrington, PhD, LPC-S, LMFT/University of Montevallo, will be part of a “Stigma-Free Public Conversation” and Q&A panel. CGS Clinical Director Steve Sweatt, LPC-S, LMFT, also will be part of the panel. It will be moderated by Janice Rogers, anchor for WBRC Fox 6.
Dodson expects the panel conversation to be of particular interest.
“I was in a class with Judith Harrington and she mentioned that grief is complicated,” Dodson said. “She said there’s one kind of grief if you have someone you love die in a car wreck, but with suicide there’s blame, shame, judgment and mystery. A lot of individuals don’t have a safe space to share what they are going through. Having a safe place to share is so important and it is such a relief.”
The first day of the conference is scheduled to run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. with check-in beginning at 6 p.m. The second day begins with an 8 a.m. registration and will run from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
For nearly 30 years, CGS has provided – at no cost – individuals, couples, and family grief counseling; more than 20 loss-specific grief support groups annually in 11 communities; and grief education programs throughout the greater Birmingham area.
To learn more about the conference and register, visit the CGS website, communitygriefsupport.org, and click on Events.
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