August 21, 2025 • 35 mins
*** September is Suicide Prevention Month ***
MORE THAN 49,000 LIVES ARE LOST TO SUICIDE EACH YEAR IN THE UNITED STATES
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Rallies Communities Nationwide With Walks to Honor Loved Ones and Support Prevention – Find a Walk in Your Area
Suicide has a profound impact on families, leaving many to navigate grief while facing the stigma that too often surrounds mental health. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) works to help people better understand suicide, give them the tools to help others in crisis and address a leading cause of death.
One of the ways AFSP brings communities together is through the Out of the Darkness Community Walks, a nationwide series of events designed to raise awareness and encourage participation in suicide prevention efforts. These walks give people the opportunity to honor loved ones lost to suicide and show support for programs that save lives.
Just ahead of Suicide Prevention Month, on Friday, August 29, AFSP leaders Robert Gebbia and Michael F. Lamma will be available for interviews to discuss how the organization is mobilizing communities, advancing research and fostering connection through events like the Out of the Darkness Walks.
Suggested Questions:
• Tell us about the goals of the Out of the Darkness Walks.
• Where can people find local walks in their community, and how can they get involved?
• What are some warning signs that someone may be in crisis, and how can people start a conversation with someone they are concerned about?
• What types of prevention and support programs are available?
• Where can we go to learn more?
Robert Gebbia serves as the CEO of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, which has become the leading suicide prevention nonprofit organization in the United States. Since joining AFSP, Gebbia has developed a nationwide network of more than 70 chapters and increased AFSP’s annual revenue from $700,000 to over $39 million in support of the mission. In the last five years alone, AFSP has initiated and funded one out of every five studies on suicide – making AFSP the largest private funder of suicide research in the world. In 2015, Gebbia announced AFSP’s bold goal to reduce the annual suicide rate in the U.S. 20 percent by 2025. Gebbia has an extensive background in nonprofit management, strategic planning, fundraising, and program development. Prior to joining AFSP, Gebbia had a successful career with the United Way and served as a Public Health Advisor for the City of New York. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Hofstra University and a master’s degree in Sociology from the New School for Social Research. He completed the Harvard Business School’s Human Services Management Executive Program and IBM’s Leadership Commitment Program for nonprofit executives.
MORE THAN 49,000 LIVES ARE LOST TO SUICIDE EACH YEAR IN THE UNITED STATES
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Rallies Communities Nationwide With Walks to Honor Loved Ones and Support Prevention – Find a Walk in Your Area
Suicide has a profound impact on families, leaving many to navigate grief while facing the stigma that too often surrounds mental health. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) works to help people better understand suicide, give them the tools to help others in crisis and address a leading cause of death.
One of the ways AFSP brings communities together is through the Out of the Darkness Community Walks, a nationwide series of events designed to raise awareness and encourage participation in suicide prevention efforts. These walks give people the opportunity to honor loved ones lost to suicide and show support for programs that save lives.
Just ahead of Suicide Prevention Month, on Friday, August 29, AFSP leaders Robert Gebbia and Michael F. Lamma will be available for interviews to discuss how the organization is mobilizing communities, advancing research and fostering connection through events like the Out of the Darkness Walks.
Suggested Questions:
• Tell us about the goals of the Out of the Darkness Walks.
• Where can people find local walks in their community, and how can they get involved?
• What are some warning signs that someone may be in crisis, and how can people start a conversation with someone they are concerned about?
• What types of prevention and support programs are available?
• Where can we go to learn more?
Robert Gebbia serves as the CEO of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, which has become the leading suicide prevention nonprofit organization in the United States. Since joining AFSP, Gebbia has developed a nationwide network of more than 70 chapters and increased AFSP’s annual revenue from $700,000 to over $39 million in support of the mission. In the last five years alone, AFSP has initiated and funded one out of every five studies on suicide – making AFSP the largest private funder of suicide research in the world. In 2015, Gebbia announced AFSP’s bold goal to reduce the annual suicide rate in the U.S. 20 percent by 2025. Gebbia has an extensive background in nonprofit management, strategic planning, fundraising, and program development. Prior to joining AFSP, Gebbia had a successful career with the United Way and served as a Public Health Advisor for the City of New York. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Hofstra University and a master’s degree in Sociology from the New School for Social Research. He completed the Harvard Business School’s Human Services Management Executive Program and IBM’s Leadership Commitment Program for nonprofit executives.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
They can't fix the history.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
They did.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Their ancestors made this country into a slave, a slave hell.
But they can clean it up now because they got
the Smithsonian. They can get rid of all the slavery
stuff they got, prager you. They can lie about the
history to the children. They can't originally invent anything more
than they ever were able to invent good music.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
We black folk gave.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Y'all country music, hip hop, R and B.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Jazz, rock and roll.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
They couldn't even invent that. But they have to call
a white man the king because they couldn't.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Make rock and roll.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
So they have to stamp the king on a man
whose main song was stolen from an overweight black woman.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Oh, the grievance parade continues, and that's Joy Reid as
the conductor of the band Ryan Schuling live with you
five seven, seven, three nine. We'll get to some of
your texts and clean those up from yesterday on some
topics that we were discussing and more here today with
Joy Reid, and I hope, I pray, I wish that
(01:00):
the left will continue on this path, in this way
of thinking. The silos that you're assigned to, that you
have no choice about fery, immutable characteristics. That's what the
Democratic Party is all about. Things that you did not choose,
that no one chose. If you are white, black, somewhere
(01:20):
in between, any other color, you are assigned to silo.
If you are heterosexual or gay or anything in between,
they're going to put you in in alphabet soup silo
for one side of that, and you must stay within
that and conform to it and express views only in
(01:42):
accordance with the orthodoxy and talking points therein. You can't
be a log cabin Republican. Don't do that. You cannot
be part of gaze against groomers. What are you doing.
You're stepping out of line. Stay in your lane, vote
Democrat and shut up. That is their sales pitch right now.
Is it convincing to you? I don't care which side
of the political spectrum you're on. This constant race baiting
(02:06):
and identifying again simply by immutable characteristics is wearing out
its welcome. It is tried, it is cliche, it is overplayed.
And I'm not just talking about people on our side
of the political aisle, center right and so forth, talking
about those people that are right in the middle. I'm
(02:26):
talking about those people that are center left. I'm talking
about people like RFK Junior, Joe Rogan, Bill Maher and
others that are just sick of this same playbook. It
is tired, it is old. We're sick of it. We're
all sick of it. The Elvis hate. Let's get back
(02:47):
to that. Just marked the anniversary of his death a
couple of days ago. As I recall, I don't remember
Elvis dying. I was just shy of three years old.
But it was in August in nineteen seventy seven. And
it's been a few years now that Elvis has been deceased,
longer than he was alive. But let's talk about Elvis
(03:10):
for a moment. Elvis Presley was one of the kindest,
most generous, most down to earth, heartfelt superstars, iconic on
a level unknown to most people that will ever exist
on this planet. Elvis Presley, that's how big he was.
(03:30):
But he nevertheless lost that Southern charm, his instinct, his
impulse to give to others. I mean, it was notorious
with the Colonel, and there was that film that came out.
It documented his life and Tom Hanks played the Colonel
and Colonel Tom Parker and He was not necessarily a
(03:50):
good influence on Elvis, nor did he give good advice,
nor was he to be trusted with finances, etc. But
Elvis didn't care. Elvis was not greedy. He was wealthy,
but he wanted to share in that wealth with everybody.
He was notorious. Oh thank you very much, I'm gonna
get you a Cadillac. And he would just buy people Cadillacs,
(04:12):
like send them a Cadillac. This was a running bit,
and he did this. This is a bit based on reality. Also,
he gave, he gave, and he gave, and he wrote
checks and some of them. I mean, Elvis was not
left with probably as much money as he should have
been had he gotten the proper advice, maybe if he
had had a trading wealth back in the day. There
(04:32):
we go. I mean, Priscilla talks about this, his wife.
But the other thing that Elvis did in his kindness
of spirit, and he was a good man. Elvis Presley
was a great man. Is he allowed for black music
to have a platform that they otherwise would not have
had in that day and age. And here we go again.
(04:54):
You cannot view history through the prism of a twenty
twenty five lens everything in retrospect, Monday morning quarterbacking as
we look back and reflect upon it makes sense to
us in this day and age. But how far did
we have to come from nineteen fifty five to twenty
twenty five. That's seventy years if you and most of
(05:19):
them are deceased now, whether it was Little Richard, James, Brown,
Ray Charles, you go down that list and you will
not find a single one of them that said a
bad word about Elvis Presley. They loved Elvis because Elvis
loved them. Elvis loved and revered their music. He paid
(05:42):
tribute to it. And yes, this has been the big
criticism from the left, and I would venture to say
disaffected Black Americans who think that there was not proper
credit given to the origins of that music, to the
blues and soul and jazz. And yes they have black roots,
(06:03):
there is no denying that. And it's wonderful. It's a
wonderful part of our history and our culture, and it
is to be celebrated for those names that I just
mentioned him many more. But what Elvis did, He did
put a white face on it. What did that do? Again?
Think about it in the time that time. He brought
(06:25):
it into the mainstream. He made black music popular. He
paved the way and opened the doors for A Ray,
Charles A. James Brown, a little Richard to break through
and become sensations and hits in their own right. And
that would have been a lot more difficult at that
(06:47):
time in our history without Elvis Presley. And they gave
him credit for that. He didn't steal from them. It
was in tribute. It was in reverence to that music
that he wanted to bring it out for the masses
of Americans to appreciate, to enjoy, and to see that
(07:07):
we didn't have to live in the silos created by race.
My mom grew up in e Course just outside of
Detroit in Motown during Motown, and she had scores of
black classmates at River Rouge High School for the Panthers.
They were legendary in her time going there in the
(07:30):
mid sixties. Heart of it all. Lofton Green Boys basketball coach,
state champions landmark achievements there and then, and of course
Barry Gordye in Motown, Smokey Robinson still with us. Go
ask Smokey Robinson how he feels about Elvis Presley and
if I find a clip, I'm going to look for it.
We'll play it. But I'm sick of this Elvis hate,
(07:52):
and I'm sick of the race baiting, and I'm sick
of people like Joy Reid. This is such a cheap
cynical to play and it's not based in reality. And
it's time we set the record straight. White people only
made this country into a slave hell. This is what
we were talking about yesterday, remembering Rush. This is what
(08:13):
they do, This is what they have to do. They
have to undermine the very premise of America. They have
to change seventeen seventy six into the sixteen nineteen project.
They have to underpin and say everything was based upon
white supremacy and slavery, and therefore everything that the United
States of America stands for was founded upon the Constitution,
(08:35):
the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence is null
and void, and we must tear it all down and
build it back up in their utopian, Marxist image of
how things should be. And there is danger in that
because that kind of message sells to the people that
are only knee deep in what they should know about
(08:58):
American history, what America means to the world, and to us,
America is a force for good. America is not perfect,
but like I say, the idea of America is perfect,
and it applies to everyone across all racial lines, all
religious lines, all sexual orientations. Anybody that wants to come
(09:21):
here and be an American and embrace our way of
life and contribute to our society and our culture can
do it. We are the great melting pot. But you
come here with a purpose, with a sense of what
it means to be an American. Joy Reid has either
(09:42):
no sense of that, and I doubt that, or again,
this is a cheap, cynical ploy to continue the rhetoric,
the heated rhetoric, the hatred of white people. I don't
know how this is going to play in Peoria, but
I don't think it's going to play very well. This
is part of the d Democrat messaging problem. And Greg
(10:02):
Guttfeld talks a little bit more about this on the
five from yesterday.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Craig, I think you started out by saying, if you
lose your job at Legacy Medy, she's being paid three
million dollars a year and lost half of review after
Trump was elected. So isn't the message there too that
This just doesn't sell.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
First of all, I want reparations for her stupidity.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
This is not new.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
She was doing this on MSNBC all the time.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
They were okay with it. You reverse her race. She's
David Duke cute. Yeah, but I have to applaud her.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
She said, White's never invented anything. It's her first admission
ever that we didn't come up with slavery, So who
did If it wasn't white.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Non white.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
It's gonna make it hard for your next screed on reparations.
Guess we're all guilty in that case. So maybe we'll
just split it and figure out where the money has
to go.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Pharaoh, let my people go. That goes back to the
Old Testament. Slavery's been around for basically as long as
there's been human existence on this planet, no matter what
you believe, and Rush Limbaugh made the point yesterday that
we heard that they're still on this planet. In the
history of mankind, have been more people that have lived
under totalitarian dictatorial regimes than have lived in freedom that
(11:19):
we have provided that the United States has created and
provided and demonstrated to the world. Look at all the
parliamentary governments throughout Europe, the Western world followed our lead. Ironically,
Great Britain followed our lead to a large extent, removing
the power of the monarchy, inserting the power of a
(11:40):
prime minister presiding over a parliament, a House of Lords,
and a House of Commons. The United States showed the
way forward to individual rights, liberties, and freedoms, and the
rest of the world followed in our wake. And that's
just the fact of the matter. The United States set
the standard, became the beacon, that shining city on a
(12:02):
hill that President Reagan talked about. And I refuse to
acknowledge or abide anybody that says that the United States
is a force for darkness or evil on this planet.
You can gt to the fo with that crap. It
is nonsense and it is not based in historical fact.
(12:23):
Guttfeld goes from the top rope right here.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
WHOA Joey talks about this stuff because she thinks about
these things, because she desires them, and she's ashamed of it.
She is ashamed that she's not street enough. She's a blackademic,
a person who.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Gets love by earnest.
Speaker 4 (12:38):
Terrified, white credentialed academics, and it causes her insecurity and pain,
and she has to express this file as a cover.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
She likes white things and she hates herself for it.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
It's like again the New York writer said she would
hate having a child with a white man.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Why is she.
Speaker 4 (12:57):
Thinking about that because she feels kind of white about it?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Is Guttfeld right on this five seven seven three nine.
Shoot me a text, if you will please, and again,
would conduct a poll yesterday? I asked is America great?
Is the United States of America great? And how that
polling would go? And how I predicted. And I believe
Kelly and I agreed on this. North of ninety percent
(13:22):
of those who identify as Republicans would say, yes, America
is great. It's a force for good in the world.
And I would venture to say it's around a quarter
twenty five percent somewhere in there. Twenty to thirty would
be my guess of registered Democrats who would say the same.
Independence I would hope north of fifty probably probably, I'd
say somewhere between sixty and seventy five percent. Just these
(13:42):
are just guesses of mine, educated guesses, but guesses. Nevertheless,
the other part I would ask, and I think this
comes from messaging an attitude, an ethos. How do you
define yourself, not just politically, but in terms of your
place in the world. Are you proud to be an American?
(14:06):
And yet, I'm going straight Lee Greenwood on this one.
Are you proud to be an American? Is there anything
wrong with being proud to be an American? And of
course I would say there's nothing wrong with that, And
obviously I am extremely proud, grateful, thankful to be an American.
And I say that from the perspective of a mother
(14:26):
who came to this country at the age of two
as an immigrant, did not speak a word of English
when she entered the River Rouge school system at age
five in kindergarten, but she learned English. She had a wonderful,
caring teacher who walked her through that, and by the
end of kindergarten, my mom spoke perfect English and translated
for her own. Family would go to the store the
(14:48):
market with my Baba, my grandmother and help her help
her learn English. My mother did that. My mom, after
coming here as a two year old Serbian immigrant, going
to kindergarten without speaking a word of English, learning the language.
She didn't even tell me about this. I didn't even
know it un till later in her life. My mom
(15:09):
skipped a grade in middle school. That's how smart she was.
That's all as possible because of the dream and the
hope and the promise of America. So you bet your
bottom dollar, I'm proud of that, and you should be too,
and Democrats should be too. And you know what, maybe
deep down they are, but they can't tell you that
(15:30):
because they have this grievance rhetoric. Everybody's a victim, everybody's
been wronged in some way, the cards have been the
deck has been stacked against them, and so they make
excuses rather than using that as motivation that I am
going to overcome whatever is in front of me, and
I am determined to succeed come what. May you know why?
(15:53):
Because I live in the United States of America, where
anything is possible. And that might sound jingoistic to you,
overly patriotic, and then left will make fun of that.
But I would invite you once again go to any interview,
including a recent one on the view. Arnold Schwarzenegger. No conservative,
he's a modern Republican and he's very much a Trump hater.
(16:13):
That's all beside the point get him going on what
it means to him to be an American and how
much pride he has in that, how grateful he was
for the opportunities that America presented to him. And he
was very similar to my mom. Spoke very broken English
when he came to this country as mister Universe, as
a bodybuilder, and then he wanted to become an actor.
(16:35):
What you can't speak English? Conan the Barbarian had some
bit roles here and there. They were trying to voices
for him because he again, he couldn't speak English. But
what did Arnold do? He set his mind to something,
He set a goal, he determined a path to reach it,
and he achieved it. Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the
great American success stories. And then he entered politics. He
(16:59):
became govern of California. The Governata joy Read is so bad.
Jessica Tarloff of the Five is distancing herself from joy Reid.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Jessica, I think they're seeing why in part, the Democratic
parties losing customers and Trump and the Republicans are gaining them.
Are you comfortable with this constant race baiting.
Speaker 5 (17:21):
Joy Read is not a spokeswoman for the party and
I think that you know in the autopsy that has
been written thus far since Kamala Harris's loss on November fifth,
twenty twenty four, that we've talked a lot about identity politics,
and basically, anyone who has a shot in twenty twenty
eight is going to change the way that they speak
(17:42):
to specific groups, and it's going to be far less
of an impact on the way that we message and
develop policy. I believe in that conversation that she was
talking about the impact of those black creators, and I
think that's a perfectly reasonable conversation to be having. But
I don't like to talk about mediocre white man white men,
(18:02):
and I think Jasmine Crockett had used that term as well,
army or white boys or something, and when she did
a cable hit a couple months ago.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Okay, So Tarla's right on that last point and initially
separating herself from read those are all good things in
the middle, though she loses it, she gets lost in
the sauce. I in no ways tired. That's how Hillary
Clinton attempted to speak to black Southern Baptists at a gathering.
You don't have a separate message, Jessica By all means
(18:31):
continue this, but it's ridiculous and it is a losing strategy.
You don't talk to hispanics one way and black people
another way, and rich coastal liberal elite people another way,
and country bumpkins like me from the middle of the country.
You had a fourth way. No no Democrat, thank god.
(18:53):
Yet has run on that and won on that, even
Joe Biden. I mean he put up them, as did
Barack Obama. And I think Bill Clinton actually felt this way,
that there's one way forward. We're not red state state
for the United States, and that Barack Obama even had
a message at least he attempted to sell to the
country that we have more in common than we don't.
(19:16):
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the country as president. But this divisive silo assignment politics
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Speaker 6 (20:28):
A devastating post from North Glenn Police Department and sharing
the news about longtime please Detective Paul jac with these
pictures highlighting his smile. They share that his death of
suicide reflects the silent struggles first responders face.
Speaker 7 (20:42):
More law enforcement officers die every year by suicide than are.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Killed on the job.
Speaker 7 (20:50):
Trauma which law enforcement officers live with on a daily basis,
stays in the bottom.
Speaker 6 (20:54):
Attorney General Phil Wiser is the board chair of Colorado
Post Peace Officers Standards and training.
Speaker 7 (21:01):
We want a culture of policing where people are told,
maybe you want to take this one out, maybe you
don't want to go to this incident that could be
very painful because it will re traumatize you from another
painful incident. Because when people suffer in silence, that's when
we see the sorts of tragedies that we're now talking about.
Speaker 6 (21:21):
A February article from cun Shoots talks about discoveries made
by University of Colorado Center for Combat Medicine and Battlefield Researchers.
It states as many as thirty percent of police officers, firefighters,
and EMS personnel will develop behavioral health challenges. They found
nearly seventy percent of EMS professionals surveyed said they never
(21:41):
have enough time to recover between traumatic events.
Speaker 7 (21:44):
I went to the legislature to make sure that we
had a grant program of five million dollars to support
law enforcement agencies across Colorado so they could hire psychological
services to be at the ready to be on call. Currently,
there's money being given out with the purposes of how
do we help support recruitment and retention. One of the
(22:06):
most important tools to retain peace officers is to support
their wellness and mental health.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (22:14):
So on the post website, they actually have a whole
page dedicated to resources things like peer.
Speaker 8 (22:20):
Support programs, to crisis hotline numbers, a lot more. We
have that posted on this story on our website. We
also hope to speak with loved ones in the police
department after the funeral next week, reporting live here in
North Glend, Nicole Fierro Fox thirty one a devastating post
from North Glen Police Department.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Sorry about that. Our thanks to Fox thirty one for
that and setting politics aside. Attorney General Phil Wiser actually
makes several good points in there about the mental health
and the concerns about which apply to our law enforcement
officers who were responding often to scenes that are very
traumatic in both how they occurred and then both how
they're observed by those who are detectives on the scene,
(23:02):
that are investigating on the scene, that are police first
responders to the scene, and that can take a toll,
and it does, and we certainly send our own thoughts
and prayers out to Paul Jesse, the longtime detective in
North Glenn who took his own life and the reason
we're talking about this today leads to our next guest,
a head of Suicide Prevention Month in September. Bob Gebbia
(23:25):
is the CEO of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
and he joins us now on Ryan Schuling Live. Bob,
thank you so much for taking the time and for
all that you do.
Speaker 9 (23:35):
Oh my pleasure to be with you.
Speaker 10 (23:36):
Ryan.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
You hear that story and it's heartbreaking to say the least.
But why this is so important to you, maybe personally
or on a professional level, perhaps both the yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 9 (23:49):
Everyone is touched by this in some way. And the
research shows about six out of ten of us will
lose someone close to suicide during our lifetime. So and
we all care about the people around us, whether that's
our classmates, coworkers, first responders, is in the story you
just mentioned obviously our military and veterans as well, and
(24:12):
it has a profound impact on families and friends when
someone does die by suicide. So it's something we know
if we work hard at we can prevent, and I
think that's the key thing. But it does take some work,
and it does take an investment of understanding why and
what to look for, warning signs and all of those things.
(24:32):
To really stop this terrible, tragic loss of life.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
And Bob, if you could take us back to the
origin story for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, just
how it came about and what makes it so important.
Speaker 9 (24:45):
Yes, well, we were formed in the late nineteen eighties
and it was really several researchers who were studying this
issue and felt there was not enough investment in research
and science on how to prevent suicide, and also by families,
families that lost loved ones. And you can imagine back then,
you know that when someone died by suicide in the family,
(25:08):
family didn't talk about it, they kept it a secret.
There was shame and fear of discrimination and blame the
family and all those terrible things. And they felt there
needs to be an organization dedicated to preventing suicide. And
that's our mission at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention,
to prevent suicide and bring hope, bring hope to those
affected by suicide.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
He's the CEO of the aforementioned American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Bob Gebbia with us here on Ryan Schuling Live. You
go back to the late eighties, as you mentioned, Bob
and the stigma that was assigned to those that were
suffering from PTSD, whether it was our war heroes from
World War II on through Vietnam, et cetera. And that
there was also a stigma attached to those who sought
(25:52):
help through therapy, through talking to somebody, a counselor. And
we know that a lot of those walls have been
broken down. If you could take us through that process
and what the perception is toward mental health and suicide
prevention and just the power of being able to just
talk about issues with somebody and how important that is.
Speaker 9 (26:12):
Yeah, things have changed, and they have changed quite a bit,
especially since nineteen eighties, but even since COVID, you know,
we see a marked difference and change in what people
how they think about mental health. Understanding that our mental
health is a part of our health, our overall health right.
And we know through surveys that show that that the
(26:32):
vast majority of Americans now understand that mental health is
as important as their physical health. They also believe suicide
can be prevented. In the most recent public opinion poll
that we did about a year ago, what we found
is that nine out of ten believe that suicide is
a preventable cause of death. Maybe not always, but but
(26:53):
we could do more to prevent it. So attitudes have changed,
but that doesn't mean when someone's struggling they ne necessoroughly
reach out for help. And that's something that's a bridge
we have to cross to make it easier for people
who are having a hard time with their mental health
are thinking about suicide because they become so hopeless and
feel nothing's going to get better. We have to be
(27:15):
able to make it easier for them to open up
and talk about it and get the help that they need.
And that's a part of what we offer. What are
the tools, What are the kinds of things someone can
do when they're concerned about somebody who may be struggling
and get them the help they need.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Coming up on September, which is Suicide Prevention Month, and
as part of that, Bob your organization is setting up
out of the Darkness community walks and many of those
may be available to people in our listening audience as well.
If you could inform us about that and what they
do and what they mean.
Speaker 9 (27:51):
Yeah, well, one of the things we do know is
that there's a real importance to connection, right and what
the walks do is bring people together who have been
affected by suicide. Many have lost a loved one to suicide,
and they're walking in honor of their loved one. Many
who walk are concerned about either themselves or a family
(28:13):
member or someone they care about, and that's why they walk.
And also they're with people who understand, who are not
going to judge them. You know. It's a safe place
to get involved and be with others like you who
have been touched by this or care about it. And
I can't emphasize enough. We want people to come out
and walk who care about this, even if they have
(28:34):
not been personally touched. And so what the walks do
is they form that connection people together, but they also
raise a lot of awareness and with that comes more
education and understanding, and people look into it, you know,
go on our website a FSP dot org and learn
more about what are the warning signs, what can I
do or how can I get involved to be an
(28:56):
advocate or get involved with my local chapter. There's tappings
all over the country, including throughout Colorado. So I think
the reality is these walks raise awareness, connect people, and
they also raise funds, and that's that's important. Because we
need more money. We need to invest in more research
and advocacy and programs to prevent suicide. In these walks
(29:17):
help to do that.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
Bob gb you, a CEO of the American Foundation for
Suicide Prevention with us. He mentioned that website AFSP dot
org and at the very top the banner there asks
if you were in a crisis or if you know
someone who is, all they need to do is text
talk tl OKA to seven four one, seven four one.
In addition to that on the website, Bob, I know
(29:39):
this is a one stop shop for people that want
to donate, that want to contribute, that want to participate.
But is there information on said website about these community
walks that are coming up and will there be some
here in the state of Colorado.
Speaker 9 (29:52):
Yeah, so there there's information if you go again to
a FSP dot org slash walk or there's a also
a button you could see find a walk near you.
There are walks throughout the country and in Colorado. Matter
of fact, coming up on the thirteenth of September is
the walk in Denver, and there's information about that. So
(30:13):
it's the Saturday morning on the thirteenth, But yes, go
on the website find a walk near you and this
ways would to participate either walk, come out and just
be there or support support a walker, make a donation.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
Such an important cause and what a great organization. The
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention CEO Bob Gebbia with us
on this edition of Ryan Schuling Live. Bob, thank you
so much again for your time and for all that
your organization does to help raise awareness about suicide and
to help prevent it.
Speaker 9 (30:46):
Well, thank you appreciat being with you than.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
Bob Gebbia joining us there five seven, seven thirty nine.
Your thoughts, your texts will wrap up our number one
this episode. After this, we've been talking about a lot
of economic factors here in the state of Colorado and
what drives them up or down. Well, in following that,
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Speaker 10 (32:27):
That people like what we're doing. I'll give you another SoundBite.
I actually happened to be in Orlando last week with
all of our managers. We bring them together and once
every other year, and the number one question that I
got asked Michael was how can I get a remodel?
When can I get a remodel? How do I get
on the list? Really so, because the feedback and the
buzz is so good, not only from our customers but
from our team members. They want to work in a
(32:50):
wonderful restaurant. So we're doing everything for our guests and
our team members.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
You're not dealing Massinel. It's wonderful to have you here.
Pleasure to thank you. Thank you answer those questions for
all the Crackenberry fan there a lot of great changes.
Thank you, all right, thank you? Oh come on, now,
what else you saying and writing that the peg game
is going to stay?
Speaker 10 (33:09):
That game is saying so are the rocking chairs, the birthplace,
vintage to core.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
It's all there? All right, okay, because that would be
a deal breaker. No, this is a deal breaker. Even
on CNN right now, cracker barrel stock has plummeted, has crashed.
This is bud light all over again from this woke CEO.
They all look the same. They got the thick corn
room glasses. Could be Mark Cuban, could be Rachel Maddow
(33:35):
In this case, it's Julie fels Messino. Of course she
has three names and is hyphenated. She is the CEO
of Cracker Barrel. I love Cracker Barrel. This is an
institution in the Midwest. You're going on a road trip,
there's a Cracker Barrel. Now that's a chain restaurant, but
it's got a good down home cooking food. Let's get
(33:56):
some gravy, that sort of thing, comfort food. It's got
an old country store. It's very unique in that space
in the restaurant market. Now, what has happened here is
they have watered down the logo from this old he's
white country bumpkin dude in a chair like the chairs.
(34:17):
They sell a cracker barrel with a barrel, and it
says old country store. They've gotten rid of all of that.
They deleted him, like taking Aunt Jemima off of the syrup,
like taking Uncle Ben's off of the rice. Leave the
logos alone. This is a disaster on their hands. It
is not popular. She did not crowdsource this with typical
(34:41):
Cracker Barrel goers. Why would you take your root core audience,
your target market demographic and piss them off and do
something to erase the erasure of what makes Cracker Barrel
great and unique. This is plum stupidity, and the stock
prices are tanking as a result of this logo change
(35:05):
by Cracker Barrel. It's just this really banal, benign, anti septic,
sterile kind of logo now same colors, but no caricature,
no charm. This is a disgrace and it should be reversed,
this decision, and that CEO should be booted. How did
she get that job in the first place. They can't
(35:28):
get out of their own way. The left Brian shooting
life continues after this
They can't fix the history.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
They did.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Their ancestors made this country into a slave, a slave hell.
But they can clean it up now because they got
the Smithsonian. They can get rid of all the slavery
stuff they got, prager you. They can lie about the
history to the children. They can't originally invent anything more
than they ever were able to invent good music.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
We black folk gave.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Y'all country music, hip hop, R and B.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Jazz, rock and roll.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
They couldn't even invent that. But they have to call
a white man the king because they couldn't.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Make rock and roll.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
So they have to stamp the king on a man
whose main song was stolen from an overweight black woman.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Oh, the grievance parade continues, and that's Joy Reid as
the conductor of the band Ryan Schuling live with you
five seven, seven, three nine. We'll get to some of
your texts and clean those up from yesterday on some
topics that we were discussing and more here today with
Joy Reid, and I hope, I pray, I wish that
(01:00):
the left will continue on this path, in this way
of thinking. The silos that you're assigned to, that you
have no choice about fery, immutable characteristics. That's what the
Democratic Party is all about. Things that you did not choose,
that no one chose. If you are white, black, somewhere
(01:20):
in between, any other color, you are assigned to silo.
If you are heterosexual or gay or anything in between,
they're going to put you in in alphabet soup silo
for one side of that, and you must stay within
that and conform to it and express views only in
(01:42):
accordance with the orthodoxy and talking points therein. You can't
be a log cabin Republican. Don't do that. You cannot
be part of gaze against groomers. What are you doing.
You're stepping out of line. Stay in your lane, vote
Democrat and shut up. That is their sales pitch right now.
Is it convincing to you? I don't care which side
of the political spectrum you're on. This constant race baiting
(02:06):
and identifying again simply by immutable characteristics is wearing out
its welcome. It is tried, it is cliche, it is overplayed.
And I'm not just talking about people on our side
of the political aisle, center right and so forth, talking
about those people that are right in the middle. I'm
(02:26):
talking about those people that are center left. I'm talking
about people like RFK Junior, Joe Rogan, Bill Maher and
others that are just sick of this same playbook. It
is tired, it is old. We're sick of it. We're
all sick of it. The Elvis hate. Let's get back
(02:47):
to that. Just marked the anniversary of his death a
couple of days ago. As I recall, I don't remember
Elvis dying. I was just shy of three years old.
But it was in August in nineteen seventy seven. And
it's been a few years now that Elvis has been deceased,
longer than he was alive. But let's talk about Elvis
(03:10):
for a moment. Elvis Presley was one of the kindest,
most generous, most down to earth, heartfelt superstars, iconic on
a level unknown to most people that will ever exist
on this planet. Elvis Presley, that's how big he was.
(03:30):
But he nevertheless lost that Southern charm, his instinct, his
impulse to give to others. I mean, it was notorious
with the Colonel, and there was that film that came out.
It documented his life and Tom Hanks played the Colonel
and Colonel Tom Parker and He was not necessarily a
(03:50):
good influence on Elvis, nor did he give good advice,
nor was he to be trusted with finances, etc. But
Elvis didn't care. Elvis was not greedy. He was wealthy,
but he wanted to share in that wealth with everybody.
He was notorious. Oh thank you very much, I'm gonna
get you a Cadillac. And he would just buy people Cadillacs,
(04:12):
like send them a Cadillac. This was a running bit,
and he did this. This is a bit based on reality. Also,
he gave, he gave, and he gave, and he wrote
checks and some of them. I mean, Elvis was not
left with probably as much money as he should have
been had he gotten the proper advice, maybe if he
had had a trading wealth back in the day. There
(04:32):
we go. I mean, Priscilla talks about this, his wife.
But the other thing that Elvis did in his kindness
of spirit, and he was a good man. Elvis Presley
was a great man. Is he allowed for black music
to have a platform that they otherwise would not have
had in that day and age. And here we go again.
(04:54):
You cannot view history through the prism of a twenty
twenty five lens everything in retrospect, Monday morning quarterbacking as
we look back and reflect upon it makes sense to
us in this day and age. But how far did
we have to come from nineteen fifty five to twenty
twenty five. That's seventy years if you and most of
(05:19):
them are deceased now, whether it was Little Richard, James, Brown,
Ray Charles, you go down that list and you will
not find a single one of them that said a
bad word about Elvis Presley. They loved Elvis because Elvis
loved them. Elvis loved and revered their music. He paid
(05:42):
tribute to it. And yes, this has been the big
criticism from the left, and I would venture to say
disaffected Black Americans who think that there was not proper
credit given to the origins of that music, to the
blues and soul and jazz. And yes they have black roots,
(06:03):
there is no denying that. And it's wonderful. It's a
wonderful part of our history and our culture, and it
is to be celebrated for those names that I just
mentioned him many more. But what Elvis did, He did
put a white face on it. What did that do? Again?
Think about it in the time that time. He brought
(06:25):
it into the mainstream. He made black music popular. He
paved the way and opened the doors for A Ray,
Charles A. James Brown, a little Richard to break through
and become sensations and hits in their own right. And
that would have been a lot more difficult at that
(06:47):
time in our history without Elvis Presley. And they gave
him credit for that. He didn't steal from them. It
was in tribute. It was in reverence to that music
that he wanted to bring it out for the masses
of Americans to appreciate, to enjoy, and to see that
(07:07):
we didn't have to live in the silos created by race.
My mom grew up in e Course just outside of
Detroit in Motown during Motown, and she had scores of
black classmates at River Rouge High School for the Panthers.
They were legendary in her time going there in the
(07:30):
mid sixties. Heart of it all. Lofton Green Boys basketball coach,
state champions landmark achievements there and then, and of course
Barry Gordye in Motown, Smokey Robinson still with us. Go
ask Smokey Robinson how he feels about Elvis Presley and
if I find a clip, I'm going to look for it.
We'll play it. But I'm sick of this Elvis hate,
(07:52):
and I'm sick of the race baiting, and I'm sick
of people like Joy Reid. This is such a cheap
cynical to play and it's not based in reality. And
it's time we set the record straight. White people only
made this country into a slave hell. This is what
we were talking about yesterday, remembering Rush. This is what
(08:13):
they do, This is what they have to do. They
have to undermine the very premise of America. They have
to change seventeen seventy six into the sixteen nineteen project.
They have to underpin and say everything was based upon
white supremacy and slavery, and therefore everything that the United
States of America stands for was founded upon the Constitution,
(08:35):
the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence is null
and void, and we must tear it all down and
build it back up in their utopian, Marxist image of
how things should be. And there is danger in that
because that kind of message sells to the people that
are only knee deep in what they should know about
(08:58):
American history, what America means to the world, and to us,
America is a force for good. America is not perfect,
but like I say, the idea of America is perfect,
and it applies to everyone across all racial lines, all
religious lines, all sexual orientations. Anybody that wants to come
(09:21):
here and be an American and embrace our way of
life and contribute to our society and our culture can
do it. We are the great melting pot. But you
come here with a purpose, with a sense of what
it means to be an American. Joy Reid has either
(09:42):
no sense of that, and I doubt that, or again,
this is a cheap, cynical ploy to continue the rhetoric,
the heated rhetoric, the hatred of white people. I don't
know how this is going to play in Peoria, but
I don't think it's going to play very well. This
is part of the d Democrat messaging problem. And Greg
(10:02):
Guttfeld talks a little bit more about this on the
five from yesterday.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Craig, I think you started out by saying, if you
lose your job at Legacy Medy, she's being paid three
million dollars a year and lost half of review after
Trump was elected. So isn't the message there too that
This just doesn't sell.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
First of all, I want reparations for her stupidity.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
This is not new.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
She was doing this on MSNBC all the time.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
They were okay with it. You reverse her race. She's
David Duke cute. Yeah, but I have to applaud her.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
She said, White's never invented anything. It's her first admission
ever that we didn't come up with slavery, So who
did If it wasn't white.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Non white.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
It's gonna make it hard for your next screed on reparations.
Guess we're all guilty in that case. So maybe we'll
just split it and figure out where the money has
to go.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Pharaoh, let my people go. That goes back to the
Old Testament. Slavery's been around for basically as long as
there's been human existence on this planet, no matter what
you believe, and Rush Limbaugh made the point yesterday that
we heard that they're still on this planet. In the
history of mankind, have been more people that have lived
under totalitarian dictatorial regimes than have lived in freedom that
(11:19):
we have provided that the United States has created and
provided and demonstrated to the world. Look at all the
parliamentary governments throughout Europe, the Western world followed our lead. Ironically,
Great Britain followed our lead to a large extent, removing
the power of the monarchy, inserting the power of a
(11:40):
prime minister presiding over a parliament, a House of Lords,
and a House of Commons. The United States showed the
way forward to individual rights, liberties, and freedoms, and the
rest of the world followed in our wake. And that's
just the fact of the matter. The United States set
the standard, became the beacon, that shining city on a
(12:02):
hill that President Reagan talked about. And I refuse to
acknowledge or abide anybody that says that the United States
is a force for darkness or evil on this planet.
You can gt to the fo with that crap. It
is nonsense and it is not based in historical fact.
(12:23):
Guttfeld goes from the top rope right here.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
WHOA Joey talks about this stuff because she thinks about
these things, because she desires them, and she's ashamed of it.
She is ashamed that she's not street enough. She's a blackademic,
a person who.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Gets love by earnest.
Speaker 4 (12:38):
Terrified, white credentialed academics, and it causes her insecurity and pain,
and she has to express this file as a cover.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
She likes white things and she hates herself for it.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
It's like again the New York writer said she would
hate having a child with a white man.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Why is she.
Speaker 4 (12:57):
Thinking about that because she feels kind of white about it?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Is Guttfeld right on this five seven seven three nine.
Shoot me a text, if you will please, and again,
would conduct a poll yesterday? I asked is America great?
Is the United States of America great? And how that
polling would go? And how I predicted. And I believe
Kelly and I agreed on this. North of ninety percent
(13:22):
of those who identify as Republicans would say, yes, America
is great. It's a force for good in the world.
And I would venture to say it's around a quarter
twenty five percent somewhere in there. Twenty to thirty would
be my guess of registered Democrats who would say the same.
Independence I would hope north of fifty probably probably, I'd
say somewhere between sixty and seventy five percent. Just these
(13:42):
are just guesses of mine, educated guesses, but guesses. Nevertheless,
the other part I would ask, and I think this
comes from messaging an attitude, an ethos. How do you
define yourself, not just politically, but in terms of your
place in the world. Are you proud to be an American?
(14:06):
And yet, I'm going straight Lee Greenwood on this one.
Are you proud to be an American? Is there anything
wrong with being proud to be an American? And of
course I would say there's nothing wrong with that, And
obviously I am extremely proud, grateful, thankful to be an American.
And I say that from the perspective of a mother
(14:26):
who came to this country at the age of two
as an immigrant, did not speak a word of English
when she entered the River Rouge school system at age
five in kindergarten, but she learned English. She had a wonderful,
caring teacher who walked her through that, and by the
end of kindergarten, my mom spoke perfect English and translated
for her own. Family would go to the store the
(14:48):
market with my Baba, my grandmother and help her help
her learn English. My mother did that. My mom, after
coming here as a two year old Serbian immigrant, going
to kindergarten without speaking a word of English, learning the language.
She didn't even tell me about this. I didn't even
know it un till later in her life. My mom
(15:09):
skipped a grade in middle school. That's how smart she was.
That's all as possible because of the dream and the
hope and the promise of America. So you bet your
bottom dollar, I'm proud of that, and you should be too,
and Democrats should be too. And you know what, maybe
deep down they are, but they can't tell you that
(15:30):
because they have this grievance rhetoric. Everybody's a victim, everybody's
been wronged in some way, the cards have been the
deck has been stacked against them, and so they make
excuses rather than using that as motivation that I am
going to overcome whatever is in front of me, and
I am determined to succeed come what. May you know why?
(15:53):
Because I live in the United States of America, where
anything is possible. And that might sound jingoistic to you,
overly patriotic, and then left will make fun of that.
But I would invite you once again go to any interview,
including a recent one on the view. Arnold Schwarzenegger. No conservative,
he's a modern Republican and he's very much a Trump hater.
(16:13):
That's all beside the point get him going on what
it means to him to be an American and how
much pride he has in that, how grateful he was
for the opportunities that America presented to him. And he
was very similar to my mom. Spoke very broken English
when he came to this country as mister Universe, as
a bodybuilder, and then he wanted to become an actor.
(16:35):
What you can't speak English? Conan the Barbarian had some
bit roles here and there. They were trying to voices
for him because he again, he couldn't speak English. But
what did Arnold do? He set his mind to something,
He set a goal, he determined a path to reach it,
and he achieved it. Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the
great American success stories. And then he entered politics. He
(16:59):
became govern of California. The Governata joy Read is so bad.
Jessica Tarloff of the Five is distancing herself from joy Reid.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Jessica, I think they're seeing why in part, the Democratic
parties losing customers and Trump and the Republicans are gaining them.
Are you comfortable with this constant race baiting.
Speaker 5 (17:21):
Joy Read is not a spokeswoman for the party and
I think that you know in the autopsy that has
been written thus far since Kamala Harris's loss on November fifth,
twenty twenty four, that we've talked a lot about identity politics,
and basically, anyone who has a shot in twenty twenty
eight is going to change the way that they speak
(17:42):
to specific groups, and it's going to be far less
of an impact on the way that we message and
develop policy. I believe in that conversation that she was
talking about the impact of those black creators, and I
think that's a perfectly reasonable conversation to be having. But
I don't like to talk about mediocre white man white men,
(18:02):
and I think Jasmine Crockett had used that term as well,
army or white boys or something, and when she did
a cable hit a couple months ago.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Okay, So Tarla's right on that last point and initially
separating herself from read those are all good things in
the middle, though she loses it, she gets lost in
the sauce. I in no ways tired. That's how Hillary
Clinton attempted to speak to black Southern Baptists at a gathering.
You don't have a separate message, Jessica By all means
(18:31):
continue this, but it's ridiculous and it is a losing strategy.
You don't talk to hispanics one way and black people
another way, and rich coastal liberal elite people another way,
and country bumpkins like me from the middle of the country.
You had a fourth way. No no Democrat, thank god.
(18:53):
Yet has run on that and won on that, even
Joe Biden. I mean he put up them, as did
Barack Obama. And I think Bill Clinton actually felt this way,
that there's one way forward. We're not red state state
for the United States, and that Barack Obama even had
a message at least he attempted to sell to the
country that we have more in common than we don't.
(19:16):
Now that's not how we operated, that's how he ran
the country as president. But this divisive silo assignment politics
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Speaker 6 (20:28):
A devastating post from North Glenn Police Department and sharing
the news about longtime please Detective Paul jac with these
pictures highlighting his smile. They share that his death of
suicide reflects the silent struggles first responders face.
Speaker 7 (20:42):
More law enforcement officers die every year by suicide than are.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Killed on the job.
Speaker 7 (20:50):
Trauma which law enforcement officers live with on a daily basis,
stays in the bottom.
Speaker 6 (20:54):
Attorney General Phil Wiser is the board chair of Colorado
Post Peace Officers Standards and training.
Speaker 7 (21:01):
We want a culture of policing where people are told,
maybe you want to take this one out, maybe you
don't want to go to this incident that could be
very painful because it will re traumatize you from another
painful incident. Because when people suffer in silence, that's when
we see the sorts of tragedies that we're now talking about.
Speaker 6 (21:21):
A February article from cun Shoots talks about discoveries made
by University of Colorado Center for Combat Medicine and Battlefield Researchers.
It states as many as thirty percent of police officers, firefighters,
and EMS personnel will develop behavioral health challenges. They found
nearly seventy percent of EMS professionals surveyed said they never
(21:41):
have enough time to recover between traumatic events.
Speaker 7 (21:44):
I went to the legislature to make sure that we
had a grant program of five million dollars to support
law enforcement agencies across Colorado so they could hire psychological
services to be at the ready to be on call. Currently,
there's money being given out with the purposes of how
do we help support recruitment and retention. One of the
(22:06):
most important tools to retain peace officers is to support
their wellness and mental health.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (22:14):
So on the post website, they actually have a whole
page dedicated to resources things like peer.
Speaker 8 (22:20):
Support programs, to crisis hotline numbers, a lot more. We
have that posted on this story on our website. We
also hope to speak with loved ones in the police
department after the funeral next week, reporting live here in
North Glend, Nicole Fierro Fox thirty one a devastating post
from North Glen Police Department.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Sorry about that. Our thanks to Fox thirty one for
that and setting politics aside. Attorney General Phil Wiser actually
makes several good points in there about the mental health
and the concerns about which apply to our law enforcement
officers who were responding often to scenes that are very
traumatic in both how they occurred and then both how
they're observed by those who are detectives on the scene,
(23:02):
that are investigating on the scene, that are police first
responders to the scene, and that can take a toll,
and it does, and we certainly send our own thoughts
and prayers out to Paul Jesse, the longtime detective in
North Glenn who took his own life and the reason
we're talking about this today leads to our next guest,
a head of Suicide Prevention Month in September. Bob Gebbia
(23:25):
is the CEO of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
and he joins us now on Ryan Schuling Live. Bob,
thank you so much for taking the time and for
all that you do.
Speaker 9 (23:35):
Oh my pleasure to be with you.
Speaker 10 (23:36):
Ryan.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
You hear that story and it's heartbreaking to say the least.
But why this is so important to you, maybe personally
or on a professional level, perhaps both the yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 9 (23:49):
Everyone is touched by this in some way. And the
research shows about six out of ten of us will
lose someone close to suicide during our lifetime. So and
we all care about the people around us, whether that's
our classmates, coworkers, first responders, is in the story you
just mentioned obviously our military and veterans as well, and
(24:12):
it has a profound impact on families and friends when
someone does die by suicide. So it's something we know
if we work hard at we can prevent, and I
think that's the key thing. But it does take some work,
and it does take an investment of understanding why and
what to look for, warning signs and all of those things.
(24:32):
To really stop this terrible, tragic loss of life.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
And Bob, if you could take us back to the
origin story for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, just
how it came about and what makes it so important.
Speaker 9 (24:45):
Yes, well, we were formed in the late nineteen eighties
and it was really several researchers who were studying this
issue and felt there was not enough investment in research
and science on how to prevent suicide, and also by families,
families that lost loved ones. And you can imagine back then,
you know that when someone died by suicide in the family,
(25:08):
family didn't talk about it, they kept it a secret.
There was shame and fear of discrimination and blame the
family and all those terrible things. And they felt there
needs to be an organization dedicated to preventing suicide. And
that's our mission at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention,
to prevent suicide and bring hope, bring hope to those
affected by suicide.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
He's the CEO of the aforementioned American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Bob Gebbia with us here on Ryan Schuling Live. You
go back to the late eighties, as you mentioned, Bob
and the stigma that was assigned to those that were
suffering from PTSD, whether it was our war heroes from
World War II on through Vietnam, et cetera. And that
there was also a stigma attached to those who sought
(25:52):
help through therapy, through talking to somebody, a counselor. And
we know that a lot of those walls have been
broken down. If you could take us through that process
and what the perception is toward mental health and suicide
prevention and just the power of being able to just
talk about issues with somebody and how important that is.
Speaker 9 (26:12):
Yeah, things have changed, and they have changed quite a bit,
especially since nineteen eighties, but even since COVID, you know,
we see a marked difference and change in what people
how they think about mental health. Understanding that our mental
health is a part of our health, our overall health right.
And we know through surveys that show that that the
(26:32):
vast majority of Americans now understand that mental health is
as important as their physical health. They also believe suicide
can be prevented. In the most recent public opinion poll
that we did about a year ago, what we found
is that nine out of ten believe that suicide is
a preventable cause of death. Maybe not always, but but
(26:53):
we could do more to prevent it. So attitudes have changed,
but that doesn't mean when someone's struggling they ne necessoroughly
reach out for help. And that's something that's a bridge
we have to cross to make it easier for people
who are having a hard time with their mental health
are thinking about suicide because they become so hopeless and
feel nothing's going to get better. We have to be
(27:15):
able to make it easier for them to open up
and talk about it and get the help that they need.
And that's a part of what we offer. What are
the tools, What are the kinds of things someone can
do when they're concerned about somebody who may be struggling
and get them the help they need.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Coming up on September, which is Suicide Prevention Month, and
as part of that, Bob your organization is setting up
out of the Darkness community walks and many of those
may be available to people in our listening audience as well.
If you could inform us about that and what they
do and what they mean.
Speaker 9 (27:51):
Yeah, well, one of the things we do know is
that there's a real importance to connection, right and what
the walks do is bring people together who have been
affected by suicide. Many have lost a loved one to suicide,
and they're walking in honor of their loved one. Many
who walk are concerned about either themselves or a family
(28:13):
member or someone they care about, and that's why they walk.
And also they're with people who understand, who are not
going to judge them. You know. It's a safe place
to get involved and be with others like you who
have been touched by this or care about it. And
I can't emphasize enough. We want people to come out
and walk who care about this, even if they have
(28:34):
not been personally touched. And so what the walks do
is they form that connection people together, but they also
raise a lot of awareness and with that comes more
education and understanding, and people look into it, you know,
go on our website a FSP dot org and learn
more about what are the warning signs, what can I
do or how can I get involved to be an
(28:56):
advocate or get involved with my local chapter. There's tappings
all over the country, including throughout Colorado. So I think
the reality is these walks raise awareness, connect people, and
they also raise funds, and that's that's important. Because we
need more money. We need to invest in more research
and advocacy and programs to prevent suicide. In these walks
(29:17):
help to do that.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
Bob gb you, a CEO of the American Foundation for
Suicide Prevention with us. He mentioned that website AFSP dot
org and at the very top the banner there asks
if you were in a crisis or if you know
someone who is, all they need to do is text
talk tl OKA to seven four one, seven four one.
In addition to that on the website, Bob, I know
(29:39):
this is a one stop shop for people that want
to donate, that want to contribute, that want to participate.
But is there information on said website about these community
walks that are coming up and will there be some
here in the state of Colorado.
Speaker 9 (29:52):
Yeah, so there there's information if you go again to
a FSP dot org slash walk or there's a also
a button you could see find a walk near you.
There are walks throughout the country and in Colorado. Matter
of fact, coming up on the thirteenth of September is
the walk in Denver, and there's information about that. So
(30:13):
it's the Saturday morning on the thirteenth, But yes, go
on the website find a walk near you and this
ways would to participate either walk, come out and just
be there or support support a walker, make a donation.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
Such an important cause and what a great organization. The
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention CEO Bob Gebbia with us
on this edition of Ryan Schuling Live. Bob, thank you
so much again for your time and for all that
your organization does to help raise awareness about suicide and
to help prevent it.
Speaker 9 (30:46):
Well, thank you appreciat being with you than.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
Bob Gebbia joining us there five seven, seven thirty nine.
Your thoughts, your texts will wrap up our number one
this episode. After this, we've been talking about a lot
of economic factors here in the state of Colorado and
what drives them up or down. Well, in following that,
for a retirement plan and for wealth building, I suggest
you turn to the good folks at Trajan Wealth founded
(31:10):
by Jeff Junior. He's an American veteran and he started
this company with the thought of helping his own mother.
And from that standpoint, he is a family man and
values your independence and your values and in your situation,
getting a person in front of you who can walk
you through a uniquely tailored plan that will factor in
(31:32):
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many years you're looking at between now and then, and
you can get that all started with a free one
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(32:14):
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Paid advertisement.
Speaker 10 (32:27):
That people like what we're doing. I'll give you another SoundBite.
I actually happened to be in Orlando last week with
all of our managers. We bring them together and once
every other year, and the number one question that I
got asked Michael was how can I get a remodel?
When can I get a remodel? How do I get
on the list? Really so, because the feedback and the
buzz is so good, not only from our customers but
from our team members. They want to work in a
(32:50):
wonderful restaurant. So we're doing everything for our guests and
our team members.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
You're not dealing Massinel. It's wonderful to have you here.
Pleasure to thank you. Thank you answer those questions for
all the Crackenberry fan there a lot of great changes.
Thank you, all right, thank you? Oh come on, now,
what else you saying and writing that the peg game
is going to stay?
Speaker 10 (33:09):
That game is saying so are the rocking chairs, the birthplace,
vintage to core.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
It's all there? All right, okay, because that would be
a deal breaker. No, this is a deal breaker. Even
on CNN right now, cracker barrel stock has plummeted, has crashed.
This is bud light all over again from this woke CEO.
They all look the same. They got the thick corn
room glasses. Could be Mark Cuban, could be Rachel Maddow
(33:35):
In this case, it's Julie fels Messino. Of course she
has three names and is hyphenated. She is the CEO
of Cracker Barrel. I love Cracker Barrel. This is an
institution in the Midwest. You're going on a road trip,
there's a Cracker Barrel. Now that's a chain restaurant, but
it's got a good down home cooking food. Let's get
(33:56):
some gravy, that sort of thing, comfort food. It's got
an old country store. It's very unique in that space
in the restaurant market. Now, what has happened here is
they have watered down the logo from this old he's
white country bumpkin dude in a chair like the chairs.
(34:17):
They sell a cracker barrel with a barrel, and it
says old country store. They've gotten rid of all of that.
They deleted him, like taking Aunt Jemima off of the syrup,
like taking Uncle Ben's off of the rice. Leave the
logos alone. This is a disaster on their hands. It
is not popular. She did not crowdsource this with typical
(34:41):
Cracker Barrel goers. Why would you take your root core audience,
your target market demographic and piss them off and do
something to erase the erasure of what makes Cracker Barrel
great and unique. This is plum stupidity, and the stock
prices are tanking as a result of this logo change
(35:05):
by Cracker Barrel. It's just this really banal, benign, anti septic,
sterile kind of logo now same colors, but no caricature,
no charm. This is a disgrace and it should be reversed,
this decision, and that CEO should be booted. How did
she get that job in the first place. They can't
(35:28):
get out of their own way. The left Brian shooting
life continues after this
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