CMHA wanted to address “suicide postvention”—caring for the community after someone has died by suicide, to provide the support that is critical in preventing and reducing longterm trauma and contagion.
Rachel decided to work with them.
“I learned what I thought the project needed to be wasn’t quite what they needed, and to shift from what I thought was the issue to a larger perspective.”
Rachel and her team at Resilient Minds Consulting began consulting with CMHA and municipalities to explore the “protocol end” of getting affiliated groups (school boards, police, etc.) to work together.
While Rachel assumed the most challenging aspect would be the sensitive nature of the work, she was pleasantly surprised.
"If you engage someone with lived experience in the wrong way, it can be harmful to their mental health. However, we knew it was important to engage with community members to create a lasting solution. We've worked really hard to ensure we are asking questions in a safe way, and everyone we've talked to has been grateful their voices are being heard"
The bigger challenge has been one of logistics.
“As a start-up, you can move quickly, but the public sector tends to be the opposite, moving slowly. The reality is that if you move too quickly in a field like this, people could die.”
At the same time, Rachel acknowledges the through this venture she has been able to find a middle ground on working with CMHA to bring about change.
In addition to her work on suicide postvention, Rachel and Resilient Minds Consulting is now inspired to continue consulting in the future with nonprofits and social sector organizations to help them cultivate innovation within their organizations. Also, this fall, she begins the last eight months in her psychology degree.
Rachel was thrilled to return to GreenHouse this summer as a recipient of a Big Ideas Challenge Fellowship, recalling how much she missed the community of like-minded social entrepreneurs, and acknowledging GreenHouse staff were very supportive to alumni.
- by Susan Fish
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