About Us

Our Mission

On July 25, 2001, in the space of a moment, Kathleen Wakefield’s life changed forever when a police chaplain knocked on her door and informed her that her 21 year-old son, Jake, had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.  Jake’s suicide gave Kathleen a new life goal, “It is my deepest desire to honor Jake’s life by educating teens and young adults about depression and suicide.”   

I NEED A LIGHTHOUSE (INAL) was established by Kathleen in 2001 to carry out the following mission:
To significantly reduce the loss and suffering from youth depression, suicide and suicidal behavior in communities throughout the region.  INAL will be the leading provider of education programs that increase the community’s awareness of the serious consequences associated with depression and suicide among teens and young-adults, and make it easy for at-risk youth to seek and obtain help.
 
Suicide Affects Thousands

Each year in the United States, more than 30,000 lives are cut short by suicide.  That means that suicide ends one life every 17 minutes.  For every life lost, thousands more are affected by the loss of a child, parent, friend or co-worker.  Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people (ages 10-24).  According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “more teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia and influenza, and chronic lung disease – COMBINED.” 

Research has identified risk factors for suicide, providing hope for treatment and prevention.  The 2001 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, published by the US Department of Health and Human Services gives a comprehensive list of risk factors for suicide, including: mood disorders, and other psychological disorders, alcohol and substance abuse disorders, and social isolation.  Untreated, depression has been identified as the leading cause of suicide. 

Depression is treatable, suicide is not.  We must focus on prevention, addressing depression and related risk factors.  Through education and prevention, we can save lives and prevent needless suffering.  I NEED A LIGHTHOUSE is committed to educating teens and young adults about depression and suicide in order to create a network of informed support around those at-risk and ultimately to save lives. 

To achieve its mission, INAL will focus its activities on four key strategic objectives:

1. Provide and promote targeted education and awareness programs that reach (i) the largest number of teens and young-adults in         Virginia, and (ii) those people and organizations that can influence and help at-risk youth.
2. Provide and promote easy access to crisis hotlines and other channels where at-risk youth can seek and obtain help.
3. Create strategic alliances with other community-based organizations and legislative groups that can support and help INAL achieve its mission.
4. Create and manage an effective organization that has sufficient resources to carryout its education programs.
   

INAL will focus on three demographic segments within the teen and young-adult communities in Hampton Roads:

• Early-Teens -    Ages 10-14
• Teens -  Ages 15-18
• Young Adults -    Ages 19-24
  

This segmentation allows for targeted messages appropriate for each age group, and corresponds directly with the public and private school system (middle and high schools), making it easier for presentation delivery.

INAL recognizes that it also needs to target those individuals and groups that can influence the behavior of teens and young-adults.  These will include such groups as parents, teachers, school counselors, medical professionals, church groups and peer youth groups. 

The goal of INAL’s educational programs is to provide accurate and useful information that will reduce the stigma associated with depression and suicide, and stimulate individuals to seek (or provide) help.  The programs are designed to deliver four key messages:

1.  Depression and suicidal tendencies are common among teens and young-adults.  It is not something one should be ashamed of – YOU ARE NOT ALONE
2. Furthermore, it is a temporary condition that is treatable – YOU CAN GET THROUGH THIS AND LIVE A HAPPY LIFE.
3. There are people who care and want to help you through this difficult time (family, friends, professionals) – SEEK THEIR HELP.
4.  INAL is here to provide you with information on depression and suicide and to assist you in getting help for yourself or a loved one – LEARN WHAT YOU CAN DO.
   

INAL has found that the most effective means for creating awareness and educating audiences is through personal presentations.  However, INAL is currently limited to the number of presentations it can make by the number of trained presenters (currently there is only one).  A major objective is to create an INAL Speakers Bureau to reach ever-larger numbers of youth. 

INAL will create a Speakers Bureau Committee (SBC) that will focus solely on the recruiting, training and scheduling of effective presenters.  The goal is to add a minimum of four new speakers per year, with the ultimate goal of having no less than 12 trained speakers within three years.  Over the next three years, the SBC’s objective is to make nearly 450 school presentations that will reach over 12,000 teens.  In addition, hundreds of presentations will be made to Influencer groups.  The Speaker’s Bureau plans to make 15 to 20 presentations each year that will reach 500+ individuals who can influence teens and young adults.