Take My Hand Support Series

The Wellness Universe "Take My Hand Support Series" events are dedicated to promoting awareness, providing support, and empowering individuals and communities to take action.

Our host Jean Voice Dart, Expressive Arts Psychotherapist, provides open and heartfelt conversations with experts in mental health and suicide prevention. We gather as a community to celebrate life, to provide comfort, peace, and hope during the darkest or most joyful moments. "Take My Hand Support Series" events help others feel better equipped to support their loved ones with their healing and recovery from challenging times.

WHEN - Second Saturday, Bi-Monthly
2025: July 12, Sept 13, Nov 8
2026: Jan 10, Mar 14, May 9

Register here: https://bit.ly/WUTakeMyHandSupportSeries

JULY 12 2025
It's OK to Not Be OK: Helping Kids Cope with Family Loss

During this event:
• Gain tools, resources, tips, and techniques for supporting children who have experienced the loss of a family member.
• Hear actionable steps for parents who are transitioning after loss.
• Identify signs when others need professional help, therapy, or additional resources.
• Listen, ask questions, and connect with a supportive, safe community to access mental health tools for well-being and recovery.

The Wellness Universe believes that happy, healthy, healed humans lead to peace globally. Wellness For All events are offered on a donation basis so they are available to all. We are grateful for your "pay-as-you-can" donation to a nationally recognized mental health organization. Donations are directed to the guest presenter's chosen nonprofit 501(C)3 mental health foundation related to suicide prevention and support.

Each program in the series is approximately one hour long, recorded live, and available shortly afterward on replay.

HOST
Jean Voice Dart, MS, RMT, CATP, Expressive Arts Psychotherapist of nearly fifty years, has lost multiple family members to suicide. Jean is a certified teacher, coach, and therapist specializing in grief, trauma, and chronic pain. She is a best-selling author who has worked closely with special needs children and adults, helping them feel, reveal, and heal after trauma.

GUESTS
Dr. Mary Welsh is the co-founder of Susie Q's Kids, an organization that provides comfort bags to kids in need following her daughter Susie's recent death. She has also written four books to support grieving children and is the owner and founder of Susie Q's Kids, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Dr. Mary is the Grief Facilitator of New Hope Center for Grief Support. Her nonprofit organization was named the Community Partner of the Year by the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention.

Carrie Hopkins-Doubts is a best-selling author and Professional Certified Coach (PCC) who specializes in supporting people through life transitions. As the founder of "Life's Next Chapter Coaching," Carrie works with men and women who have lost a spouse or partner to reconnect with their hearts, reclaim their power, and re-align with their purpose to create their life's next chapter. She has developed a nine-step program, "Rebuilding Your Life After Loss."

CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION
The charitable 501(c)3 organization is Susie Q's Kids. It was named Community Partner of the Year by the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention for 2025. Susie Q's Kids addresses the mental health and well-being of kids in the community, advocates for suicide awareness and prevention, works with individuals with disabilities to create kits, works with businesses and youth groups in creating comfort bags, and engages 'Kids in Helping Kids' through self-awareness, philanthropy, and service. It provides smiles, hope, and healing. The Susie Q's Kids Smile Makers team provides comfort bags with panda bears, blankets, socks, and other essential items like hygiene, sensory, and grief kits to kids in hospitals, hospices, shelters, foster care, advocacy centers, grief centers, autism centers, schools, camps, sheriff departments, wherever there is a need.

EMERGENCY AND CRISIS RESOURCE LIST
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, it is important to seek help. Call, text, or chat 988 to speak to a trained crisis counselor offering support 24/7/365. Find more emergency resources here:

The Wellness Universe Emergency and Crisis Resource List
Emergency and Crisis Resource List | The Wellness Universe
https://www.thewellnessuniverse.com/emergency-and-crisis-resource-list/

The Take My Hand: Supporting Youth
The event focused on preventing youth suicide by offering practical tools, compassionate insights, and life-affirming resources to parents, educators, and caregivers. Speakers explored how to support highly sensitive teens, reduce access to lethal means, and deepen trust with young people—creating a safer, more connected world for the next generation.

The event host Lisa Bonta Sumii, LCSW, CMPC, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Mental Performance Consultant®, is known for her work in mental health and performance in sports.

- Expert speaker Judy Giovangelo, Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist and Founder of Ben Speaks, shared wisdom from her lived experience and guided participants in how to support empathic, sensitive teens.

- Dr. Joshua Stein, Psychiatrist with PrairieCare, taught the CALM method to reduce access to lethal means, emphasizing the life-saving importance of “removing the how” to give time to uncover the “why.”

- Gayle Nowak, Communication and Emotional Wellness Coach, offered strategies to help adults nurture deeper, trust-filled relationships with youth through self-awareness, healing, and authentic connection.

This meaningful conversation kicked off a support series focused on suicide prevention, community healing, and mental wellness.

Disclaimer from The Wellness Universe:
This program may offer health, wellness, and nutritional information and is designed for educational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. Do not disregard, avoid, or delay obtaining medical or health-related advice from your healthcare professional because of something you may have read, heard, watched here. The use of any information provided in this program is solely at your own risk.

Developments in medical research may impact the health, wellness, fitness, and nutritional advice that may be shared here. No assurances can be given that the information contained in this program will always include the most relevant findings or developments with respect to the particular material.

The experts in the program are sharing tools, practices, and knowledge with you with a sincere and generous intent to assist you on your health and wellness journey. Please contact them with any questions you may have about the techniques or information they provided. They will be happy to assist you further!