Welcome to the Everyday Matters podcast, a show from NetSmart. Everyday Matters is about the opportunity we have to make a difference. Our collective cause connected mission is about impacting healthcare in meaningful ways. We seek to provide a place to share stories about the progress being made, how to overcome challenges, and ideas to inspire. Each conversation is about the work being done and the opportunity before us. Whether it’s about advocacy, awareness, or challenging stigmas, we know that together anything and everything is possible. Let’s get into the show where we learned from yesterday in pursuit of tomorrow. Here, we all work to ensure every day matters. Welcome to another Everyday Matters podcast. We’ve been taking the last few weeks, maybe several months now, and really meeting with many organizations in our community near and afar, an opportunity to learn more about what they’re doing. This is a time where we need to hear from more voices. We need to hear from those people who are making a difference. And candidly, I’m a little biased about today’s guests. I’ve had the opportunity to know her for many years and is a mentor of mine, is a disruptor, is a leader for the change of good and showing how you can go make a difference. And that’s smart. We have a value, see no walls. And if I were to describe Susie Gurley, she sees no walls and sees no obstacles. And you get to know more of her story. You’re going to see that she saw an opportunity, a way to make a difference and jumped right in. Susie, I’m gonna allow you to introduce yourself, but I wanted to thank you first. I wanna thank you for all you do for cause and community. And while I know this story started with you personally, it’s much bigger than that. And you saw an opportunity to be able to connect with other people and give them a voice and find an opportunity for them to have space at the table to make a difference. And we’re gonna talk about some of that today, but if you don’t mind introducing yourself, talk a little bit about your podcast and then we’ll jump into kinda where you’re at right now and where where and where you’re going. Okay. Well, that was quite an introduction, Tom. And I’m guessing if my family could hear you call me a disruptor, they would be like, well, yeah. And probably not in the way that you meant, but thank you for your very kind words. Yes. So my name is Susie Gurley and I started, this journey many years ago, marrying my college sweetheart, Dan, creeping up on thirty four years ago. We have three children and they are all adults, Jeff, Olivia, and Will, and they are all married and we have three wonderful in law kids. And, I started the Just a Mom podcast. Now We’re getting close to the fourth anniversary, which is hard to believe. It just seems like yesterday, I remember when you were kind of bringing everyone together, talking about four years Almost four years. Many episodes? You know, I knew you were going to ask me. I think one hundred and thirty. When I looked at when I was doing my homework, knew it was over a hundred, but I wasn’t sure because I know you have some, you’re just finishing a season. Yes. Yes. So I think in the one hundred and thirty range. Yes. So, and so many more yet to come as well. But it’s really hard to believe that it’s been almost four years. And, since this whole journey started, well, actually, that was just the part of the podcast. The journey that led me to starting the Just A Mom podcast started many years ago. Well, and I think that’s a great place for us to start. I first got to hear you when I was you invited a bunch of people over from the community. I got to hear more about your story. And I genuinely mean it was inspiring. I got to work with Will and got to now his wife in the play. And I know we’re gonna jump into that a little bit. And I think we should begin there. I’ll be candid. I’m nervous because I’m interviewing the podcaster who’s done over a hundred and some, no way I’ve done that many, but it’s such an honor to have you with us today. And it resonates so well with our cause and mission that we serve. NetSmart is a big part of our community and family we serve is over mental health and well-being and something that you’re extraordinary passionate about. But let’s go back. Let’s go back to kind of, how you tell the story and then work our way up to what started the podcast of Just a Mom. Sure. So I was a stay at home mom for many years. I was behind the scenes. I was my children’s biggest cheerleader. I hope they would agree with that and poured myself into supporting, them and Dan and doing work in the community and in my church. And, actually, as things were kind of changing in my world where our oldest son had gone to college, I started thinking about what’s next for me. I need to think about that and was starting to actually look into maybe even going back to school to get back into what I used to do, pre children. And then a big event happened really that was, life changing for all of us. And Dan and I were out of town celebrating our twenty fifth anniversary. We got a phone call from the principal at Will’s middle school. He was an eighth grader at the time. And she told us that Will was in the counselor’s office. He had emailed the counselor the night before and said that he was struggling and that he had been engaging in self harm and he didn’t know what to do and he wanted help. And we were shocked. We really had no idea. And I can tell you exactly where I was sitting when that phone call came in that morning. And all of a sudden the world just changed for us. And as things would progress and we thankfully were able to get him immediate help, we learned that this had been going on for a little while. And it was worse than we had first heard from the school principal. He was ideating suicide and he was in pretty bad shape. It took quite a while with a variety of different helps, including medication, intensive outpatient treatment. We even talked at one point about hospitalization that that might be necessary. But it was a rough, rough many months of trying to help Will. Well, and let’s go back there because I think sometimes people well, that’s that’s Susie. That’s not me. That’s not my family. And I and I know that’s a big part of why you’re doing what you’re doing and you’re on your twenty fifth anniversary. You guys have a very good time. Family’s doing very well. Everybody’s going along writing their story and you didn’t see this coming. No, no, not There was no signs. I’m sure now you look back there were some signs. But at the time in life so busy, there’s so much going on. And then all of a sudden, I I can only imagine. You probably know what the temperature felt like, where you were sitting, what you were wearing. Because that is a startling moment. Yeah. But it’s not unlike what other people have experienced. Do you mind talking? Because I know that’s part of what your passion is and what led you to this. You’re in this moment of I gotta help Will. And then as time and you guys find a path, you recognize this, I’m not necessarily alone in this. And I think back to that time and it was May first, which is right after this time of year, And how it was, yes, looking back, we could definitely say, oh, there were some red flags that we missed. But there were also things that were not red flags, like he wasn’t struggling in school and things like that. But when that phone call came and all of a sudden, world is very much a tunnel into just this what is happening, how could this have happened? And I cannot tell you how many people have said, how did this happen to a family like yours? And I think that’s kind of where you were kind of trying to lead me. And I think one of the things that I really want to say to that, and that was something that I believed nine years ago Yeah. Was like, what did we do wrong? What did I do wrong? Right. I was a stay at home mom. This was my job. And and by all accounts, I had just received an f. Right? Yeah. I had just received a massive demotion in my job. I failed, in my performance review. My kid was ideating suicide. And what I can tell you now and what we worked really **** ** and what I have worked very **** ** the last almost four years is to let parents know and family members know that’s just not true. Not anybody’s fault. A parent doesn’t do anything to cause this and it can happen to anyone. So I’m so glad you hit on that because I’m thinking of the people who are listening to this right now who may be wondering, am I in this situation? Or I am in this situation and I didn’t have necessarily the foresight or the ability to go figure out and navigate my way. I guess a couple of questions for you. I know there’s listeners right now is Will okay with you telling this story. Tom, stop the podcast. This can’t be okay to talk about. I just wanna hit that head on because I remember when I first introduced you, I was looking around saying is Will okay that you’re doing this because I don’t know if I would be okay. I mean, I wanna hit that one head on and then I do wanna unpack your part of his parents. I can only imagine the weight that you and Dan felt at that time of what is going on. And I think before we get into the launching of Just A Mom, there’s a lot that’s happening in that time. And if you don’t mind sharing some of that story because I know you’ve told here and there in many times you’re interviewing other people. I think the importance of this time for us to be together, I I there’s more of us alike than not in finding ourselves here. You know, and we know that based on statistics. And and at the time, nine years ago, I felt incredibly alone and like no one in the world knew what was going on with me and my family. We didn’t really tell anyone. Right. We didn’t even talk about it with our older two kids. Yeah. As though they didn’t figure it out. Right? I mean, how wrong was that? Let’s be honest about that. I mean, I wanna give some people some comfort. There’s no playbook for this. No. I mean, that’s one of the reasons why we’re here talking today is there there is no playbook. So you find yourself, as you said, I gave myself an f. I’m wondering what did I do? You’re immediately looking inward. Hey, let’s not say anything to the older two kids. Twenty five years, what’s going on? I mean, this situation all of a sudden got really complicated. Yes. So many times life does to us. Right. Right. And, you know, in those first couple of months, it’s almost a blur now looking back, but I can remember, like, just we didn’t leave him alone. Once we learned he was ideating suicide, he slept on a twin mattress next to my side of the bed for weeks. Right. Like, he would be in the bathroom, and I would be standing right outside. And I would knock on the door probably every five seconds. Yeah. Will will talk to me. And I’m sure that helped. Oh, I’m sure. Yes. Right? But I’m exactly. I can remember looking at myself one time in the mirror and thinking, who is this haggard, exhausted, older woman? Because it takes a toll on you. The fear was very real. The isolation was very real. The pouring everything in to making sure that Will is still with us the next day. It was all very real. And I also want to be very clear that I’m incredibly grateful for the resources that we were able to access for him because that’s not everyone’s story. Right. Particularly as quickly as we were able to access them, which is also not everyone’s story, especially now. This was nine years ago and we were able to get him help immediately, which I’m very thankful for. I just wanna make that clear because that is such a barrier right That’s part of your vision and passion and we’re going get into that. Because a lot of times you don’t even know where to start. Exactly. I think just that sense of no one knows what I’m feeling. I cannot talk to anybody, even my closest group of friends Right. Because I am a failure. My kid is struggling because I failed. Right. That was how I I felt for quite a while. Which let’s be candid. That makes you very normal. Right. You’re a mom. You love your family. You love Will. That kind of weight weighs that much because it matters. And now you’re trying to navigate that piece of it going forward. And I think before we get into those first steps, just wanna make sure our audience is clear is Will’s okay with this conversation. Yes, circling back to Will. So, know, after those several months of really, really difficult dark times, hard work on his part, hard work on our part, Will the cloud started lifting. Yeah. And Will started getting better. And he watched the twenty eighteen Grammy Awards early, in the year in January, and he saw Logic perform the one eight hundred suicide prevention lifeline Right. Song at that time. And thank God we have nine eight eight now. It’s so much easier to say. But he was inspired by that. And that was a year here in our community when there had been a record number of suicides. And he had had this own battle himself. And he came to us and said, you know, I love music. I have been through this and I’d like to start a music festival to help other kids in this community. He was fifteen years old. So we thought, okay, we’ll set up some chairs in the backyard and invite some of our friends over and he can play his music and we’ll call it a music festival. But one of the things about Will that I haven’t talked about yet is Will from birth was a big dreamer. Yes. Always had a lot of ideas and wanted to be involved and busy and doing things and creating things and inventing things. And he had a much bigger vision than we did. Yes. I’ll just tell you, I remember. Because I remember getting this There’s a concert going on. It was gonna be at this venue, but, uh-oh, it’s gonna be at this venue. And it grew. Yeah. So he was able to, he pitched the idea to Scott Bacon, who was principal of Blue Valley High School at the time where Will was a freshman. And Scott was like, Will, I love it. You can have the stadium for free. And I’m, I guess I can say that. I don’t know. Maybe, maybe I shouldn’t broadcast that, but, and went will took off and went from there. He hired a professional sound company. He found bands of teenagers in town. He was very, very passionate about showcasing local talent. And the scariest part to his mother was he wanted to stand up and share his story. Yeah. And I can remember standing in our bathroom one night and telling Dan, I don’t know if I’m ready for this. Yeah. Because even this was several months later, we had shared it with kind of our inner group of But we hadn’t broadcast this loudly and widely. And my kid’s saying he wants to stand on a stage and talk about his mental health struggles. And that’s why I wanted to hit on this because there’s almost you’re telling this story, you almost have to hear it in parallel because you are trying to find your own healing and reconciliation over what just happened. He is pursuing his story and trying to find it. And this isn’t, let’s be candid. This isn’t for everyone. Not everybody can just go do these types of things. And I think sometimes people are on the other side thinking, well, have a similar story, but I can’t go do that. No, not everybody has to. You’re doing that. Will’s doing that. And I remember the I got to be there in the courage of Will to stand up and tell a story with the desire and the passion to want to impact other people for the better spoke volumes. And I think at a time and age as you and I have pressed more into this over the years, recognizing there’s voices that there’s stories that need to be told and heard that you’re not alone, that you’re gonna be okay. So let’s pick back up then as so we wanted to say Will was cool with this because Will took the lead with it and created a concert of I’m telling everybody around him. So that because I think that gives people a different context that you’re pressing into this. Well, there’s another side of the story. Yes. As a mom. Right. Has a family, husband and wife. Yes. That I want you wanted to help those people. Will’s helping people in his own age group. You saw a void in an opportunity. Tell us a little bit about that journey as you picked up in your each progressing in in finding this place of comfort, place of healing And a place of courage. Because when Will’s up there, I can only imagine as a parent. Well, hey, I’m not that bad. You’re looking around. How’s everybody gonna look at me? Oh, yeah. The next time I walk in school and people hear that You know, you’re like, they’re whispering about me. Let’s let’s hit all that head on. Because I think it’s important to get that out there because when you talk about fear, I can’t imagine what would you all had to overcome. So I went and stood at the top of the stadium when it was time for Will to talk because I didn’t stadium when it was time for Will to talk because I didn’t want to see anybody. And I was like, okay, I’m just gonna isolate myself and nobody’s gonna see me and I’m not gonna see anybody else. And you know what happened, Tom, was the exact opposite of what I thought. After the UMATOR festival, the the first one in twenty eighteen where a thousand people showed up that night and every TV station in town, the Kansas City Star, everybody covered it. Parents started coming to me and not a week has gone by since then that I have not received an email, a text, a phone call from somebody saying, hey, will you talk to so and so? Her kid’s really struggling because they know that Will shared this. That kind of propelled him into this role as a teen spokesperson for mental health in Kansas City. And I think that it was such an opposite effect of what I thought was going to happen. And then I like to tell the story too of just right before the You Matter festival, I mentioned that Will hired a professional sound company. I was like, well, how are you going to pay for that? Fifteen year olds don’t always think about this. I’m very familiar. Yeah. He said, well, I guess I need to raise some money. So he started contacting local organizations that support mental health. And because he was fifteen and couldn’t drive, I would take him to meet with these folks. And I will never forget, shortly before that first You Matter festival, when I’m still anxious about him standing up and telling his story, we go in and meet with a family who has a foundation because they lost their son to suicide. And that was the moment that my mind changed forever about Will sharing his story because I thought what they wouldn’t do to be sitting in my shoes where my son is here and theirs isn’t. So from that point on now, I still did go up to the top of the stadium and hide. I would have too. I would have too. But that was when I was like, alright, Will, you go and you share your story. And so I was the silent cheerleader. Right? I was behind the scenes and then I became, you know, Will’s press agent and all that from, the publicity. The You Matter festival ran for five years and impacted over ten thousand people. So what was this fifteen year old kid’s idea turned into a massive, massive movement that affected and impacted thousands of people in this community. And then as a byproduct, their parents who would come and talk to me. Right. And that’s when after a little while, and then as Will’s press agent, I took him to do a video for zero reasons why. Right. And they asked me to do one. And I was like, well, I don’t have anything to say. I’m just a mom. Right. And they were like, well, we we really haven’t had any parents. Why don’t you do a video? Okay. So I did, and I forgot about it. And then a few months later when they aired it, Dan was scrolling Facebook one night, and he said, you know that video that you did? It’s been seen ten thousand times, and I think you need to do something about it. And I was like, well, okay. I don’t really know why. And I watched it and listened to what I said and kind of mulled over it, thought about it. And what I realized was I didn’t say anything profound. I said something. That was what But you did. I said something. You bet it was profound because you said something. That’s what I’m saying. It was not like I had this eloquent speech of, oh, you need to do this and that. I talked about my kids struggling. I’m agreeing with you. Yeah. That’s what’s profound Because of the courage, there isn’t a parent who can’t relate with you of saying I’m gonna go to the top. I’m terrified of what he’s gonna say. What is everybody thinking about me? And how do I show my face in this community again? Yeah. That’s profound. Yeah. I don’t know what the words you said. I’ve saw the video, but I knew this when I saw it and this is why I gave the introduction. That’s a guts. It took courage. It also took love. Because you chose love something bigger over fear. And that’s what you and your story and your family is all about. Is how can we take something that was extraordinarily painful, extraordinarily heavy, and find a way to give back to others to make a difference. And, you know, you talked about the You Matter festival and and we’re and we’ll jump into just a mom podcast here in a second. But when I look at the phase and story of your life, you’re just trying to get clarity. What has just happened and everything? And and once Will got there, then you’re trying to keep up with him. Yep. He’s going and doing these things. And then it left you and Dan and the family at this inflection point. What are we gonna do next? And before we jump into that, I think that’s the part that, know, as we think about this chapter of of you looking back, how would you recap the moment of coming to the end of that and recognizing here I am, I’ve just done this video. It’s gotten over ten thousand views because now you’re faced with where do I go with this? How would you describe that to us? Well, again, like the fear of, well, I don’t have any skills. I don’t know how you I’ve been a stay at home mom for twenty five years, and I don’t have the ability to do anything with this. And, you know, Dan is the one who pushed me. He pushed me hard. He’s like, you’re selling yourself short. You need to think about this. You need to think about your skill set and what you can do. When I started really researching, okay, researching and then also reflecting on my own experience, I wanted to create the resource that I didn’t have when I was in the deepest, darkest depths of Will’s struggle. And even several years later, when things are going pretty well and I did this video, there still was nothing out there. And so I thought, well, I know how powerful stories are. Will’s standing up there telling his story. The stories are things that people can relate to. And what I would have received as a mom if I could have heard some encouraging stories from other parents, some it would have made all the difference for me. And so there that’s what I decided to Just the mom podcast was started, it was born. I’m here with Susie Gurley and we’re talking about just an amazing story. We’re talking about a storage of fear, of courage, and love, of how to give back to others. You just heard Susie briefly describe her vision and passion became, how can I help others? And I think in these times, that’s what these podcasts are all about, is how can we take a story as immensely hard, heavy, painful, and turn it into something good. Susie, wanna thank you again for joining us. And I think that’s a great segue for us to jump into that part of it. Just a mom becomes a thought. You even said it. I don’t know if you catch yourself. Oh, You’re like, hey, I’m just a mom. You’re in, think we know you’re not just a mom, but I love the name because it’s saying, there’s nobody special. Anybody can find themselves here. Yep. So let’s talk about so Dan and you are talking and I don’t know if he’s pushing, he’s encouraging you. I’m gonna speak. But I know when I remember that night when we first met, when you were sharing the story out there, what a team that you two are and saying, hey, we’re gonna take this and find a way to navigate. So take us through that part of the chapter now. Sure. Well, so that was probably six years ago. Has it been that long? Yeah. Maybe seven. Yeah. Runs together. After I did that video, it was probably seven. And I drug my feet on it for a while because again, it’s like I can be the behind the scenes person. I was really good at that Right. For a long time. But to put myself out there and be a voice, I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that, Tom. And I just kept dragging my feet. And then I actually ended up working with a coach because I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do next. And in my very first session with my coach, I started talking about this idea of a podcast. And she said, well, what’s holding you back? Like, it sounds like you’ve already figured out what you wanna do. And what I realized that I was holding myself back, it was my fear. Again, the fear of, you know, judgment and, you know, all the things that go along with putting yourself out there. And that’s why we I say we. It was really Dan who came up with the title, the Just a Mom, because I wanna make sure people know I’m not a therapist. I’m not a physician. Yeah. I’m just a regular, ordinary old person trying to help share some stories that maybe other people can relate to and I’ll help them get through a hard time. Well, Susie, I’m going to interrupt you because I think that’s exactly what people need. They need to realize we’re more alike than not. Yes. In a comparison type society that we live in with social media, where we only share everything that’s going good. Hey, look, it’s good. I’m on vacation. Look at my new vehicle that I bought. Look at my home. And we’re always like, and we know the impact that that has on kids. But we’re not honest about it. It has the same thing on adults as well. And I think the fact that you’re not those things is exactly why it’s needed. And that’s why I was so fascinated when we first got connected. Was like, this is a voice we need. This is a voice that’s not heard of. And so in, you know, you’ve got Will out there doing his piece and and we’ll we’ll talk more about his adventures and things that he’s doing. But you were like, I I I think I can do this. When was that turning point when you went from idea you we just left off with your coach to I’m gonna do this? You know, pretty much immediately after that, I just felt really compelled and called like, this is what I’m supposed to do. Right. I don’t wanna waste my experience, the pain, the fear, the hurt, all the things. If I could just help a couple of people and I’d seen the impact of how Will did that. Yeah. And I think it’s so sweet and ironic that sometimes it’s our kids who are leading us. Oh, one hundred percent. Yeah. They have so much courage and they have so much to offer. And Well, and let’s be candid about it. Our kids are much more comfortable with these topics than the era you and I grow up in. Absolutely. And we’re dealing with five, six different generations right now. That those students or our kids are have now become the teachers. Yes. Hey, mom, dad, let me show you how to handle these tough topics. These are things that didn’t just arise. Yeah. They’ve been complicated through technology and social media. But these were things that have existed for quite some time. They’ve just said enough’s enough. Yes. And we’re gonna press in and show you how to navigate those things. And, yeah, sometimes his parents were like, lead away. Yeah. And now I guess it’s time for me to do my part. Exactly. And so I always say I followed the the I, sorry, try that again. I followed the brave trail that my son blazed. Love it. It was time for me to step up. And I dusted off my old journalism background and thought, all right, I can’t turn my computer on, but I know how to interview people. Right. I know how to talk to people. My family can help me with the rest. And believe me, they have. Just like with the You Matter festival, our family was all in with that. Yeah. And the same with with the podcast. My kids have helped me so much with learning how to do all this technology. Will produces the podcast, which is beautiful, I think. Before I started it, I did talk to the other two kids in particular. Like, are you guys okay with this, with me putting myself out there? They’re like, yeah, of course we are. So That’s awesome. Again, it was a family affair where our amazing kids stepped up. And not just kids, but our in law kids too, who at the time weren’t in law kids. They were boyfriend and girlfriends. They were at the You Matter festival. They’re helping with the Just a Mom podcast. So it’s been such a beautiful, beautiful thing just within my family, even if one person listened and that was it. Well, you’ve got more than one listener and I know the impact has been real. I enjoy listening to the podcast. And I think on that, why share a story? So to a listener out there, is it really making a difference? And I know you got many stories, but let’s hear one that just really spoke to you that affirmed you the courage, the taking the risk is worth it. I know there’s so, so many. I have to think about one that would be It was an early episode, that I did with, a mom and daughter who has struggled with disordered eating. I have had multiple parents say how much that episode helped them because of the eating disorder discussion and I’ve done Another silent challenge. Yeah, yeah. So I think to use some terminology our audience doesn’t always on isn’t familiar with is, it’s a silent crisis. It is. It’s a silent epidemic. Yes. Do you mean by that? Because it’s things that often happen that are known, but not spoken about. Exactly. And I think that’s been one of the really impactful episodes. Another super impactful episode was an interview I did with Trevor Gertzon, who was my kid’s middle school social studies teacher, then became a principal in the Spring Hill district. And he actually reached out to me after, he had listened to some episodes of the podcast and I hadn’t seen him in a long time and we got together and he shared with me his personal struggle as a forty something year old man and what he had been dealing with. And at that point, I was very tunnel visioned on parents, like just my story. I know this, stay in this lane. And I thought he is articulating this in a way that feels so very real to me. I would love to share his story. And he shared his story on the podcast, and that’s impactful episodes because I think it makes such a difference for someone who is at the pinnacle of their career Yeah. Has, by all accounts, right, everything’s going great. Everything looks great on the outside, has great family, beautiful wife, three kids. And he’s talking about, if I could just wrap my car around that tree, then this pain would all go away. Well, and we know that men are challenged and have Tim DeWise, who’s our local mental health leader here, causing the epidemic of loneliness and very unique to men who will give one facade on one side and yet be in pain on the other. And it’s just a mom podcast, but you are reaching all demographics around that piece of it, which is very powerful. Well, and I think that, again, like the first season, was very tunnel visioned on talking to parents. But what I quickly realized is, and you hit on this earlier, every parent that I have talked to to date, except for one, and I don’t even know how many hundreds or thousands that is, has said, I did not know what to do and I didn’t know who to call when the crisis hit. And so because of that, I thought I’ve got to incorporate more resources. Right? Brought you guys in to talk about the Father’s Club. I have had a plethora of resources, people with adults with lived experience who can speak into that. And to your point, middle aged white men are the second largest category of death by suicide. Middle aged educated white men. I mean, to be given more specific, a demographic that people don’t think would be that challenge. So just again, trying to provide these stories that maybe one or two people will hear and say, I thought I was the only one, but now I know I’m not. Well, I mean, something that has you and I gotten to know each other and why I think the work you’re doing is so vitally important. It’s what I call the triple A’s. There’s this awareness piece is you’re driving awareness. The problem is we stop at awareness. Is we’ll talk about the rates, we’ll talk and we’ll be in awe, my gosh, I can’t believe that. But it can’t stop at awareness, then it needs to move the advocacy. And the advocacy is what are we gonna do about it? Who am I gonna meet with? Who are we gonna talk about? The resources don’t exist. Let’s go create the resource. And then the third part which I think is the most important is the action. I’m gonna do something. And part of why we’re talking today is how can we better work together to bring meaningful change disruption. That’s why I called you a disruptor. It was a compliment. The The biggest innovators, the entrepreneurs, the change makers are the disruptors out there who say, there’s got to be a better way. We cannot continue doing this. Why isn’t that there’s still no easy way for people to go get connected to go find help? Yeah. And that’s what Just A Mom became. It was, I’m gonna storytell, but you’re doing more than that. I know you’re speaking. I see you at different shows. We’ve our paths have crossed there. You’ve connected with other people in the community. What is happening right now with Just A Mom? Well, it’s amazing how not only do I get to talk to people in the community, but I talk to people all over the country now. And I would say that ninety percent of the interviews I do are not local because people are coming to me from all over the country. Well, it’s not I mean, it’s bigger than local. Yeah. It’s local, but you’ve now helped connect other local communities and say, here’s a person who can help give us a voice. Yeah. And that’s why things like the Father’s Club and Fight Club, and I wanna share those resources because I know there are people listening across the country where they need to start a father’s club or a Fight Club in their community I do speak. I speak locally. I’ve done some national speaking at different conventions, conferences, some virtual things. I just try to get keep producing these podcasts so that again, people know that they’re not alone and there’s hope. Yeah, think and it’s working because, I remember a few years ago, I would ask people and didn’t necessarily know about it. And now people know about it. And I think being courageous is contagious because people are inspired by your story. People are inspired by the story that you’re connecting with. And they’re like, I can do this too. And sometimes that’s all we need is we need a little bit of light to help guide us and find that way. Where are you going? So what’s next for Just a Mom? That is a great question, Tom. And yeah, I really, I think I can’t I can’t tell you because I’m not sure. I’ve had some pretty cool opportunities to speak at different places. And, you know, there’s always the people saying, oh, you need to write a book. Yeah. Blah, blah, blah. And I’m like, yeah, well, I don’t know. We’ll see. So I don’t know, but I’m very open to, consider different things. I I feel very called and compelled to still produce episodes. Yeah. I think that that’s that’s the bread and butter. That’s the staple of what just a mom is. And we’ll just kinda see what happens in the future. I don’t have a really great answer for you there. Well, think that answer is a great answer because those stories need to be told. And I think what you’re doing is you’re giving people light. You’re giving them hope. You’re giving them a path to be able to go do that. And I think you go back to those many years ago when it was heavy, when you and your husband, Dan were on twenty fifth anniversary and you got the call that you didn’t see coming and you’ve helped navigate that. And that’s what people need. They don’t need the answers. They need people who are going to help them find the answers because reality, Susie, you and I both know the answer is different or direction is different for everyone, but there is something that is common. Yes. Community and that you’ve just a mom has created a community. Courage is we all need courage to be able to fight and find those find that path and love that it’s the thing that’s gonna center and ground us forward in that. And I guess as we come in for a landing to that parent that’s listening right now, to that dad, that mom, maybe they wondering, is there something going on in my home that I don’t know about? Or maybe they just got that call, that email that says, hey, your child has been here. What would you tell them right now? I would tell them don’t give up, especially right now when it’s really hard to find help. It’s hard to get appointments. It’s hard to get into therapists. Don’t give up. Don’t be afraid to ask your kids the hard questions or your family member, your loved one. It’s okay to ask, are you thinking about harming yourself? And that’s something that as a society, we have shied away from for a really long time. But the experts tell us we need to ask that question because that helps us know, do I need to call nine eight eight right now? Do I need to drive my child or my loved one to an emergency room? Or is this something that I can make an appointment or talk to the school counselor or talk to my family physician about seeing what other resources there might be out there. But if you, in your gut, think that there might be something wrong, listen to your gut. It’s probably right. And don’t just think, oh, it might just be a phase. Will was our third child. We’d raised teenagers before. We knew teenagers can be moody and moody and all the things. And yet this completely blindsided us. Yeah. Susie, when you think about the work that you’re doing, the stories that you’re telling in the resources, I think some people may think, well, I’m not that worked for Susie, but I’m not going to go start a podcast. That’s not what your message is all about. No. Your message isn’t even about you gotta go tell your story. Right. What is your message about? Well, my message is you are not alone. And to your point of community, that can mean you take the courage to tell one person. Right. Right? It doesn’t start necessarily with being Will and standing on a stage and telling a thousand people or me starting a podcast. Have the courage to tell one person. If something’s going on with you or someone you love. Love that. And because we were not created to do this alone, we were created to do this in community. And whether that’s one person or a thousand people or fifty thousand people, just I wanna encourage people, just take a chance. I love it. I mean, we are more connected now than ever, that we’re probably more disconnected than And while we have connections, there’s a lot of latency in those connections. To your point about homes and neighborhoods and not even, it’s the ability to even know who is in our community and be able to have those meaningful exchanges. I wanted to thank you. I wanna thank you not just for being here today, but more than that. As a member in our community and someone who is seeing the benefits of your work firsthand, it is not only beautiful, it is powerful. You’re making a difference. I wanna thank Dan and your kids and Will. I’ve had the opportunity and probably another whole podcast that we can do in the plays and how Will is using his gifts to be able to go help other people find that you’re making a big difference. And it’s more than just a mom, but it is just a mom. Thank you for joining us today. And I wanted to remind everybody, our whole purpose and mission behind everyday matters is just this. It’s the connection that Susie and I just had. It was not a podcast. We’re just two people, parents, community members, having a conversation about the harder things in life. And not just the heart and the awe and the awareness that we talked about, but the path forward and how to find that light, how to be that light and to make a difference. But most importantly, how to press in and be a disruptor for good As Just a Mom has become, it’s more than just a podcast. It’s about amplifying the stories and the hope and the path that all of us need from time. A reminder that we’re not alone, and that the difference we make is the difference we become. Thank you for joining us today and until next time, let’s do our part to make every day listening to Everyday Matters, a Netsmart podcast. 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