TITLE: Adoptees, Mental Health & Suicide Awareness

DESCRIPTION

Adoptees, Mental Health and Suicide Awareness: Break the Silence, Break the Stigma. Research indicates that Adoptees are 4x more likely to attempt suicide than that of the non-adopted community. This panel will focus on bringing a taboo topic out into the open. It's time adoptee mental illness and suicide stop being swept under the rug. We are in this together!

PANELISTS

Pam Cordano, MFT, is passionate about healing from trauma and despair. Born to a mentally ill and abusive teenage mom in 1965, Pam was in foster care before being adopted at 6 months. She grew up feeling deeply lonely and estranged from her life. It wasn’t until she was 46 yrs old that she definitely knew she wanted to be here, alive, looking for ways to connect with the world. It means a lot to Pam to participate on this panel because feeling suicidal is often a secret, which makes it more dangerous. Working together, we can more effectively understand and intervene with suicidality in the adoptee population. Author: Ten Foundations for a Meaningful Life

Carlos Cady-Reheis is an amazing young man. After being adopted from Peru, circa 18 months old, and growing up near Golden, CO he always felt self conscious about his brown skin. This along with a cleft lip created confidence problems. Not the least of which was with his involvement in relationships. In 2009 he harmed himself after a big breakup, ever since he has tried to make the most of life. Maybe his abandonment as an infant caused him to struggle through breakups heavily. Now married and a stay at home dad with a 2 year old daughter, life is more stable.

Abigail ‘Abby’ Hasberry is a transracial adoptee. She struggled in silence with anxiety and depression for most of her life. Using her expertise in racial identity development, Abby began coaching transracial adoptees, but realized that therapy was the true need, not coaching. She is currently in school to become a licensed professional counselor to address the lack of African American, adoption-experienced counselors. She is excited to be on this panel to share her experiences and to break the silence of mental health and adoption.

Jessenia Parmer, mental health advocate, consultant, and suicide attempt survivor. Abandoned as a baby and abused in her adoptive family, Jessenia endured a life of trauma and adversity. Jessenia seeks to empower adoptees to live alive and stay alive, as well as reduce suicide risks in adoptees, promote wellness in the adoptee community, and exemplify how to move from a space of pain to peace and pain to power. Jessenia joins this panel in remembrance of the adoptees we have lost to suicide and to those who silently fight to stay alive.