The Will to Live Foundation is an example of the powerful and positive changes that can emerge from a tragic situation. John Trautwein and his wife Susie founded the organization after losing their 15-year-old son, Will, to suicide. The nonprofit is now thriving and helping to not only heal, but to empower a family and an Atlanta-area community deeply affected by Will’s death. We interviewed John to learn more about Will to Live’s mission, the Will to Live Foundation and how the foundation is using the SOS Signs of Suicide Program to support the youth in their community.
Screening for Mental Health: Tell us about Will to Live.
John Trautwein: The Will to Live Foundation is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that my wife Susie and I founded immediately after the tragic suicide death of our 15-year-old son, Will Trautwein. Will, a high school freshman at the time, stunned our family, his friends and the entire community with his suicide. No one expected it – we were all taken completely by surprise – we had no idea.
Our motto soon became “for the kids, through the kids, by the kids.” We work with kids to not only help spread teen suicide awareness, but to give these kids the opportunity to communicate even more with each other – to love each other! We felt, and we since learned this to be very true, that kids are more likely to communicate with each other about their problems than with the adults in their lives. We are trying to give them that opportunity to do so and truly promote it.
SMH: What is your main mission?
John Trautwein: Quite simply, straight from our mission statement: “To create a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to improving the lives and the ‘Will to Live’ of teenagers everywhere. Through education, motivation, consultation, charity, support, and most importantly, love and fellowship, we will work for and through these young adults to help them always find the good in life and a ‘Will to Live’ through all of life’s trials.”
SMH: How do you work to achieve that mission?
John Trautwein: By creating opportunities for the young adults in our community to work together – whether it be a suicide awareness fundraiser like the upcoming Where There’s A Will There’s A Way 5k run, the “Willstock” music festival last October, or through our Life Teammates® concept where we encourage kids to understand that they have life teammates in their lives right now as teenagers.
SMH: You have a very personal connection to this mission. How does that change/motivate the way you spread awareness?
John Trautwein: As you can imagine, it quite simply drives us and inspires us to keep doing this. Our son Will was a wonderful, popular and successful young man with hundreds and hundreds of “life teammates” – if he only knew it… if they only knew it… now they do. He was also a wonderful friend and counselor to his pals. He was a great teammate who always put the team ahead of self. We know Will would love to be doing what we’re doing with the foundation. So many of the characteristics of this foundation are reflections of Will, his personality, and his approach to life. He is truly an inspiration and we know he’d love this foundation, and that is very healing to me, my wife, and our family.
SMH: How did you learn about the SOS program?
John Trautwein: Through the Internet, shortly after the foundation began, I was looking for a “stop, drop and roll” concept for teen suicide and what to do if a kid approached a friend saying he/she was in trouble. We discovered the ACT (Acknowledge, Care, Tell) concept in the SOS Signs of Suicide Program and we have been talking about it ever since.
SMH: Can you tell us about the partnership with Fulton County, Georgia and how that came to be?
John Trautwein: Part of the foundation’s goals are to not only work with and for the kids, but to also educate the community on suicide and mental health. We wanted to use the money we raised to give back to our community here in Fulton County, Georgia.
Thus, with the team at Screening for Mental Health/SOS, we approached county officials and proposed that the Will to Live Foundation would fund training for all the educators in Fulton County. The response from Fulton County was a resounding “yes” and now, some three months after first contact, the date of the first training is set for April 2012. With the help of Screening for Mental Health, every educator within Fulton County schools will go through a special training made for Fulton County. The announcement of this initiative was our proudest moment so far.
We like to think of the Fulton County partnership as a “circle of hope.” The foundation works with kids to raise teen suicide awareness and to create life teammate bonds. These activities raise money that the foundation then puts back in the community to educate teachers on how to ACT when these very kids are struggling. It is a beautifully crafted “circle of hope” — for the kids –from the Will to Live Foundation.
SMH: What is something you would like to share with teachers, school counselors and parents when it comes to depression and suicide prevention?
John Trautwein: Quite simply, if our Will can complete suicide, if our Will can be depressed, if our Will can have mental illness, then any kid we’ve ever met can as well. We cannot assume anything. The “it can’t happen here” syndrome should not and does not exist.
Therefore, we have to talk, we have to listen, and we have to love. The world today is a much younger world and our kids are facing much more intense pressure at a much younger age than their parents, teachers and coaches! We must understand that! But even more importantly, we must let our kids know that we understand that.
Promote family, friendship, life teammates, listening, understanding, love and the concept of saying, “I love you, man!” If our kids can tell each other they love each other and share their love with each other, then maybe they can share their pain with each other too.
A life teammate of mine, Brian Holman, once told me, “The human spirit needs companionship.” I agree – our kids need each other!