A girl walked out of the hospital, head hung low, feeling hopeless. Her system lingered with cocaine and the beginning signs of a hangover. The nurses couldn’t help her, her case was too extreme. Renee Yohe felt lost and out of options.
But she wasn’t alone. Friends became her treatment center, helping her get on her feet, ready for rehab, and realizing that her life was worth living. They wanted to erase the memories of the abuse, the alcohol, her depression and suicidal thoughts. They just wanted to write love on her arms.
Yohe’s story is the same as thousands of people around the world. Through her struggle, she started a movement. She was the inspiration for To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA).
TWLOHA is a non-profit organization that is set out to aid people in finding mental help. Their goal is for people to realize that there is hope and a reason for life. TWLOHA is reaching out to all corners of the globe, and their motives have even inspired students at LZHS.
Shaun Bonefas, senior and vice president of Lifeline, found out about TWLOHA last year through a friend. Together they were interested in bringing TWLOHA to LZHS. After a year of research and planning, Lifeline successfully brought TWLOHA to LZHS on November 14, 2012.
Lifeline is dedicated to promoting awareness about mental health diseases like depression, which can later lead to suicide or self harm. Their goal is to get people informed so victims can find the help they need.
“Lifeline supports mental health awareness and so does To Write Love On Her Arms, so it was easy to integrate both together,” Bonefas said.
Depression is the most treatable of all psychiatric diseases, according to All About Depression’s website. But if it is left untreated, it can lead to suicide, self-harm, and/or eating disorders.
Every 14 minutes someone in the US commits suicide, according to all About Depression’s website. That’s about 37,543 people a year. To put that huge number into perspective, imagine filling up the United Center completely, and then having all of those people vanish. Now do it again. That is how many Americans die by suicide every year.
TWLOHA wants to make that number a lot smaller, Chad Moses, music and events coordinator for TWLOHA, said.
“There are 7 billion people currently on the planet. That means there are 7 billion lives that deserve to be connected to each other. Seven billion is a big number…too big to wrap our heads around, so instead we actively seek out one story at a time. We all have a role in this story and every story deserves an audience,” Moses said.
“It’s very noble to see an organization step up to do such amazing things,” Bonefas said.
It is easier to get a point across with statistics and numbers according to Bonefas, which is exactly what TWLOHA provided for Lifeline.
Not only has Bonefas been empowered by TWLOHA’s cause, but so has McKenna Larson, junior, who is a supporter of TWLOHA. To her, the program reminds people that they are not alone.
“More or less, it’s one of those things that’s not like a person, it’s permanent,” Larson said. To her, TWLOHA isn’t unreliable and temporary like people are; it will always be there, no matter what.
In Larson’s opinion, TWLOHA brings people together and can never let them down. It ultimately symbolizes that they are not alone, that there are people just like them who are out there to help them.
“I bet I know a lot of people who support the cause because they have been in a similar situation,” Bonefas said.
TWLOHA has empowered many people in multiple walks of life all over the nation. Steven Priske, bassist for the band Loftland, found “a heart for the broken” through this organization. He avidly supports their cause and frequently wears TWLOHA t-shirts to shows that he plays across the US.
“I initially bought the shirts because they were cool. But I researched it more later and got a heart for what they were fighting for,” Priske said about wearing TWLOHA shirts to shows.
According to Priske, TWLOHA helps by “describing how loved and desired the kids actually are.”
TWLOHA is not only aimed at helping people with mental health problems, but it is also out to raise awareness of their severity to other people who are around the victim. By educating people about depression and suicide, TWLOHA hopes to form a defense against these conditions from taking full control of its victim.
Bonefas has noticed the obliviousness some LZHS students have towards the harshness of these illnesses.
“I was actually walking down the hallway yesterday and I overheard these two girls talking about how guys don’t have self-confidence issues. We’re all so stuck in this social stigma, into what we should look like on the outside. It’s great to see that an organization has stepped up to do such an amazing thing,” Bonefas said.
According to Bonefas, guys are equally affected by self-confidence issues as girls are.
If you know someone who is suffering from suicide, depression, cutting, or eating-disorders, “sit down and talk to them. However it is most comfortable for them… give them support. [Healing] won’t be instantaneous” Bonefas said.
For Priske, he believes that if someone knows someone else who is suffering from these kinds of mental illnesses, they should show the victim genuine love since “false love is easy to see through.”
Larson had similar advice to those who surround a victim.
“Just talk to them and be there for them. If they don’t want help, then don’t give it, but do show them people who can give them help, and make sure that they keep holding on,” Larson said.
To Bonefas, recovery will take time since “you can’t be suicidal one day and then all fine the next day.”
TWLOHA has recognized that healing takes time. By helping people through their tough situations and letting them know that their lives are worth living, TWLOHA is out to save lives. If TWLOHA’s mission is successful, rescue is possible.
“We want people to know that their life matters,” Moses said. “And that the fights they wake to are worth it.”