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‍FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE‍‍

Congressman Jamie Raskin to Join Fairwinds, Nantucket’s Counseling Center, for a Conversation about Mental Health

Raskin to share unique perspective having lost his son to suicide

[Nantucket, MA, July 7, 2022] Fairwinds – Nantucket’s Counseling Center, welcomes Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) on August 3 for a community event at the Nantucket Unitarian Universalist Meeting House to raise awareness about mental health. Raskin will speak to the need for mental health care and the reduction of stigma around mental illness.  

Congressman Raskin lost his 25-year-old son, Tommy, to suicide just days before he and his family found themselves amongst the violence in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The impact of these events led Congressman Raskin to publish his memoir earlier this year titled: Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy, chronicling his effort to understand these two events.  

“I have learned that trauma can steal everything from you that is most precious and rip joy right out of your life,” Raskin writes in Unthinkable. “But, paradoxically, it can also make you stronger and wiser, and connect you more deeply to other people than you ever imagined by enabling you to touch their misfortunes and integrate their losses and pain with your own.” 

Nantucket faces increasing mental health challenges and needs. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s 2020 report found Nantucket experiencing the highest rate of suicide in the Commonwealth in 2017. The MDPH report also found Nantucket having the highest rate of self-inflicted harm deaths of all counties in Massachusetts from 1999 -2017. And the island is not alone. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness, impacting 52.9 million people, and their loved ones, in 2020. 

Celebrating 60 years, Fairwinds is the largest and oldest behavioral health agency on Nantucket, serving as a much-needed advocate, partner and provider of mental health services to the Nantucket community including outpatient therapy for individuals, families, and couples, in-home therapy, children’s support services, and peer recovery coaching.

Congressman Raskin’s remarks at the Unitarian Meeting House will last from 5pm – 6pm on August 3. He will then be a special guest of Fairwinds for a small reception from 6:15pm – 7:30pm at the Big Gallery at 12 Straight Wharf for those holding reception tickets. Tickets to both events are available via the Fairwinds website.

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Proudly serving the Nantucket community since 1962, Fairwinds – Nantucket’s Counseling Center, provides confidential, quality professional care to adults and youth on Nantucket who seek mental health and addiction services. All are welcome, regardless of ability to pay. 

For more information, contact Daniel Griffin, Fairwinds Development Director / dgriffin@fairwindscenter.org 508-228-2689