SurvivorsAfterSuicide Your Path Toward Healing • Erasing the Stigma • Suicide is Preventable A Program of Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services
Summer 2020
Outgoing President/CEO is a Suicide Loss/Attempt Survivor By Kim Kowsky
Dr. Kita S. Curry, Didi Hirsch’s Outgoing President/CEO, has been a regular member of the Saturday afternoon Survivors After Suicide potluck gatherings since their inception. Many are surprised to learn she is there, often with her husband, Peter, because they too have been bereaved by suicide. “We have lost four family members to suicide and attend the potlucks for the same reason other survivors participate— because we find comfort and strength in the community,” Dr. Curry said. Loss survivors who attend the twicea-year potlucks say they have enjoyed getting to know Dr. Curry over the years and that she has personally helped many members feel less alone in their grief. “Kita comes to our Survivor potlucks not ‘just’ as a CEO but to be with us and share her own stories about being a survivor,” noted Nina Gutin, PhD, who facilitates SAS support groups and is a member of the SAS Advisory Board. “She is living proof that we can transform our own pain into a passion to help others.” Twenty-six years after joining Didi Hirsch, Dr. Curry is retiring at the end of August. After a lengthy executive search conducted by the Didi Hirsch Board of Directors, Dr. Jonathan Goldfinger, MD,
DIDI HIRSCH MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
President/CEO Dr. Kita S. Curry retires after 26 years
MPH, FAAP, was appointed as the new CEO and began on July 6. He is a renowned pediatrician with expertise in intergenerational trauma, integrated care and healthcare technologies. He has won numerous awards for his advocacy and public health research and serves on the California Office of the Surgeon General and Department of Health Care Services’ Trauma-Informed Primary Care Advisory Committee. Lyn Morris, LMFT, who has been with Didi Hirsch for 20 years and most recently served as Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations, has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer.
Didi Hirsch grew significantly during Dr. Curry’s tenure, tripling the size of its budget and growing the reach of its services. She has been a passionate advocate, serving as a member of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Steering Committee, and teaming up with Lyn Morris to secure ongoing funding for California’s members of the Lifeline network. Under her leadership, the agency adopted erasing stigma into its mission statement and created video and media campaigns to encourage others struggling with mental health challenges to reach out for help. As part of that effort, she spoke openly about her own experience with depression, suicidal loss and an attempt. Among her many achievements is the creation of a permanent stand-alone home for the agency’s 62-year-old Suicide Prevention Center in Century City. The Center is the first in the nation to take suicide out of the shadows with large exterior signs that boldly declare its purpose and help erase stigma. “I’m retiring as CEO, but I’m still part of Survivors After Suicide,” Dr. Curry said. “Survivors’ courageous willingness to help others by sharing their stories helped me grow personally and professionally.”
Join Our 22nd Alive & Running 5K Walk/Run VIRTUALLY! Separate but together, we will watch a kickoff ceremony on Sept. 13 before running or walking in our own neighborhoods.
• Register to get a T-shirt and memory bib. • Join the SAS team or create or renew your own. • Share your story and remember loved ones by participating in social media/online activities. A VIRTUAL EVENT
9.13.2020 9.13.2020
• Encourage friends and family to support your team for this worthwhile cause.
Help Raise Awareness and Funds for Suicide Prevention Donate or register at www.aliveandrunning.org.
Survivors After Suicide (SAS) helps people cope with their grief and pain, and move forward in their lives, in a positive and productive way.