mental health
Link to register: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJckd-mhqT4rG9dQ4J28SDgASUBLtoRvI1fY
Book Excerpt: “The Logistics of Suicide,” by Jeff Grant, Chapter 13 from “Suicide and its Impact on the Criminal Justice System,” Edited by Elizabeth Kelley and Francesca Flood
Thank you Elizabeth and Francesca for this opportunity to be of service to our community. – Jeff
Excerpt: “The Logistics of Suicide,” by Jeff Grant
“It’s taken me years to unravel what happened on the night of my suicide attempt in July 2002. Even now I’m sure that I don’t have all of it exactly right. All I really remember about that evening is sitting down in my favorite chair in the den – it was a big oversized wicker chair that we purchased at the Ralph Lauren Country Store in Southampton about a decade earlier. It was big, massive really, but horribly uncomfortable. Now there’s an apt metaphor for my life if I ever heard one. It played its part perfectly in the corner of our den – an all-glass room I had taken as payment from a former client of mine in the greenhouse business. There had been a lot of days that I had to drive down to English Greenhouses’ headquarters to beg for a check, in the absolutely most depressing area of Camden, New Jersey. In the end, I wound up with this greenhouse in the last days of their business before they declared Chapter 11. That’s the way it always was in running a law firm – first I had to get the work, then I had to do the work, then I send the bill, then I had to lower the bill, then I had to take whatever I could get before the client went out of business. No wonder I was depressed.
In this case, I guess the deal worked out pretty well, as our whole family basically lived in this glass den almost every day and night. The very best days were snow days when the girls were little. We would all lie on the sofa together and watch the snow pile up over our heads, and guess when the snow would slide off the glass roof. We pretty much raised our daughters in this room. If there were anything I missed about our old house in Rye, I’d have to say that the greenhouse would be it. I guess that’s what made it an ironic – and tragic – place to attempt suicide…”
Suicide and Its Impact on the Criminal Justice System, edited by our friends Elizabeth Kelley and Francesca Flood. American Bar Association Publishing, Sept. 2021. Chapter 13: “The Logistics of Suicide,” by Jeff Grant.
Order your copy: https://www.americanbar.org/products/inv/book/415364451/
From the book jacket: “For far too long, speaking about suicide was a taboo subject. Today, it is a topic we cannot avoid, and we are finally coming to terms with its pervasiveness across all races, ethnicities, religions and professions. Yet despite this growing awareness, we have yet to acknowledge and address the arc of suicide in the criminal justice system.
In this seminal work, Elizabeth Kelley and Francesca Flood enlist the insights of academic specialists, professionals within the criminal justice system, and individuals who have served time to bring voice to the subject of suicide with the criminal justice system.
This unique book provides insights that have yet to be broadly examined. Whether you are a defendant, judge, law enforcement officer, academic or mental health professional, this book provides much-needed information about a pervasive phenomenon- suicide in the criminal justice system.
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Also, link here to White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood.
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide with Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley & Meredith Atwood
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant
It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.
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Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide with Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley & Meredith Atwood
Today’s podcast is about mental health and the crushing stress and depression that professionals sometimes experience that can induce suicidal ideations, suicide attempts, suicide itself, the pain and anguish caused to family and others, and how one can find relief and hope instead of pain, suffering, and tragedy.
My guests today are Rev. Bob Flanagan, who has written, spoken, and preached about his own mental health issues. And Meredith Atwood, a former lawyer and now author and life coach, who is candid about her suicide attempt, sobriety after drug and alcohol addiction, and finding her way back through triathlons and weightlifting. And Elizabeth Kelley, a lawyer who specializes in representing defendants with mental disabilities all over the country, and in attorney wellness so that they don’t burn out and cause harm to themselves, their families, and their clients.
A warning: this is a very difficult conversation in which we all talk about our personal relationships with depression and suicide, a much-needed discussion in these times of community and personal trauma. So, coming up: A Brave Talk About Suicide on White Collar Week. I hope you will join us.
– Jeff
Listen on Apple Podcasts:
Listen on Spotify:
Listen on SoundCloud:
Watch on YouTube:
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If you have a friend, family member, colleague or client with a white collar justice issue, please forward this email; they can reach us anytime – day or night! Our contact info: http://prisonist.org/contact-us.
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Guests on this Episode:
Bob Flanagan
Rev. Dr. Bob Flanagan has struggled with mental illness and managed to thrive for over twenty years. He holds a doctorate of ministry degree in Christian Spirituality and is an adjunct faculty member at General Theological Seminary in New York City, teaching on Christian spirituality. He has served for over ten years as a state and federal advocate for and board member of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. His previous book, Growing a Sustainable Soul, won a bronze medal in the Reader’s Favorite International Book Contest. Bob lives with his wife, Lanie, in Bridgewater, Connecticut. They have two grown children.
1730 Railroad St, Enumclaw WA 98022
Phone Number: 360-226-3488
www.redemption-press.com
For review copies and media interviews, contact: growingasoul@gmail.com
Connect with Bob at:
Website: www.robertdflanagan.com
Facebook: @RevDrRobertDFlanagan
Order Courage to Thrive on Amazon here.
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Elizabeth Kelley
Let me introduce myself to you. My name is Elizabeth Kelley, and I have the honor of being a criminal defense lawyer. In particular, I specialize in representing people with mental illness and intellectual/developmental disabilities.
Frequently, people ask criminal defense lawyers, “How can you defend those people?” However, I seldom get this question because most people know intuitively, if not from personal experience, that people with mental disabilities do not belong in the criminal justice system and that jail and prison are not treatment.
If you would like more information about how I might be able to help you, a friend, or a family member, please contact me.
Phone: 509.991.7058
Email: zealousadvocacy@aol.com
Website: https://www.elizabethkelleylaw.com/
Twitter: @MentalHealthEsq
Order Representing People with Mental Disabilities on Amazon here.
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Meredith Atwood
Meredith Atwood is a best-selling author, speaker, and podcaster. A former attorney, Meredith is the author of the best-selling book, Triathlon for the Every Woman. Her new book, The Year of No Nonsense: How to Get Over Yourself and On with Your Life is now available online, in most major bookstores, Target, and Wal-Mart. In her writing, Meredith conveys humor and realness, while encouraging readers to take tangible actions to change their lives–to be the best versions of themselves.
Meredith inspires through her podcast, The Same 24 Hours, which aims to help the listener make the most of their 24 hours. The podcast has over 1 million downloads and is a Top 50 on iTunes (Fitness). Some recent guests include: Gretchen Rubin, Dr. Shefali Tsabary, Tony Hawk, Bob Harper, Laila Ali, Gary John Bishop, Kate Northrup, and Jairek Robbins.
Based out of Boston, Massachusetts with her husband and two children, and originally from Atlanta, Georgia.
Website: www.SwimBikeMom.com
Podcast: www.Same24HoursPodcast.com
Twitter: @SwimBikeMom
Instagram: @SwimBikeMom
Facebook: @SwimBikeMom
Order The Year of No Nonsense on Amazon here.
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You can find all episodes of our podcast “White Collar Week with Jeff Grant” on our website prisonist.org, our Facebook page, Podbean, YouTube (video), SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.
Information About our White Collar Support Group…
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Louis Reed/Babz Rawls Ivy PSA:
Some very kind words from my dear friends Louis L. Reed and Babz Rawls Ivy in this brief PSA. Thank you Louis and Babz! – Jeff
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All Episodes:
Link here to Podcast Ep. 20: Glenn E. Martin & Richard Bronson: Reinventing Yourself After Prison
Link here to Podcast Ep. 19: Insider Trading Charges Dismissed, with Guest Richard Lee
Link here to Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix
Link here to Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals: Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola
Link here to Podcast Ep. 16: Politicians, Prison & Penitence, with Guest: Bridgeport, CT Mayor Joseph Ganim
Link here to Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood
Link here to Podcast Ep. 14: Recovery & Neighborhood, with Guest: TNP’s Tom Scott
Link here to Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni
Link here to Podcast Ep. 12: The Truth Tellers, with Guests: Holli Coulman & Larry Levine
Link here to Podcast Ep. 11: The Blank Canvas, with Guest: Craig Stanland
Link here to Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell
Link here to Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest: Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb
Link here to Podcast Ep. 08: The Academics, with Guests: Cathryn Lavery, Jessica Henry, Jay Kennedy & Erin Harbinson
Link here to Podcast Ep. 07: White Collar Wives. with Guests: Lynn Springer, Cassie Monaco & Julie Bennett. Special Guest: Skylar Cluett
Link here to Podcast Ep. 06: Madoff Talks, with Guest: Jim Campbell
Link here to Podcast Ep. 05: Trauma and Healing when Mom goes to Prison, with Guests: Jacqueline Polverari and Her Daughters, Alexa & Maria
Link here to Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X: Tom Hardin
Link here to Podcast Ep. 03: Compassionate Lawyering: Guests, Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz
Link here to Podcast Ep. 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19: Guests, Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney
Link here to Podcast Ep. 01: Prison & Reentry in the Age of COVID-19: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group.
Link here to Podcast Ep. 00: White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: What is White Collar Week?
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What is the White Collar Justice Community?
Welcome to White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, a podcast serving the white collar justice community. It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is in community.
If you are interested in this podcast, then you are probably already a member of the white collar justice community – even if you don’t quite know it yet. Our community is certainly made up of people being prosecuted, or who have already been prosecuted, for white collar crimes. But it is also made up of the spouses, children and families of those prosecuted for white collar crimes – these are the first victims of white collar crime. And the community also consists of the other victims, both direct and indirect, and those in the wider white collar ecosystem like friends, colleagues, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, academics, researchers. Investigators, mitigation experts, corrections officers, reentry professionals, mental health care professionals, drug and alcohol counselors, – and ministers, chaplains and advocates for criminal and social justice reform. The list goes on and on…
Our mission is to introduce you to other members of the white collar justice community, to hear their very personal stories, and hopefully gain a broader perspective of what this is really all about. Maybe this will inspire some deeper thoughts and introspection? Maybe it will inspire some empathy and compassion for people you might otherwise resent or dismiss? And maybe it will help lift us all out of our own isolation and into community, so we can learn to live again in the sunshine of the spirit.
Along the way, I’ll share with you some of the things I’ve learned in my own journey from successful lawyer, to prescription opioid addict, white collar crime, suicide attempt, disbarment, destruction of my marriage, and the almost 14 months I served in a Federal prison. And also my recovery, love story I share with my wife Lynn Springer, after prison earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, pastoring in an inner city church in Bridgeport CT, and then co-founding with Lynn in Greenwich CT, Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. It’s been quite a ride, but I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.
So I invite you to come along with me as we experience something new, and bold, and different – a podcast that serves the entire white collar justice community. I hope you will join me.
Blessings, לשלום
Jeff
Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his)
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Co-host, The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast
Host, White Collar Week
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: prisonist.org
Email: jgrant@prisonist.org
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeff-grant-woodbury-ct/731344
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant
not a prison coach, not a prison consultant
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Thank you for listening to White Collar Week.
Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast if you loved it – it helps others suffering in silence find us if they need us!
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Follow White Collar Week on Social:
Web: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week
Facebook: https://facebook.com/whitecollarweek
Twitter: https://twitter.com/whitecollarweek
Instagram: https://instagram.com/whitecollarweek
LinkedIn: https://linkedin/whitecollarweek
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Follow Jeff Grant on Social:
Web: https://prisonist.org
Facebook: https://Facebook.com/revjeffgrant
Twitter: https://twitter.com/revjeffgrant
Instagram: https://instagram.com/revjeffgrant
LinkedIn: https://linkedin/revjeffgrant
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Want to be a guest on the Show? Have a connection you’d like to make?
Email us! info@prisonist.org
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Credits:
Host: Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.
Production: Chloe Coppola
Audio Engineering: George Antonios: https://georgeantonios.com
Video Engineering: Todd Nixon
Art Direction: Greyskye Marketing, LLC: https://greyskye.com
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It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.
Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice community. Founded by husband and wife, Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer in Greenwich CT in 2012, we incorporated as a nonprofit in Connecticut in 2014, and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015. Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive and religious leadership. As Jeff was incarcerated for a white-collar crime he committed in 2001, he and Lynn have a first-hand perspective on the trials and tribulations that white-collar families have to endure as they navigate the criminal justice system and life beyond.
Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred fifty (350) individuals, and their families, to accept responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge the pain they have caused to others. In accordance with our commitment to restorative justice, we counsel our members to make amends as a first step in changing their lives and moving towards a new spiritual way of living centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance, empathy and service to others. Our team has grown to over ten people, most with advanced degrees, all of whom are currently volunteering their time and resources.
Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide spiritual solutions and emotional support to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We have found that these individuals are suffering from a void but are stuck, and don’t know what to do about it. Our objective is to help them find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems. Many of those we counsel are in a place where their previous lives have come to an end due to their transgressions. In many cases their legal problems have led to divorce, estrangement from their children, families, friends and support communities, and loss of a career. The toll this takes on individuals and families is emotionally devastating. White-collar crimes are often precipitated by other issues in the offenders’ lives such as alcohol or drug abuse, and/or a physical or mental illness that lead to financial issues that overwhelms their ability to be present for themselves and their families and cause poor decision making. We recognize that life often presents us with such circumstances, sometimes which lead us to make mistakes in violation of the law.
All conversations and communications between our ordained ministry, and licensed clinical relationships, and those we serve fall under state privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with us while in active prosecution or litigation situations.
If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are suffering from a white collar criminal justice issue or are experiencing some other traumatic or life-altering event, and would like to find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what seems like insurmountable problems, please contact us to schedule an initial call or appointment.
Copyright 2020, All Rights Reserved, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.