November is for Brian

Every November since I began writing a newsletter, I try my best to share my thoughts about Brian and the emotions surrounding date he left this earth, November 12, 2011. Eleven years. Thinking about that day, really thinking about it – I question how I survived. It feels like a lifetime. It feels like yesterday. My mind wanders a lot in the days leading up to November 12th. Remembering, questioning, wondering about the days and weeks before. It wanders to…

A Whirlwind September

September has been a whirlwind of events to promote National Suicide Awareness Month. Talks, presentations, interviews, events, and fundraisers for both the Brian Dagle Foundation and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I’ll be honest, it’s been exhausting, both physically and emotionally. But we continue to do it for Brian and for all the others out there who didn’t know how to share the depths of their darkness. For parents, I pray never have to know the pain of losing…

National Suicide Awareness Month 2022

As the summer winds down, the Brian Dagle Foundation is preparing for National Suicide Awareness Month beginning September 1st.  This is the month that I stand a little taller, speak a little louder, and be the voice for the more than 46,000 people we lose to suicide each year. The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2020, an estimated 12.2 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.2 million planned a suicide attempt,…

988 – New Suicide and Mental Health Crisis Hotline Launches

On July 16, 2022, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK (8255)) is becoming the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. In Connecticut, the United Way of Connecticut/211 (UWC) Health and Human Services Contact Center is the only provider answering calls for the NSPL/988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The 800 line and 211 will not go away in the event people need to call and aren’t familiar yet with 988.⁠⁠It will take time for people to learn about 988, and using a…

2022 LAX2LIVE Season Recap

The 2022 LAX2LIVE season was an incredible opportunity for the foundation to start the necessary conversation with hundreds of young men and woman athletes about depression and suicide prevention. These players work hard, study hard, and put so much pressure on themselves, they (and we) sometimes forget to look at them as simply a person – not the athlete and not the student. Our message is this: It’s okay to ask for help. You would ask for help if you…

Thoughts on Grief and Time

Time heals all wounds. ⁠ It’s time to move forward. ⁠ It’s time to live again. ⁠ There’s never enough time. Time to work. Time to play. Time to love. Time to live. ⁠ Everyone has their thoughts about time, especially after losing someone you think you cannot live without. ⁠ Time is a friend and time is an enemy. ⁠ The past few years, time has befriended me. Time has softened the years since Brian’s death.⁠ A decade is…

Remembering Brian on His 30th Birthday

This day arrives each year with the anticipation beginning about a month before when the calendar turns to March 2nd. Regardless of the number of years, the hesitation, the anticipations begins again, counting down to April 2nd. This year would have been a milestone year. This year on April 2nd, Brian would have celebrated his 30th birthday. Eleven birthdays without him. Eleven birthdays remembering his smile, his love, his light. Remembering the love while simultaneously honoring the profound loss I feel without him is…

Mental Health and Suicide Prevention is a Team Sport

If we have learned anything over the past two years, it’s how important it is to have difficult but necessary conversations. That is the goal of LAX2LIVE Lacrosse games for suicide awareness and mental health.Reach out to us and discover how your team can be part our our 2022 LAX2LIVE SEASON and have of this life saving conversation.   Like  most of the programs associated with the Brian Dagle Foundation, LAX2LIVE was also created out of love and loss. It’s our way to honor…

Open Your Heart Again and Again

“Open your heart as often as you need to”. I read this quote four years to the day on which we opened our hearts to yours at Brian’s Healing Hearts. Four years ago, January 27, 2018. On that glorious sunny January day I was filled with emotions- love, joy, kindness, and yes, that bittersweet sadness whispering why it all happened.  To illustrate some of our timeline, let me share two milestones that started our journey. Seven years ago, the Brian Dagle…

An End of the Year Message from Ann

Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters

In the final weeks of 2021, like most of us, I find myself reflecting on this year. Honestly, I’m still processing the incredible growth and milestones the Brian Dagle Foundation has accomplished over the past twelve months.