In 2009 our Founder, Jamie Mosley lost her 17-year old step son. Here are her words:

How could this be? How could a seventeen year old boy feel that lonely? How could someone feel so unloved and unworthy in my home, to be in so much pain that he no longer could bear the thought of living?

When someone dies by suicide it is such a complicated grief. Those left behind have so many questions and so much shame. Shame - the feeling of not enough, that you are not worthy of love and belonging.

It was a slow climb out of the shame hole I was in. It began with little baby steps. I had to stop the numbing and start the feeling. I found myself an amazing counselor, I joined a suicide survivor support group, and I served on a suicide prevention committee. I shared my story with people who loved me and saw the best in me. They didn’t judge me or try to fix it they just said, “I am here. You see we can’t walk the grief road alone. We weren’t meant to.”

Knowing that rate of suicide is too high and knowing that many people don’t receive the support they need while moving in grief. After 13 years of talking about suicide prevention, joining boards and walks and counseling others in grief I was ready to step out and share my story and provide the things I wanted for myself, for Justin, for my children who are still here, for the community. I became grounded in the values that the way to do that was through, community, connection as serving. And from that “why” The Justin Center was created.