Robbins siblings honor brother lost to suicide

MT. PLEASANT – With National Suicide Prevention Month quickly approaching, nonprofits like The Jamie Bryant Robbins Foundation (JBR) are working to raise funds and address stigmas surrounding mental health. The nonprofit will be hosting the JBR Foundation Golf Outing, their first large fundraising event, on Sunday, Sept. 8, to kick off National Suicide Prevention Week (Sept. 8 – Sept. 14). The outing will take place at Sheaffer Memorial Golf Course in Fort Madison, beginning at 11 a.m.

The JBR Foundation was founded by Mt. Pleasant residents Jennifer Robbins Starr and Chad Robbins in memory of their late brother, Jamie Bryant Robbins, following his suicide on April 3, 2018. Jamie was 39 years old. The family established the nonprofit in March of this year to share his story and address the role alcohol addiction and depression played in his death, as well as begin an open dialogue about the issues their brother faced 'in hopes to help others.” Jamie's struggles were a shock to many when mentioned at his funeral, but his family felt it was necessary to reveal because 'pretending that none of it existed … would only continue to fuel the stigma that surrounds addiction and mental illness.”

Starr, the president of the foundation, explained that the nonprofit has been an opportunity for her family to heal after the loss and that it is a 'project out of love for [Jamie] and to protect other families from experiencing suicide.”

'It has been a great way to channel our grief ... and to try to make something positive come from such an unthinkable loss,” Starr continued.

Starr, who previously worked at Temp Associates for 14 years, left her position this past April to help run the foundation. Starr says the foundation 'means everything” to her and was 'born out of love for [her] brother.”

The golfing event is a tribute to Jamie's love for the sport.

'Jamie's greatest passion in life was golf so there is no better way to honor his memory and to celebrate his life than to play a round of golf on one of his favorite courses,” Starr said of her brother.

Through the nonprofit, Starr hopes to combat the stigmas surrounding mental health that are 'fueling the suicide epidemic” in the country and takes the lives of over 47,000 Americans each year, an average of 129 suicides a day. There were an estimated 1,400,000 suicide attempts in 2017 according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Currently, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, and only fifty percent of Americans facing major depressive episodes receive help or treatment. Those who struggle with substance abuse, like Jamie, are six times more likely to commit suicide than those without.

The JBR Foundation's two core goals are education and outreach. Currently, the nonprofit is running an outreach program called Project Thumbies, inspired by Jamie's three children. The outreach programs work to connect families and people affected by suicide with others that have also lost their loved ones to suicide. The programs honor Jamie's love for people.

Starr says her brother's 'passion for people and his ability to connect with others was simply unparalleled.”

The organization also hopes to provide funding for 'educational programs to schools and other young organizations in and around Southeast Iowa and West Central Illinois to educate youth on sensitive yet urgent topics.” Through grassroots fundraising efforts, Starr hopes to bring these programs to as many local school districts as possible, including Mt. Pleasant and Burlington.

Starr intends to begin working closely with school districts, following the initial fundraising stage, to assess what programs can and need to be brought into schools. Funding will determine the amount of schools the foundation will be able to work with. Programming may include motivational speakers who will address topics of addiction, mental illness and suicide prevention.

Another educational program the JBR Foundation is looking to help implement includes Hope Squad, which focuses on suicide prevention.

'It is a school based ‘peer to peer' program comprised of students who are trained to be active listeners so they may help and respond to peers who are struggling with emotional issues,” Starr explained. The types of programs will ultimately be decided through the approval of school districts.

The JBR Foundation Golfing Outing is part of the efforts to fund the foundation's educational programs and are hoping to raise $10,000 from the event. The golf outing is a four-man best shot, costing $300 per team (with a limit of 36 teams) or $75 per golfer, and includes green fees, cart fees, lunch and a gift bag. There will also be cash prizes and a raffle.

Additional information on the foundation and the upcoming golfing event can be found at www.jbr‐foundation.org or by emailing Jennifer Starr at jen@jbr-foundation.org.