Three Lancaster Transgender Teens Died by Suicide Over Past Year

transgender teen suicide Pennsylvania

Content Note: suicide, gender identity, Lancaster Lancaster LGBTQ communities have experienced deep loss this past year. Three young trans teens died by by suicide over the past year, including two in the past month. Say Their Names River Paige Olmsted, age 17, October 16, 2023 Theadora “Thea” Cassidy, age 18, September 22, 2023 Brayden Snyder, […]

The Death of Billy Miller Due To Bipolar Depression is Important

I will always remember Billy Miller, an actor who recently died from suicide while struggling with bipolar depression. He was 43. Miller was an actor, mostly known for his complicated character soap opera roles. Most notably, he played Billy Abbott on The Young & The Restless and then both Jason Morgan and Drew Cain on […]

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Last week, friends set up a meal train for us to help me with my struggle to eat. It has been a lovely resource and quite effective. Dinner is handled most nights giving Laura a bit of breathing room with all the home stuff she has to manage in addition to her job and all […]

Pandemic Depression

Content Note: depression, suicide, racial injustice I’m depressed. Yes, in the existential dread of a pandemic sort of way. Duh. But my three week bout of hypomania turned the corner into depression. I am grateful to be moving through my symptoms toward a stable mood, but depression ain’t fun. The transition was bumpy. I bounce […]

Inherited Trauma and Coping with Trump

CN: description of suicide, addiction, intergenerational trauma Obviously, I’m struggling to come to terms with the implications of Trump for our nation, especially the most vulnerable among us. One of the ways I manage my anxiety is by working on my family tree. It is similar to working a jigsaw puzzle, but more conducive to […]

The First Time I Called 911

CN: Discussion of suicide Write about a defining moment in your life when you were forced to grow up in an instant (or a series of instants). My mother has always lived with depression and a host of other ailments, many resulting from a childhood bout of encephalitis that destroyed her short-term memory. She was […]

Vigil for Andi Woodhouse Set For 2 PM Saturday in Pittsburgh

Andi Woodhouse

Organizers in Pittsburgh have coordinated a vigil for Andi Woodhouse, the 24-year-old trans man who died by suicide in mid-December.  The vigil begins at 2 PM. Details: On Saturday, December 13, 2014, 24-year-old Andi Woodhouse died by suicide near the 10th Street Bridge in Pittsburgh. Andi was a trans man from Lebanon, PA. We will […]

UPDATED 24 Year Old Trans Man Dies By Suicide in Pittsburgh

Andi Woodhouse

The news about the death of Leelah Alcorn outside of Cincinnati brought to my attention a similar tragedy much closer to home. On Saturday, December 13, 2014, 24-year-old Andi Woodhouse died by suicide near the 10th Street Bridge in Pittsburgh. Andi was from Lebanon, PA. He was in Pittsburgh temporarily for some services and he […]

17 Year Old Trans Male Student Dies By Suicide in Eastern PA

Riley

    Photo of Riley via Facebook 17 year old Riley Matthew Moscatel died by suicide this week. Riley was a student at Bucks County Technical High School who also happened to be a transgender male.  I held off writing about this because most of the media coverage by local PA and national outlets has done […]

Ignoring Our Neighbors – the Ultimate Cost

Ignoring Our Neighbors – the Ultimate Cost

I don’t even have the right words to share this. This morning, a woman died in a fire in her own home. She was described as a “hoarder” and apparently her possessions created a nightmare scenario for firefighters who were unable to save her. That’s not the only tragedy. From WPXI: Neighbors told Channel 11’s […]