crisis line numbers

Following is a list of crisis line numbers that can be useful to have on hand if you or someone you care about is in crisis.

National Crisis Helpline:

800-999-9999

National Suicide Prevention Hotline:

800-273-TALK

Calling a warm line

1-800-314-2680

Mental Health Crisis Line:

800-222-8220

Grief Recovery Helpline:

800-445-4808

Crisis Hotline for the Physically & Mentally Challenged

800-426-4263

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
1-800-203-1234

Cocaine Anonymous (CA)
1-800-347-8998

Narcotics Anonymous (NA)
1-800-627-3543

The Battle for the Soul of America

Nick Unger - CBHC Annual Meeting from Campaign for Better Health Care on Vimeo.

Above is a powerful 14 minute speech delivered by Nick Unger on the health care reform bill. He asks a question that each and every one of us needs to answer, "what kind of country do we want to be?" You can read a transcript of the speech at the Universal Health Care Action Network website.

Aging and Growth

I watched one of my very favorite movies this weekend, Harold and Maude, which was released in the early seventies. I try and watch it at least once a decade and always with friends.

Harold is a depressed and death obsessed adolescent who meets and falls in love with Maude, an elderly free spirit who is about to turn eighty and will teach him a tremendous amount about life and love and the wonder of it all. Among the many junkets of wisdom she shares with Harold is, "A lot of people enjoy being dead. But they are not dead, really. They're just backing away from life. *Reach* out. Take a *chance*. Get *hurt* even. But play as well as you can. Go team, go! Give me an L. Give me an I. Give me a V. Give me an E. L-I-V-E. LIVE! Otherwise, you got nothing to talk about in the locker room."

If you're willing to overlook the ending and travel lightly with the two zany main characters then it's a very special movie. It reminds us that life is to be savored at any and every age and that as Betty Friedan asserts, "Aging is not 'lost youth' but a new stage of opportunity and strength."

"Making Sense"

Public broadcasters from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont joined forces to help residents of northern new england cope with the financial challenges effecting our region. The result of their collaboration is "Making $ense," a highly informative and inspiring program that addresses many of these challenges and examines some of the creative approaches that have been developed to deal with them.

You can watch the program on demand at: http://www.mpbn.net/OnDemand/Makingense/tabid/1024/Default.aspx

Hugh Prather and a morning ritual

Author, counselor, and minister, Hugh Prather, suggests in his chapter, "Walking Home" in Handbook for the Spirit that we look into our hearts and ask ourselves each morning, "How can I begin to experience my goodness? How can I make the effort today to be the kind of person I want to be?" I've found these questions to be very helpful in keeping me focused on what's most important to me and I try to ask them each morning as I greet the new day.

Aging, Service, Community and Commitment Every Single Day in Bangor...

"On call 24 hours a day for the past five years, a group of senior citizens has made history by greeting over 900,000 American troops at a tiny airport in Bangor, Maine. The Way We Get By is an intimate look at three of these greeters as they confront the universal losses that come with aging and rediscover their reason for living. Bill Knight, Jerry Mundy and Joan Gaudet find the strength to overcome their personal battles and transform their lives through service. This inspirational and surprising story shatters the stereotypes of today's senior citizens as the greeters redefine the meaning of community."

The 2 plus minute trailer is heart warming and inspirational...

The Healing of America

Foreign correspondent for The Washington Post, T.R. Reid, traveled around the world trying to find an affordable health care system for the United States. In his book, The Healing of America, Reid convincingly argues that an effective universal health care system in the United States is possible. The above video is a brief interview with Reid.



To learn more, check out the following:

5 Myths About Health Care Around the World

Excerpt from The Healing of America

The Healing of America on Fora Tv

Frontline: Sick Around the World (Can the US learn anything from the rest of the world about how to run a health care system?)