“I think the heart of the matter is that a lot of people feel alone. A lot of people feel stuck. There are people in need of hope. Help too, but I think it starts with hope. It takes hope for someone to take a step toward help. We’re doing our best to present hope, to let people know they’re not alone, to let them know that it’s possible to change, it’s possible to start over,” says Jamie Tworkowski.
Purveyor of Hope
It’s hard to explain the awesome phenomenon that is Jamie Tworkowski, and his uber successful suicide prevention nonprofit, To Write Love on Her Arms. Consider this man of compelling contrasts:
He is not a licensed therapist, yet hundreds of thousands of young people who are depressed, confused, lonely, addicted or suicidal seek his counsel.
He is a college dropout prone to wearing hoodies and jeans even when participating at professional mental health conferences. Yet, in spite of his relaxed appearance, he has earned the respect of buttoned down psychologists and social workers everywhere.
And, he doesn’t work out of a traditional office per se (although he has bunked with some of the staff that works for his organization) and even so, through his own maverick means, he has effectively reached those who need help via Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, his website and even through music fests at venues like House of Blues and college campuses.
Who exactly is he helping? Maybe it’s a loner thinking about taking pills, or a rager filled with regret over his last booze-filled rampage, or an innocent who has felt the barbs of bullying by her classmates. Whatever the impetus, they all have sought Tworkowski’s lifeline and found solace in the self-help offered by the connection to TWLOHA. His organization has given more than $750,000 in support of treatment programs and has responded to more than 150,000 messages and emails across 100-plus countries.
Jamie Tworkowski was a twenty-something wave rider who spent his days selling hip Hurley clothing and nights on the indie music scene. Today, spends his time lifting the spirits of the downtrodden. In 2006, through a friend, he happened to meet Renee, a 19-year-old woman who was so depressed, she cut up her arms writing F–k Up. Tworkowski was so moved by her plight, he wrote a compelling blog post about her on his MySpace page, entitled “To Write Love on Her Arms,” suggesting that instead of the carvings in her arm, he’d like to write love on her arms.
The blogpost gained traction, and soon there were TWLOHA T-shirts printed up that he and his musician friends began selling to help pay for her treatment. The initiative went viral and before long, Tworkowski became a new and trendsetting kind of guru, connecting with a generation of troubled teens and young adults, and providing help and guidance through virtual media and musical festivals. TWLOHA grew organically to serve as a sort of matrix of help, support, information and connection.
Alternative Success
According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide, and suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers. An estimated 121 million people around the globe suffer from depression and two thirds of those suffering depression never seek treatment.
Madelyn Gould, a Columbia University professor in psychiatry, says she remembers setting eyes on Tworkowski at a 2009 conference speaking on how to harness new media to support mental health services and prevent suicide. “He was dressed like a surfer dude guy and I think that’s his strength that he reflects a youth culture that is recognizable to other young people,” says Gould. “He is reaching vulnerable people in a comfortable way. I remember thinking at the time how motivated he was, what a dynamic personality. I remember being touched by his enthusiasm. He is willing to do whatever it takes. He is a mover and a shaker.” She calls his work “wonderful.”
Tworkowski dresses down his own importance as the force behind TWLOHA, even though wherever he goes, young people recognize him, hug him, ask for his autograph or thank him for saving their life.
“We’re not at all saying we’re better than mainstream mental health professionals. We believe in counseling and treatment. We do our best to serve as a bridge to it and we invest (financially) in it. The simple reality is that a lot of young people are knocking on our door before they knock on the door of professional help, perhaps because they relate to TWLOHA, they relate to the way we’re communicating and operating. And then it’s our job to serve as a bridge, to encourage people to take the step to getting the help they need and deserve,” says Tworkowski.
Tworkowski says he had accidentally stumbled upon this particular career path after he happened to meet Renee, and not long after losing a friend and Hurley coworker to suicide. He realized there was a deep need for outreach when so many people responded to his initial efforts.
TWLOHA is working to launch “IMAlive” later this year. The live online crisis network promises to bring hope and help to thousands of people. TWLOHA is also expanding to do more on college campuses, more events and more student-led chapters, as well as its MOVE Community Conferences, which are two-day mini conferences led by professional counselors in cities across the country.
“I’m proud of the fact that people are choosing to stay alive — people are literally choosing life over death,” says Tworkowski. “To know that we’ve been a small part of the process, that we’ve provided some encouragement and helped people take steps toward healing, that means a lot.”
September is National Suicide Prevention Month. To learn more in addition to TWLOHA, check out the National Suicide Prevention site.
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