Mental Health issues affect nearly every, if not every, family and every community. The Punk community is no different. The good news is that there are people within this community doing their level best to improve the lives of those dealing with such issues, working to prevent suicide, and working with the surviving loved ones of those who have taken their own lives.
One such organization is Six Feet Over (SFO). The Michigan-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization was founded in 2012 by Katie Hardy following the suicide of her mother. Hardy has also survived the suicide of eight friends so for her, this is a way forward and her calling.
Its mission statement per the SFO website:
To provide financial and emotional support for survivors of suicide loss and individuals with lived experience of suicide, while engaging in community prevention through mental health education and advocacy to support healthier futures.
The organization’s Administrative Coordinator Laura Lukofsky described how Founder and Executive Director Kate Hardy came to start Six Feet Over,
She began this journey by selling tee shirts at Detroit Punk Rock shows simply to promote awareness and normalize conversations about suicide loss due to her personal experiences, and she wanted to be there for the communities she was/is a part of.
The non-profit does a multitude of things but it is also composed of two major programs. The first is called Suck It! Suicide (SIS).
On its website, SIS describes what it is and its approach,
Suck It! Suicide (SIS) is the outreach program of Six Feet Over, which also does the bulk of the fundraising for Six Feet Over through merchandise sales and in person donations. SIS specializes in community outreach, doing so in unconventional ways and places.
We keep it real. Suicide is a serious issue, but that doesn’t mean we can’t bring laughter and light into our outreach. Our tables are full of hugs, laughs, and sometimes tears—along with merch to help raise funds and keep our mission going strong. Because supporting mental health can be real, raw, and still a good time.
The second major program run by Six Feet Over is called Lemon Aid.
Often overlooked by the general public are the issues, financial and otherwise, faced by survivors of a suicide loss. This is where Lemon Aid, described as “Postvention & Support,” comes in to help. Six Feet Over describes “postvention” this way,
Postvention is the response and services provided following a death by suicide. Postvention includes working with loss survivors and the larger community to provide debriefing and support services, including linking with resources and providing emotional support. We consider postvention as prevention, as we know that those who are exposed to suicide are at a greater risk for suicide themselves.
The program assists with funeral and memorial services, helps with obtaining granite memorials and headstones as well as urns and caskets, It also assists with bio-cleaning services & others.
The program is presently available in Michigan and Kansas but the organization is working hard to expand it to other states. For those in the aforementioned states, the application and details of its requirements are available on the website.
Funding for Six Feet Over is achieved in several different ways.
In Kansas, the Lemon Aid program is funded by a grant from the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS).
In Michigan, funding is done through Donations from the public, state grants, event and program sponsors, and sales merchandise and from fundraising events via Suck It Suicide.
Six Feet Over does crucial work and donations are important to, as Laura Lukofsky told me,
“Keep the doors open” as it were. It’s one of the very few non-profits that all the proceeds go directly to supporting Suicide Loss survivors.
Six Feet Over is doing so much more than can be fully described in a few paragraphs. As Katie Hardy told me,
Beyond our programs Suck It! Suicide (outreach) and Lemon Aid (loss survivor support) we also do a bit of consulting, and a lot of talks and presentations. Our main focus though are the programs. Our foundation is built on knowing our wheelhouse, perfecting the services, keeping up on best practices, listening to those with lived experience to better understand and provide what people are asking for, and maintaining the highest quality and standards we can. People deserve nothing less than the best we can do. Period.
If you can, PLEASE consider donating here. You can also volunteer with SIS, starting by filling out a quick application here.
Six Feet Over can be followed on Facebook and Instagram. Check it out and help them out!
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Artwork Credits:
SFO logo: Brook Brewster, Multi-medium artist. Instagram: @broken_glass_co
SIS logo: Cheryl Tash, Tattoo artist.Instagram: @cheryldoestattoos
Lemon Aid logo: Nadia Garver, Tattoo artist/shop owner. Instagram: @bogwitch
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If you or someone you know is in crisis please call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline; call 911; or visit your nearest Emergency Room.
𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞 – 𝖛𝖆𝖈𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖊𝖗𝖆 𝖕𝖍𝖔𝖙𝖔𝖌𝖗𝖆𝖕𝖍𝖞 
