Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Baker.
Hi Liz , we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Liz Baker and I serve as the AFSP MI Chapter Secretary and Community Engagement Chair. I am also a survivor of suicide loss. In 2014 I lost my best friend, Desmond to suicide. I was just 17, and fresh out of high school at the time. Desmond and I grew up together and had known each other since we were in diapers.
I stumbled across an “Out of the Darkness Walk” about a month after Desmond’s passing, I wasn’t sure that a suicide prevention walk was what I wanted to do right after his death. I had SO many questions that I felt like I’d never get an answer to. I was confused, hurt, and angry. I didn’t want to take away from other people’s experience with my grief and confusion. Hindsight- I KNOW in my heart that it was divine intervention that I ended up at that walk back in 2014.
I grew up in a very small town where the “suck it up” mentality was the way of life. During the ceremony at the Out of the Darkness Walk I found myself overcome with emotion. I felt a hand on my back and much to my surprise when I turned around, it was my Kindergarten teacher. It was in that moment, I realized that mental health and suicide touches anyone and everyone.
It was in that moment, I felt that I had found my people. I decided I wanted to get involved in planning the Walk the next year. Little did I know, loosing Desmond would literally change the trajectory of my life. As I began volunteering with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), I began to feel hope. My healing journey has not been an easy one. I knew that I needed to take my pain and turn it into something that could help others. Through my years volunteering with the AFSP MI Chapter, I have come to find the beauty in the pain I endured.
There is beauty in being raw and having the honest conversations. There is beauty in being vulnerable and showing others it’s okay not to be okay. There is beauty in being able to accept the support and help that is available.
Through the years of volunteering with AFSP MI, I gained the confidence I needed to share my story and help others. I am grateful to have had the experiences and met the people I have. The connections and people are what keep me going. Connection to people is what launched my career as a Crisis Support Specialist.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In the years following Desmond’s passing, I have faced several of my own mental health challenges. I will remain incredibly grateful to those who have supported me through the ups and the downs. In 2017 through the support of my tribe, I was able to seek treatment for a suicidal crisis. I felt lost, as if there was no light. Being a mental health advocate for years while struggling with my own mental health, I felt like I was failing people.
I had to get really honest with myself and those around me. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. It wasn’t until after my weeklong hospitalization that I recognized the strength it took to realize that my brain was unhealthy. It took feeling suicidal for months for me to realize that I needed help. On the outside, things seemed okay. I was like a duck, calm on the surface and fighting like hell under the water.
To wake up each day and have to fight my own brain was exhausting. TO my fellow mental health warriors- I see you. I FEEL you. I AM you. The reality of it is, mental health struggles are downright EXHAUSTING. It’s easy to feel like there isn’t a point in all of the pain. It’s easy to feel as though things will never change or get better. As cliche as it sounds, even on the hardest of days focusing on the basics is what makes the difference. For me, it’s focusing on slowing down. On making sure that I remember to nourish myself. On making defining what I am feeling and naming the feelings so I can do my best to apply the coping skills I’ve learned work for me.
Healing is HARD work. Your feelings are valid, your emotions are valid. It’s OKAY not to be okay. BUT- you don’t have to do it alone. Leaning into the resources and support around you are key. There is ALWAYS support via the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You are loved and the world IS a better place with you in it. Even on the darkest of days, there will be light.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am thankful to work as a Crisis Support Specialist and provide support to those who need it. I am able to use my skillset to help connect people to mental health resources. As a volunteer with the AFSP MI Chapter, I am also able to help coordinate training, education, advocacy and support for survivors across the state. I am honored to have Chaired the Lansing Out of the Darkness Walk for the past several years. The Out of the Darkness Walks bring the community together providing lifesaving connections to resources and support throughout the community.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
In my spare time I enjoy being by the water where I find my peace. I am rescue mama to two pitbulls and 2 cats. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I truly believe we can change the world if we just proceed with love and compassion. You never know the fight someone is facing, be kind to one another<3
Contact Info:
- Website: https://afsp.org/michigan
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liz.parish.5/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-baker-8a3431a6/
- Other: afsp.org/lansing, https://supporting.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.participant&participantID=3008393
