LYNCHBURG, VA – When Barbara Gladieux and her family moved to Lynchburg in 2009 - she never expected it to turn into raising two young kids on her own.
“You anticipate raising your children together, and not to have that, your whole identity is stripped away,” Gladieux said.
Her husband Kenneth was a psychiatrist, but while he was helping his patients through their mental health struggles, he was fighting his own.
“He attempted suicide at the house and then went to the hospital and he was hospitalized for a couple weeks. And he ended up dying at the hospital by suicide,” she said.
Suddenly she was navigating her grief - while helping her, at the time, six and eight-year-old kids navigate their own.
“I started this counseling, and I practiced with her and practiced in the mirror how I was going to tell my children,” she said.
She didn’t know anyone in town - but slowly but surely, she found a community of people who had lost their own loved ones to suicide.
“A lot of times that person I told had a story like, ‘my dad died by suicide,’” she said.
A community of people like Brandi Jones.
“We didn’t know he was struggling, we didn’t know anything was going on,” Jones said.
She tells 10 News she hadn’t thought too much about suicide and mental health - that is until she didn’t have a choice.
“I lost my brother in September of 2019. My younger brother. And it was one of those things that was completely unexpected. It’s hard, you know? There’s never a day where it’s not a thought,” Jones said.
She’s turned her grief into grit and dedicated her life to making sure people know there is help - whether they’ve lost someone to suicide or are contemplating it themselves.
“I hadn’t thought deeply into it until it affected me personally. And really realized how much people are struggling out in the world,” she said.
“And now do you realize how important those conversations about mental health are before the fact?” 10 News Reporter Abbie Coleman asked.
“Absolutely. When this first happened I went to my parents and said I don’t want to shy away from what occurred. I’ve had people I never thought of reach out and say it affected me and my family, this has affected me and it’s not public knowledge. So even if I can reach one person, and we can have that conversation,” Jones said.
Gladieux feels the same way - channeling her energy into years of healing, by helping others find their community through support groups, suicide prevention walks and more.
But she says more needs to be done before change can happen.
“We need more doctors, nurse practitioners, we need people on the ground treating people,” she said.
Resources can be hard to find - but help is out there if you are struggling.
We’ve compiled a list of mental health resources right here in Southwest Virginia that you can find here.
If you are in crisis or are in need of immediate help, call the National Suicide Hotline at 988.