A Highlight from Last Year's Media & Mental Health Awards 



Losing Lambert: A Journey through Survival & Hope, WQED 
Television News-Program Length Winner for accurate reporting on behavioral health issues

"What did I do wrong? How did I cause this? Why couldn't I see his pain?"

Those were just some of the haunting questions for Kathy O'Hern Fowler when she lost her teenage son, Lambert Hillman, to suicide in 1995. Kathy spent years struggling with loss and grief, but would eventually move into a life-altering role as an advocate for other parents who tragically find themselves in the same position.  Kathy and hundreds of others have found help through organizations like "Survivors of Suicide," a support group run by Sue Wesner at Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic of UPMC. It was Sue who coached Kathy and many others through their darkest hours. This program takes viewers to a survivors meeting, where local parents speak bravely and boldly about the loss of their children - all in an effort to eliminate the stigma of suicide, while helping others.

The documentary's final segment focuses on hope for future teenagers and their families. At UPMC, doctors are conducting the first known brain imaging of teens and adolescents who have attempted, or considered suicide. Their preliminary findings are impressive, and those involved hope their efforts will someday lead to better identification and treatment for teenagers at risk.

Learn more about this program!