We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Venessa Abram. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Venessa below.
Venessa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
After losing my brother to suicide and almost losing myself, I embarked on a journey of self-discovery. While doing this, it became more and more evident that services providing assistance and resources to victims of suicide and suicide survivors were in serious demand and I saw a demand that needed to be filled. Fueled by my own experiences and a desire to make a difference, I started SDp3 to raise awareness on mental health and suicide prevention and partner with key players in the industry to achieve that goal. However, when starting out, the organization was new and small, it was just me, and as such, we weren’t receiving any external funding. As such, the start-up capital all came from me and my own pursuits. I didn’t know if the organization would be successful, I didn’t know where it would go, I was simply determined to make a difference and invested my time, money, skills and resources into making it happen, and here we are today.
Venessa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Venessa D. Abram, Founder & Executive Director of SDP3, a 501c3 non-profit organization which advocates for suicide prevention and raises awareness on bullying and mental health. The organization was established following the tragic loss of my brother, Sergeant First Class Randolph Davison to suicide in 2016. His passing took a traumatic and heavy toll on our family, especially myself. SDp3 is a community-based organization in Atlanta, Georgia that has educated, counseled, offered resources to, and/or provided referrals to over 35,000 people considering/affected by suicide. Our mission is to eradicate suicide by raising awareness about mental health and well-being, suicide prevention, and bullying through educational workshops, events, and seminars that remove the stigma associated with mental health and promote healing for all, including those affected by the pandemic. SDp3 has succeeded in deescalating individuals’ emotional crises and linking them with resources for follow-up care in 90% of cases. Our services include evidence-based/trauma-informed mental/emotional/grief/trauma services, proven resiliency Community Resilience Model (CRM) methods, viable solutions to children, families and communities dealing with mental illness, bullying and suicide, weekly visits to schools, agencies, and appointments (both virtual and on-site), advocacy/resilience seminars, Prevention/postvention/interventions, 1-on-1 coaching/mentoring, group coaching and mentoring, providing linkages and gateways to those serviced and more.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Working smarter vs working harder
So in the initial stages of running the organization we had to secure funding through grants. We sent out multiple grant proposals to multiple institutions but weren’t seeing the results or support we wanted. After evaluating what we were doing, we sought guidance from experienced grant writers who escorted us along the process of grant application and review. What started out as multiple submissions to multiple institutions each month turned into targeted grant applications to those which had the highest chances of approval. As such, we became more focused in our efforts, narrowed down our scope of application and started seeing results.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Partnerships & Perseverance
SDp3’s goal of spreading awareness and resources would not be attainable in isolation. We are for the people and we work with the people. SDp3 has partnered with NUMEROUS organizations relating to our mission that have helped cement our organization within this industry. Additionally, their partnerships have enabled us to expand the scope of our services and those we cater to. We also roll with the punches. Whenever we meet upon a possible setback, we assess, adjust and attack it head on with the information and resources we have. This approach allows us to be flexible and stay up-to-date with evolving trends and needs within our community.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sdp3.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selfdiscoveryppp/?fbclid=IwAR0lo2AacklYbXXTtRt2oy-JvfgSi5IiRYjxac_jWAP7lU4_uv2nBQGgQsg
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/selfdiscoveryppp/?eid=ARClarn1–EKSpMwXeBVqw970kOjkvrwZHnPAbz3L3sLKd6HYg3JaRkTxZLGZCR0Srr7guCVasTfN095&timeline_context_item_type=intro_card_work&timeline_context_item_source=1742130527&fref=tag
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selfdiscoverypppinc/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SDPPPInc?fbclid=IwAR0kPFhfuKB5e4MFByZxtSGWhCWdhHA6nWqZupEzixUJosbmre58xczB_SQ
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkiO7j7zFNJI4sJyope5GPQ/videos?view_as=subscriber