After Skip and Brenda Strandberg lost their 28-year-old son to suicide July 31, 2013, they vowed to do whatever they could to prevent another family from experiencing a similar loss.
Skip explained the nonprofit organization Hope in Action MN organized in 2013 to honor the memory of their son, Travis Blain Ellenson, a 2004 graduate of Cambridge-Isanti High School. He said Hope in Action came from a desire to encourage and inspire hope and healing, combined with the passion to provide or connect people to tangible and intangible local resources and support. 
Hope in Action MN, together with Allina Health-Cambridge Medical Center, Cambridge-Isanti Schools, Isanti County Public Health and Cambridge-Isanti Community Education, are teaming up to sponsor a community awareness forum titled Let’s Talk About It.
Let’s Talk About It, will be held Wednesday, March 2, at the Performing Arts Center at Cambridge-Isanti High School. It will include a resource fair and free pizza from 6-7 p.m. and a community program beginning at 7 p.m. Let’s Talk About It is a program developed by Suicide Awareness Voices of Education, otherwise known as SAVE, based in Bloomington. The event is free and open to the public.
The forum will teach attendees about the importance of mental health, mental wellness and suicide prevention. The community program will feature nationally renowned keynote speaker Dr. Dan Reidenberg, executive director of SAVE, as well as local community members participating in both adult and youth panels.
Reidenberg, who has served as the executive director for SAVE for 12 years, has spoken nationally and internationally on suicide prevention and grief support to more than 350,000 people. He is also the managing director of the National Council for Suicide Prevention, serves on the Steering Committee for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center and is the U.S. representative to the International Association for Suicide Prevention.
“We hope all who attend walk away learning about mental health, mental wellness and suicide prevention,” Reidenberg said. “We hope they leave with an understanding that they can be a part of the solution.”
Reidenberg graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1988 with a degree in psychology and minor in child psychology and received his Doctor of Clinical Psychology degree in 1994 from the Minnesota School of Professional Psychology.
“I have always been interested in wanting to help people and help them through challenging situations, such as suicide,”
Reidenberg said. “I have also lost a number of people to suicide, including five patients. I have also lost family members and close friends to suicide. This issue has touched me both personally and professionally.”
Skip, a local business owner who has lived in the Cambridge community for 28 years, explained the mission of Hope in Action MN is to raise awareness and provide support for families affected by mental illness, specifically those affected by suicide, in the community. The goals of the organization are to support individuals and families affected by mental illness; promote resources available locally and nationally; and educate and support education in community in regard to mental health, advocacy, self-management and signs and symptoms of mental illness.
“We formed Hope in Action MN because we didn’t want any other family to experience the same tragedy we did,” Skip said. “While we know that’s not possible, the organization is getting people to talk about the issue, and if we can help save one life and one family from going through what we did, that would be fantastic.”
Ellenson took his life while working in the oil fields in North Dakota.
“We are still trying to get through this, and it’s a day-by-day process,” Skip said. “Some days are more difficult for me, and some days are more difficult for my wife. It’s a part of our lives that is gone forever.”
Skip and his wife, along with the board of directors for Hope in Action MN, strive to make a difference.
“We look at all sorts of things, even just procedural type things,” Skip said. “My wife was home alone when she got the phone call notifying her that her son had just taken his own life. And even the process of funeral arrangements may need to be handled differently. We want to offer as many resources as possible.”
Skip said he and his wife take solace in the fact that Travis’ son, Blain, who is in kindergarten, still lives in the area and visits often.
Reidenberg feels the more information people can learn on the topic of mental illness and suicide prevention, the better.
“When I visit with clients in my office who have lost a loved one to suicide, I most always hear them say, ‘I had no idea this was going on,’” Reidenberg said. “By this time, it’s too late. This community forum offers an opportunity for people to gather information and learn ways to prevent these tragedies within their own families and the community.”
Reidenberg feels everyone who attends the forum will leave with valuable information.
“Guests will learn important information about suicide and suicide prevention, preventing signs of suicide and what to do if you come in contact with someone who is thinking about taking their own life,” Reidenberg said. “This is an event that makes it possible to talk about a subject as difficult as this. People are afraid to talk about this subject because they’ve looked up the topic online and feel they’ll never get better; or kids are afraid to talk about it because they feel it could affect their chance of getting into college; or adults don’t want to talk about it because they’re afraid it could affect a promotion at work. We need to continue to talk about this, and I want to thank the sponsors for hosting this important event.”
For more information on Hope in Action MN, visit www.hopeinactionmn.com. For more information on SAVE, visit www.save.org.