Hope 4 Today – a Poem by This Is My Brave Alum, Joseph Fusaro

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To the one that may be contemplating suicide

I have been there

I was afraid to tell anyone

I was afraid of how long it would take to ease my pain

I was afraid of so many things

I later found out that there was no need to be afraid

The only thing I can tell you if you are suffering with these thoughts it is not too late to start living again

There is time

There is so much time

If you believe that the sun will rise

If you believe the trees will keep growing leaves

Then love and freedom from pain are real possibilities

After all you are here today

You are still here for a reason

You deserve happiness

You deserve to live

Please ask for help

Please stick around

I was at the end of my rope and I thought that everything that I touched would quickly be erased

Then I met some people that believed in me

I decided there was hope

I decided to write one of the greatest comeback stories ever written

That is, until you start writing yours today

There may have been a few reasons to leave but there are a billion reasons to stay

It is not too late

Please stay

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″][vc_column column_width_percent=”70″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1/1″][vc_separator][vc_empty_space empty_h=”2″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_custom_heading]Joseph Fusaro[/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text]Joseph Fusaro was a cast member of the This Is My Brave New York City show in 2015.   After the show he was inspired to publish 6 poetry books that follow his mental health journey.  He is also an audio engineer for Mental Health News Radio Network and hosts his own podcast Hysteria Radio, which is about artists that turned to creativity to help overcome adversity.  He continues to speak at high schools and colleges about mental health awareness and suicide prevention with NAMI and This Is My Brave.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image media=”76755″ media_width_percent=”100″ media_ratio=”one-one” alignment=”center” shape=”img-circle”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space empty_h=”4″][/vc_column][/vc_row]