Being an advocate for the prevention of suicide was not something that Theresa Deckert had thought about much in life, but a significant loss changed everything.
Theresa Deckert is our latest Unsung Hero. Theresa had been estranged from her brother Greg, for most of her adult life. She attributed most of this to politics, alcohol, and the family dynamic. Greg, who was a recovering alcoholic, had just retired from the Marines. He had started helping others who were impacted by alcohol addiction and seemed to be doing well. He reached out to Theresa and they made amends and were starting to repair their relationship.
Six weeks after their reconciliation, Greg died by suicide. “This changed my life. The sadness, grief, regret, and guilt…. were so overwhelming. I felt stuck for a long time,” said Theresa. To help her cope, Theresa got involved with the Lake Region Suicide Prevention Coalition. “I didn’t want anyone to ever have to go through what I went through when Greg killed himself.”
The Lake Region Suicide Prevention Coalition partners with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to provide awareness surrounding suicide. Getting involved has really helped her deal with her loss. Theresa has undergone many, many hours of training to learn about suicide and its signs. She now spends her time getting the word out to anyone and everyone through formal training sessions and just talking to people about suicide.
“From what I have learned, there isn’t one specific thing that causes people to kill themselves. It’s just the perfect storm,” stated Deckert. “People contemplating suicide usually show some warning signs – mending relationships, as my brother did with me, giving away things, changes in appearance, sleeping too much, changes in demeanor. These are just a few.”
Theresa co-founded a Survivors of Suicide (SOS) group in Devils Lake. They meet on the second Tuesday of each month at North Star Community Credit Union at 7:00 p.m. “I encourage anyone that has been impacted by suicide to come to our meetings. We talk, cry and laugh. It is way to help us heal.”
On her 60th birthday, she was attending a panel by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. After the presentation, she was approached about starting a walk to raise awareness about suicide. The “Out of the Darkness” walk, which takes place on a Saturday in September each year, just celebrated its 7th year. “We need to talk about suicide and take away the shame or stigma. The walk takes place on a weekend in September and gathers people from all walks of life.”
This year, Theresa and others involved in organizing this walk logged over 165 volunteer hours. “It’s a great event that helps everyone who is trying to cope with a loss,” said Deckert. To date, they’ve raised almost $125,000. Funds are raised to support the local and national suicide prevention efforts. “We worked very hard to get the 988 crisis number available in North Dakota. We lobbied in Bismarck and were so thankful our legislature realized the importance of the 988 project!”
The funds are also used for educational materials, programming, volunteer training, and support for survivors. Deckert and other volunteers present a variety of suicide prevention programs in the Lake Region. “If you know of a group or organization that could benefit from a suicide prevention program, please reach out.”
Theresa’s work isn’t limited to just groups. “We also work with individuals because some people aren’t comfortable in a group setting.” Conversations are key and being aware of how people are doing is so important. “We want to help everyone so they don’t have to go through what we went through but if it happens to you, we are here for you.” Even though much of Theresa’s time is spent volunteering and helping others, she does make time to do the things she enjoys, like spending time with her family.
Theresa and her husband, Jeff, have four adult children (Jonathan, Larisa, Jared and Joseph) and 14 grandchildren. She attends the grandchildren’s activities and helps out when needed! She also teaches Sunday School and has been an AWANA instructor for 32 years. She’s active with Homeschooling and is known as the homeschooling expert in North Dakota! She also uses a favorite hobbygardening- to both honor her brother’s legacy and raise money for the Out of the Darkness walk with garden tours. She’s a member of the Community Orchestra where she plays the clavinova and this year also marks Theresa’s 50th year of teaching piano!
Thank you, Theresa, for making the Lake Region a better place to live! Theresa can be reached at 701-662-4790 or by emailing jntdeck@gondtc.com.
The Unsung Hero award is sponsored by Devils Lake Cars and First United Bank of Devils Lake.
