TSF Blog
Mental Health First Aid training available
The Speedy Foundation, an organization dedicated to preventing suicide through education and outreach in the athletic community, is partnering with Optum Idaho to offer free Mental Health First Aid training sessions throughout the state.
Mental Health First Aid is a day-and a-half-course that teaches people how to recognize the most common signs of mental illness including depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders and substance abuse, and the steps they can take to help someone get professional help. The Speedy Foundation will fund 10 training sessions during the next year and act as a statewide champion for suicide prevention and mental health awareness. The courses will be taught by certified Mental Health First Aid instructors from Optum Idaho.
The next course will be offered in Sandpoint on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For more information or to register for a future session, contact Optum Idaho at (208) 914-2013 or amanda.lehto@optum.com.
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When Marilyn Monroe died in August 1962, with the cause listed as probable suicide, the nation reacted. In the months afterward, there was extensive news coverage, widespread sorrow and a spate of suicides.
Emily Cook: 'I left no stone unturned'
Cook said Friday that she might keep going if she thought her body could withstand it, but will be content to view the Olympics from another vantage point next time around. "I don't know where I'll be," she said, gesturing around the base of the hill where coaches, reporters and spectators stood in different pens, but said she'll remain connected to the sport.
Off the hill, she has already found long-term purpose in her involvement with the Speedy Foundation, established by Peterson's family and friends after his death to tackle mental health issues and suicide prevention. Cook has been one of the most visible faces of the organization, which was instrumental in starting the first suicide hotline in Peterson's home state of Idaho.
In an email, Linda Peterson, Jeret's mother, called the petite Cook "a gentle and giant spirit ... the most gracious and empowering person I know."
Sochi Olympics: Emily Cook wraps up career, salutes 'Speedy' Peterson
By Lisa Dillman, Los Angeles Times
"I’m sad not having him here, of course,” Cook said. “But my mission is to carry on what he started, to carry on his legacy, to continue having conversations about mental health.
"To have conversations about depression, to get people help when they need help. All of that."
Emily Cook wraps up Olympic career as aerial artist
By Jason Blevins, The Denver Post
Maybe it was a stoic face she was putting on for reporters, but Cook did pause when asked about her good friend Jeret “Speedy” Peterson, the three-time Olympian and silver medalist in the 2010 Winter Olympics who took his life in a remote canyon in Utah in July 2011.
“He would have been bummed I didn’t hit the second jump,” Cook said. “He’s with me. He’s here. I’m positive of that. My mission is to carry on what he started. To continue on with his legacy. To continue to have conversations about mental health … conversations about depression. To get people the help they need.”
Cook said she would remain in aerials in part because of the influence of Peterson.
“He taught us how to be a team and I’m going to teach the younger athletes how to do that, too,” she said. “Man, our future is so good in our sport. These kids are so good at 16, 17 years old and Speedy was too and look at what he did.”
Freestyle skier Dylan Ferguson pushes boundaries
He pays homage to late 'Speedy' Peterson with aerial tricks but hasn't landed spot in Sochi yet
By Lisa Dillman, Chicago Tribune
Regardless of who makes the team, there's little doubt that the members of the men's and women's aerial teams in Sochi will be asked about the impact and legacy of Peterson, the man behind the Hurricane.
In 2011, Peterson took his own life in a remote canyon in Utah. He had battled depression and spoke openly in Vancouver and before the Olympics about his long struggle with drinking and two suicide attempts.
The tight freestyle ski community pulled together to honor Peterson, not only domestically but internationally. Ferguson had traveled the World Cup circuit with Peterson for at least five seasons.
"He was awesome, always having a blast, always having a smile on his face," Ferguson said.
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Olympic athletes are unique in that for most, their sport is in the spotlight only once every four years, so the weight they carry into competition can feel magnified. A small stumble can feel like four years of training has been for naught and an entire nation has been let down. Mentally and emotionally, it can be a delicate balancing act.
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When Olympic medalist Jeret "Speedy" Peterson snapped on skis and took a jump, something extraordinary happened. He twisted his body in ways few have. Off the slope, the life of the freestyle skier had twists of its own.