Suicide Prevention: Making Meaning of Loss

Karyl Chastain Beal
Karyl Chastain Beal lost her 18-year-old daughter, Arlyn, to suicide in 1990; after her death, Arlyn was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In order to help herself and others bereaved by suicide find a positive way to process their grief, she’s coordinated memorial quilts, published books and participated in a variety of other projects. She lives in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Joseph D. Feaster, Jr.
Attorney Joseph D. Feaster, Jr. has been practicing law for over 45 years, during which time he has developed an expertise in numerous areas of the law, including corporate, employment and labor, real estate, contract, licensing and zoning and probate. Feaster is President of Feaster Enterprises, a strategic planning, organizational development and community outreach consulting firm and Of Counsel to the firm of Dain/ Torpy/LeRay/Wiest/Garner PC. Besides several other legal positions, he previously served as the court-appointed Receiver for Roxbury Comprehensive Community Health Center, as the Interim Town Manager of the Town of Stoughton and as the Interim Administrator of the Boston Housing Authority. He currently is chairman of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts board of directors (ULEM), is an executive committee member of the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health, Inc. and serves on the Advisory Council of Samaritans Massachusetts.

Pooja Mehta
Pooja Mehta is an outspoken South Asian Mental Health Advocate who has been telling her story to audiences across the United States for the last seven years. Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, Pooja holds a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University and is currently serving in a fellowship at the U.S. House of Representatives. As a professional with lived experience, she is eager to further the conversation around the roles of public health and patient perspective in mental healthcare and looks forward to changing the way we think and talk about mental health as a society.

Kristen Roper
Kristen Roper is a wife, mother and former teacher. She lost her middle son, Matthew, to suicide in 2020 and has founded Matthew’s Crew Inc. in his name to help promote both mental health education as well as conversation related to this often-difficult subject. She is honored to be included in NAMI’s book “You Are Not Alone.”