Thursday, March 25, 2021

🎧 PODCAST: Grief and Giving Back

As parents, Mary and Admiral James “Sandy” Winnefeld just wanted to protect their son, Jonathan. This was a job Sandy felt he should have been well equipped for as the United States’ number two ranking military officer. Yet, Jonathan’s struggles with anxiety led him to start drinking alcohol and misusing prescription medications as a teen. Sandy and Mary did everything they could to find appropriate help for their son's substance use. Still, just three days after they dropped him off at college, Jonathan died of an accidental overdose in his dorm room.

In our 12th episode of Heart of the Matter with Elizabeth Vargas, Elizabeth reflects on her own experience growing up in a military family as she connects with the Winnefelds. Sandy and Mary also discuss the challenges they faced parenting a child struggling with his mental health, learning to live with grief and dedicating themselves to “saving a life every day” through their work with SAFE Project — the nonprofit they founded following their son’s death.

Listen now

Heart of the Matter with Elizabeth Vargas is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and drugfree.org.

Related reading:
After you listen, explore these resources to learn more about the topics and themes discussed in this episode:

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This virtual experience will take place on Tuesday, April 13 - Thursday April 15, 2021 and features insightful briefings and training sessions presented by NAADAC leadership, representatives from federal agencies, and nationally recognized experts.

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Thanks to the generous support of the NAADAC Education and Research Foundation (NERF), NAADAC is able to provide a limited number of conference scholarships to cover registration fees for those who might not otherwise be able to attend our 2021 Advocacy in Action Conference & Virtual Hill Day.

The scholarship covers the registration fee for the event on April 13 - 15, 2021.

To apply for a conference scholarship, please submit an application by Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Scholarship awardees will be notified in early April.