To our family, friends, and generous supporters,

After several months of consideration, we have made the difficult decision to dissolve our non-profit organization, “We All Move On” (WAMO) Inc. This 501(c)(3) was established in memory of our son and brother, Joshua Adonis Barber, who died by suicide in 2010. The mission of our organization was to raise awareness, decrease the stigma surrounding mental illness, and to help bridge the gap between inpatient and outpatient services in mental healthcare. 

In our time of operation we, thanks to the support of many, were able to:

• Meet with and advise senior management at Butler Hospital regarding the gap that exists after inpatient discharge from a patient’s perspective
• Provide funding for professionals at The Providence Center to attend suicide prevention training using the CASE methodology
• Provide funding for a mental health clinicians to “Ride Along” with Providence Police Department officers responding to mental health calls
• Provide funding towards the “Zero Suicide” initiative at Butler Hospital

With our decision to dissolve WAMO Inc, we have chosen to divide our remaining funds between two local foundations which align with our mission. Those two entities are Butler Hospital’s Transitional Outpatient Program (TOP) and the Chris Collins Foundation.

The Transitional Outpatient Program at Butler Hospital provides treatment services to those who have recently been discharged from the hospital. This team of professionals includes a psychologist, an advanced practice nurse, a licensed counselor, and case managers. The TOP team provides at-risk patients with individualized support during their post-hospital transition. They may help patients manage appointments, set them up with community resources, and offer short term therapy and medication management until their long term outpatient care is established. Butler management has indicated that they plan to use our donation to provide suicide prevention training to the TOP team. You can learn more about the Transitional Outpatient Program at https://www.butler.org/services/outpatient/transitional.

The Chris Collins Foundation was created by the Collins family of South Kingstown, in memory of their son and brother Chris. Chris battled depression and anxiety for three years before dying by suicide in 2018. The foundation’s mission is “to heighten awareness and advance education about mental illness, especially in schools, by developing and/or enhancing existing programs that will help promote early detection of mental illness and encourage help-seeking and support when needed.” They do this through funding a Peer-2-Peer Depression Awareness program in local schools. The Peer-2-Peer program was developed by the University of Michigan Depression Center in 2009. The approach is built on the premise that teens are more likely to listen to their friends than well-meaning adults. It is a student-led initiative where peer leaders serve as positive role models who help shape social attitudes regarding mental illness. In 2018 the Peer-2-Peer program began in South Kingstown and Narragansett high schools. In 2019, North Kingstown High School joined as well. This year the initiative has grown significantly, as they are adding four additional high schools and four middle schools in Rhode Island. Please visit www.chriscollinsfoundation.org to learn more about Chris, the foundation, and the Peer-2-Peer program. 

As a family, we want to thank all of those who have supported us along this journey. Because of you all, we were able to help fund several local initiatives and improvements in mental healthcare in Josh’s memory. We are pleased to continue that support through these two final donations, as we all move on. 

With love and gratitude,

Maggie, John, and Darla Barber