

“We are all affected” said Farinholt of the impact of mental illness. And that affects all of us.”įarinholt said one in five adults in the United States will experience some form of mental illness in a year. “When someone dies by suicide, and if the family has been public about it,” said Farinholt, “the aftermath opens up an immediate opportunity to talk about suicide as a public health issue. And as if they’re facing the tragedy by themselves.”īut by issuing the statement, and explaining that their son Tommy - a bright, talented young man who suffered from depression - the Raskins opened the door to discussion and help. “And silence about a suicide loss just leaves people feeling isolated. “Stigma leads to silence,” said Farinholt. Kate Farinholt, executive director of the National Alliance for Mental Illness of Maryland, said the family’s decision to go public with the cause of their son’s death sent a powerful message.įarinholt said it helps chip away at the stigma surrounding suicide and mental illnesses like depression. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md, and wife Sarah Bloom Raskin, decided to issue a public statement about their son’s life - and 25-year-old Tommy Raskin’s suicide. Business & Finance Click to expand menu.ĭays after the loss of their son, U.S.But I did it, really, with my son in my heart and helping lead the way. “She’s actually been very sensitive and thoughtful, but she wanted me to do it because she knows that I’ve devoted my life to the constitution and to the republic. “I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to say no to Speaker Pelosi about anything,” he said with a grin.

Raskin joked that when Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked him to be impeachment manager, he couldn’t refuse. There was an attack on our country, there was an attack on our people.” “When we went to count the electoral college votes and came under that ludicrous attack, I felt my son with me, and I was most concerned with our youngest daughter and my son-in-law - who is married to our other daughter - who were with me that day and who got caught in a room off of the House floor,” he said. #CNNSOTU /PFPn9X4oicĪs difficult as losing his son has been, Raskin said that Tommy’s death has only increased his resolve to lead the impeachment trial, and his son was on his mind as he and members of his family hid from Trump supporters that attacked the U.S.

Jamie Raskin says as he presses forward with impeachment articles while mourning his son.
"I'm not going to lose my son at the end of 2020 and lose my country and my republic in 2021," Rep. Hear Raskin’s touching story in the clip below. We lost him on the very last day of that God-awful year, 2020, and he left us a note, which said ‘Please forgive me, my illness won today, look after each other, the animals and the global poor for me, all my love Tommy.'” “He had overwhelming love for humanity and for our country, in his heart, and really for all the people of the world. “Tommy was a remarkable person,” Raskin said. Raskin announced the death of his 25-year-old son, Tommy, on New Year’s Eve, saying that he had been experiencing chronic depression in recent years and that it became “a kind of relentless torture in the brain for him.” “I’m not going to lose my son at the end of 2020 and lose my country and my republic in 2021,” he told Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
#Senator jamie raskin son trial#
Jamie Raskin on CNN turned emotional, as the Maryland politician exposed his raw personal feeling about leading the second impeachment trial just weeks after losing his son to suicide.
