Armed with a journal and a laptop, over Christmas break, I scripted out the new vision and target audience. 
Thanks to those of you who humored me by letting me bounce the concepts off of you (Dad, Kelly, Mike, Kasey).
- Motto: Igniting Souls on Fire
- Vision Statement: Connect people to a process that ignites their souls on fire.
The mission and milestones are, at this time, confidential. But, you will be the first to know.
At this time I’ll share the some details about my target audience. The two main sections are the disillusioned and the disengaged:
Disillusioned
DEPRESSION – According to the World Health Organization, depression is one of the leading causes of disability, with approximately 121 million people suffering with depression worldwide. The National Institute of Mental Health states that approximately 18 million people suffer from depression in America alone. Depression does not discriminate across age, race, gender, or class. Among teenagers it is estimated that 20 percent will suffer from depression at some point by the time they reach adulthood.
ADDICTION – The stigma associated with addiction is one of the greatest challenges to recovery. Each year only 10 percent of Americans who need alcohol and drug treatment get the help they need. Yet with treatment and support, people with addiction can lead productive lives.SELF-INJURY – Experts estimate that 4% of the population struggle with self-injury. It has the same occurrence between males and females, even though in popular culture it can appear to be more prevalent among girls.
SUICIDE - The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that each year approximately one million people die from suicide, which represents a global mortality rate of 16 people per 100,000 or one death every 40 seconds. It is predicted that by 2020 the rate of death will increase to one every 20 seconds.
Thanks to TWLOHA for some of these stats. Next post I will tell you about THE DISENGAGED.
According to your posts this fits you to a “T” Kary. I am excited to see where this will take you. What is that I smell? A book in the making?
Go for it and I will be the first to buy it.
Look forward to the new direction of the site!
Perfect. We started celebrate recovery on 9.11.09 and I’m especially interested in this for multiple reasons.
The suicide runs in my family, if that’s possible. My Grandpa did commit suicide, he had many health problems and was also a Wesleyan Associate Pastor, and my dad has tried twice after breaking up with girlfriends. Yesterday he told me his girlfriend and him after 2 years have broken up. He was very upset. I’m curious to know what to do to keep him from trying again. I know it will cross his mind. I’ve needed someone to talk about what I can do as his son to help. I don’t know what to say to my DAD about relationships. He also has battled with loneliness and depression because of this.
Looking forward to the discussions and your direction. Thanks.
Looking FW to seeing what comes of this. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the comments Rick, Bill, and Justin. I am about to post part 2 of the target audience.
Pat I am sorry to hear about the trials in your family. I will pray for your dad in his current situation.
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