Mohamed Elhindi is a ’96 alumnus Carol Daul-Elhindi\u00a0is a ’99 alumna <\/p>\n “When you experience a loss like that you\u00a0have two options: you can fold and call it quits, or you can do something good.”<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Friends and family who knew Solomon Elhindi can share endless stories about his kindness, empathy for others and goofy personality. But behind his smile, Solomon was struggling with mental health issues and was 14 years old when he took his life in January. This immense loss sent friends and family into a very dark place, and as his parents Carol and Mohamed dealt with this tragedy, they found a light that continues to guide them through Solomon\u2019s passing. This light is called Solomon\u2019s Song<\/a>, a nonprofit organization they founded that fosters community connections and promotes healthy minds and bodies. The idea that we are more alike than we are different drives this organization to join individuals and reduce mental health stigma.<\/p>\n What originated as a healing process for the Elhindi family has turned into an organization that has educated and brought the Winona community together. The main goal of Solomon\u2019s Song is to end suicide, and that begins with creating awareness of mental health issues and conversations around this. From Solomon\u2019s Super Soaker Fun Fest and the John McCutcheon Concert to Youth Mental Health First Aid courses and training, the organization is reducing stigma one event at a time. Next on the agenda, Solomon\u2019s Song is hosting an interfaith conversation at WSU in early February.<\/p>\n With the passing of their son, the Elhindi family chose to channel their energy into something positive. When interviewing Carol and Mohamed, I could feel the weight of their recent loss as they shared their story of tragedy, healing and community action. While some days are darker than others for friends and family, Solomon\u2019s Song allows Solomon\u2019s caring soul to continue to shine and make a difference in the lives of others.<\/p>\n What is the story behind how and why you started Solomon\u2019s Song?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Carol:<\/strong><\/span> We lost our son to suicide, and when it happens, you feel so lost. You don\u2019t know where to turn and we decided we needed to do something to make a difference and funnel our energy into something positive. It started with the Super Soaker Fun Fest because we wanted to reduce stigma and wanted a way for Solomon\u2019s friends to have fun and remember him. We came home one night and my husband was really down and I was really down and I said, \u201cThis is it. We need to move our energy into something positive.\u201d Then we thought about the idea of the Fun Fest and then the concert. We really wanted to reduce stigma, because one of the things Solomon said was, \u201cI don\u2019t want anybody to know that I\u2019m struggling.\u201d We know of six kids who\u2019ve passed from suicide in the public schools, so we wanted to get training and professional development out there for teachers, students, parents and families to normalize conversations about mental health. That\u2019s when we started coming up with these ideas and started a nonprofit. We started this as a way to channel, but I think Solomon\u2019s been guiding us. It still hurts a lot, but it feels like we\u2019re making a difference and people have been touched by it.<\/p>\n Mohamed:<\/strong><\/span> The whole idea behind Solomon\u2019s Song is to honor something that Solomon would want to do himself. When I look at his picture, I say, \u201cYour story\u2019s not done yet.\u201d So, Solomon\u2019s Song is Solomon\u2019s story. This is what Solomon\u2019s all about: bridging the gap, equality and helping people. What Solomon\u2019s Song provided to me was healing. When you experience a loss like that you have two options: you can fold and call it quits, or you can do something good. For a while I thought I was folding. Now, Solomon\u2019s Song has become a way to heal not just for us, but for other families experiencing the same loss like us.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As Solomon\u2019s Song\u2019s first event, what was the community response to the Super Soaker Fun Fest in August?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Carol:<\/strong><\/span> It was amazing. Before the event, we had 450 people registered and 250 people showed up the day of. The most rewarding part was how many people said, \u201cThank you, thank you for doing this,\u201d because they had either been touched by suicide, struggled with mental illness themselves or has a family member who struggles. Everybody seems to be struggling alone, and this was an opportunity for us to build community and allow people to come together for a common cause. It was a huge success, and people had a lot of fun that day. It was worth all of the hard work putting it together.<\/p>\n Mohamed:<\/strong><\/span> This community\u2019s been a phenomenal support. Winona is all about building community, and the people here care about building this city to be a place everybody wants to live. The kindness we\u2019ve experienced from this community for the last 26 years, I don\u2019t think you\u2019ll see it anywhere. The support has been something that\u2019s hard to describe \u2013 it\u2019s been real, and they\u2019ve been there for us and other people, too.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n On the Solomon\u2019s Song website, it says, \u201cWe are all more alike than we are different.\u201d Can you explain this key phrase?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Carol:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>In so many ways we are all more alike than we are different, and so many people are struggling with things they keep hidden because they don\u2019t want anybody else to know and that gives power to the stigma. After he passed, there were people who came up to us and said their mother, father, brother, or sister passed from suicide. Did we know any of that before he passed? No. We have so many commonalities that we don\u2019t even know about. When you look at religions, there are so many more things that are common in religions, but we all dwell on the things that are different. We want to let people know that we are more alike, we can talk, build community, and in that community it gives us strength and it gives us hope.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n What are the barriers people face when dealing with mental illness, and how does Solomon\u2019s Song help people overcome these barriers?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Carol:<\/strong><\/span> I think some of the barriers are that people don\u2019t know where to go to get help. Who do I call? Where do I go? What do I do? That\u2019s why at the Super Soaker Fun Fest we had therapists there with green shirts on because we thought it was a very comfortable setting and a fun day, so if anybody had questions they could ask. I think that\u2019s one of the biggest hurdles for people; letting other people know you have a problem and being seen as weak rather than having an illness. It\u2019s an illness like any other thing – it just affects us in a very different way, and it\u2019s hidden for the most part.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Where do you see Solomon\u2019s Song in five years? What\u2019s the vision for its future in the community?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Carol:<\/strong><\/span> Our ultimate goal is to have a teen center and not just a hang out area, but a teen center that supports kids who are struggling with mental illness. Our next steps involve getting our programming into the public schools and the community, but then we\u2019re going to work on focus groups to see what teens in Winona really need and what can we do to work with that.<\/p>\n Mohamed:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>The biggest thing we\u2019d like to see is the day people can talk about mental health just like they talk about a headache. Over five years, our ultimate goal is to normalize the conversation. That\u2019s mission accomplished. The day people know how to get the help they need is mission accomplished. The day we build what I call the \u201cSolomon Youth Center\u201d is mission accomplished.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If you could invite anyone to sit on\u00a0this bench\u00a0and have a conversation, who would it be and what would you talk about?<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Carol:<\/strong><\/span> I lost my mom, my dad and my son all within six months of each other. I\u2019d give anything to have one more conversation with them because after someone passes, there\u2019s clarity of things that you didn\u2019t see or understand before they passed. I\u2019d thank them for everything they\u2019ve done for me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Interviewed and edited by Allison Mueller ’17<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and photographed by Ka Vang ’16<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n If you know someone in our community \u2014 faculty, staff, student, alumni or friend of WSU \u2014 who we could feature, or if you have other Warrior Way feedback to share, please\u00a0contact us<\/a>. Mohamed Elhindi ’96 & Carol Daul-Elhindi ’99 | Ending Suicide With Solomon’s Song Mohamed Elhindi is a ’96 alumnus Management Information Systems (College of Science & Engineering) Carol Daul-Elhindi\u00a0is a ’99 alumna WSU Assistant Professor Librarian Library Liaison for WSU’s\u00a0College of Business “When you experience a loss like that you\u00a0have two options: you can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" [et_pb_section admin_label=\"section\" fullwidth=\"on\" specialty=\"off\"][et_pb_fullwidth_image admin_label=\"Fullwidth Image\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/warrior-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2016\/12\/Elhindi2.jpg\" alt=\"Bench on Winona Campus\" show_in_lightbox=\"off\" url_new_window=\"off\" animation=\"off\" use_border_color=\"off\" border_color=\"#ffffff\" border_style=\"solid\" use_overlay=\"off\"] [\/et_pb_fullwidth_image][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=\"section\" transparent_background=\"off\" allow_player_pause=\"off\" inner_shadow=\"off\" parallax=\"off\" parallax_method=\"off\" custom_padding=\"|\" padding_mobile=\"off\" make_fullwidth=\"off\" use_custom_width=\"off\" width_unit=\"on\" make_equal=\"off\" use_custom_gutter=\"off\"][et_pb_row admin_label=\"row\"][et_pb_column type=\"4_4\"][et_pb_text admin_label=\"Text\" background_layout=\"light\" text_orientation=\"left\" use_border_color=\"off\" border_color=\"#ffffff\" border_style=\"solid\"]<\/p> Gretchen is a Student from Fargo, ND<\/span> Abbey is a Student from Rochester, MN<\/span> \u00a0<\/p> \"People are not defined by their disorder - we want to get that across to the whole community. They are individuals who have so many different aspects to their lives.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p> I have known Abbey and Gretchen for a while now\u2014Abbey was my roommate freshman year and I\u2019ve had classes with fellow English major Gretchen\u2014but I had no idea of all they\u2019ve been up to in raising awareness for mental wellness and reducing the stigma of mental illness on campus. After catching up with them in our interview, I was so impressed by their hard work and creativity to make a tough topic like mental health engaging and even entertaining. The Active Minds Mental Health Monologues<\/em> combines performance and true life testimonials to pack a punch to your heartstrings and open your eyes to the reality of living with mental illness. With the help of other club members and advisors, they have not only created a unique space for mental health to be both personal and public, but also demonstrated their ambition to make the world a better place, beginning with our own campus.<\/p>
\nManagement Information Systems (College of Science & Engineering)<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nWSU Assistant Professor Librarian<\/strong>
\nLibrary Liaison for WSU’s\u00a0College of Business<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"solomon\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/warrior-way\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2016\/12\/Solomon.jpg\")
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\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_padding=”0|||” custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0|50px|0″ transparent_background=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on”][et_pb_fullwidth_portfolio include_categories=”8,9,10,11″ admin_label=”Fullwidth Portfolio” _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” auto=”on” auto_speed=”4000″][\/et_pb_fullwidth_portfolio][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/i>\u00a0Gretchen Haga '16 & Abbey Hammell '15 |\u00a0Raising Awareness<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>
Spanish & English Education Majors<\/strong><\/span><\/p>
Psychology & Spanish Majors<\/strong><\/span><\/p>