Raising Joy: Preventing Suicides With Tom and Ellen Harris
In this episode of Raising Joy, we're joined by Tom and Ellen Harris of North Richland Hills, who are the founders and co-chairs of the Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation (JEHF) named in honor of their daughter.
This week on the Raising Joy podcast, hosts Wini King and Kristen Pyrc, M.D., are joined by Tom and Ellen Harris of North Richland Hills, who are the founders and co-chairs of the Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation (JEHF) named in honor of their daughter.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Tom and Ellen inspired the Cook Children's Health Care System JOY Campaign to understand suicide and raise awareness about mental health.
Many people's lives are touched by suicide and depression. Tom and Ellen were trailblazers in breaking down the stigma and creating mental health resources for Tarrant County. In the podcast, they share Jordan's story and their perspective as parents, as well as the impact that the Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation has made in the community.
Jo was valedictorian of her high school class, a National Merit Scholarship winner, a Stamps scholar at the University of Michigan, an athlete, musician, and most importantly a warm, friendly, compassionate young woman. The Harris family lost Jo to suicide on March 27, 2012.
Through their grief, the Harris family decided to create the JEHF, which provides suicide prevention and education for children and adults, as well as depression research funding. You can learn more about the JEHF at jordanharrisfoundation.org.
Raising Joy is part of Cook Children’s Health Care System’s JOY Campaign, a communications initiative aimed at preventing youth suicides. For more information about the Joy Campaign, visit cookchildrens.org/joy.
New episodes of the Raising Joy podcast will be available each Tuesday. It is currently available on all major streaming platforms including Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts and YouTube.
About Cook Children's
Cook Children’s Health Care System embraces an inspiring Promise – to improve the health of every child through the prevention and treatment of illness, disease and injury. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, we’re proud of our long and rich tradition of serving our community. Our not-for-profit organization is comprised of nine companies, including our Medical Center, Physician Network, Home Health company, Northeast Hospital, Pediatric Surgery Center, Health Plan, Health Services Inc., Child Study Center and Health Foundation. With more than 60 primary, specialty and urgent care locations throughout Texas, families can access our top-ranked specialty programs and network of services to meet the unique needs of their child. For 100 years, we’ve worked to improve the health of children from across our primary service area of Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant and Wise counties. We combine the art of caring with leading technology and extraordinary collaboration to provide exceptional care for every child. This has earned Cook Children’s a strong, far-reaching reputation with patients traveling from around the country and the globe to receive life-saving pediatric care. For more information, visit cookchildrens.org.
