This is the lead-in from the September 8, 2010 issue of the Wall Street Journal. To read the full article, with audio clip “Helping a Loved One With Mental Illness”, please click the link below…

For people suffering from depression, the advice is usually the same: Seek help.

That simple-sounding directive, however, is often difficult for those with depression to follow because one common symptom of the disease is denial or lack of awareness. This can be frustrating for well-meaning family and friends—and is one of the key ways that treating mental illness is different from treating other illnesses.

>>Read full article in Wall Street Journal

Do you know someone who could use a Team of Angels to help them in their time of need? Maybe that “someone” is you?

Angel Pins can lift the spirits of anyone. They cheer us up and bring us joy. Share the joy and happiness by giving a Team of Angels Pin and Poem to those special people in your life.

Patricia Gallagher is the creator of the Team of Angel pin and and the author of the poems that accompany them. Her story has been featured in many local publications as well as national exposure – twice in Family Circle, Women’s World magazine, Gannett Wire Service, and the military newspaper, Stars and Stripes. She was also featured on a segment with Bryant Gumbel on CBS This Morning.

>>Browse for Poems to go with your Team of Angels Pin

A Team of Angels to the Rescue

Sometimes it is the little things that get us through the toughest times. That is why Patricia Gallagher has given away a special reminder to let the families affected by Katrina know they are not forgotten: a Team of Angels

The Pennsylvania woman has given away thousands of pins to the families trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. Gallagher started the Team of Angels pin and poem six years ago, when she was going through a difficult time in her life. Her first poem was titled A TEAM OF ANGELS FOR THE OVERWHELMED, which aptly described her own feelings. She made makeshift angel pins using safety pins and other materials.

Somehow her little pins caught the attention of the CBS Early Show. They visited her home for a segment with Bryant Gumbel and her story was featured in Family Circle magazine, Gannett Wire Service, and Woman’s World. A producer from the Oprah Show called!

Gallagher was heartbroken over the suffering that traumatized those living along the Gulf Coast. She pondered what government can and can’t do – and then decided that the folks living among the uncertainty of jobs, education, homes and opportunity needed Divine intervention.

“ I know that kind Americans have reached out to help at each stage of this tragedy but I don’t believe that anyone has given the families a Team of Angels lapel pin,” Gallagher said. “I hope that this small token of encouragement will let everyone in the south know that we remember as the first anniversary approaches.” The pin is her own original creation, which is attached to a bookmark, bearing two poems A TEAM OF ANGELS FOR TAKING ONE DAY AT A TIME and A TEAM OF ANGELS FOR HOPE.

Patricia Gallagher is looking to connect with people who need a team of angels to help. Her car is packed and ready to go. She looks forward to visiting to pass out small reminders that offer comfort. Her campaign is called THE ANGELS ALONG THE WAY GOODWILL TOUR.
“I would like to visit ten groups this summer and give a talk which I have titled TEA, TALK AND A TEAM OF ANGELS. After the presentation, I will pass out a pin and poem card.” Gallagher said.

For more information on how to invite Patricia Gallagher to your church or organization, please email atyngsparro@aol.com.

A Team of Angels for the Families of Our Troops

Pennsylvania mom has given away angel pins to families who have loved ones serving in the military. Sometimes it is the little things that get us through the toughest times.

That is why Patricia Gallagher has given away a special reminder to let the troops and their families know they are not forgotten: a Team of Angels pin. The Pennsylvania woman said she had 20,000 lapel pins that she was willing to give away to the families of servicemen and women serving our country. The pins come with two special poems that she wrote herself titled A TEAM OF ANGELS TO THANK OUR UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES and A TEAM OF ANGELS TO PROTECT ALL MILITARY FAMILIES.

Gallagher started the Team of Angels pin and poems about six years ago, when she was going through a difficult time in her life. Her first poem was called A TEAM OF ANGELS FOR THE OVERWHELMED, which aptly described her own feelings. She made makeshift angel pins using safety pins and other materials. She and her four children left them at train stations, in hospital waiting rooms, and other places. Somehow, one of those pins got the attention of the military newspaper STARS AND STRIPES which did a full page feature story about Gallagher’s project, which led to the PX stores placing orders for them.

Military chaplains and family support groups contacted her for the pins. The CBS Early Show visited her home for a segment with Bryant Gumbel and her story was featured in Family Circle magazine, Gannett Wire Service, and Woman’s World. A producer from the Oprah show called!

Her message is a simple one: “From the bottom of our hearts, I and every American wish to thank you for the job you are now doing. Please wear this angel pin next to your heart under your outer garment. It has brought good fortune and safety to others. May God bless you and keep you safe.

Team of Angels Nationwide Goodwill Tour

Q & A with Patricia Gallagher about her tour

Where did you go?

1. I visited several military bases and VA hospitals last summer and gave a talk which I have titled TEA, TALK, AND A TEAM OF ANGELS. After the presentation, I passed out a pin and a poem to honor our troops . This special reminder was to let our troops and their families know that they are not forgotten. The pins came with two special poems that I wrote A TEAM OF ANGELS TO THANK OUR UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES and A TEAM OF ANGELS TO PROTECT ALL MILITARY FAMILIES

2. A representative of Team of Angels visited the coal miners’ families in West Virginia.

3. We have and will be traveling nationwide and are currently scheduling speaking engagements for churches, organizations, and support groups of all kinds. Please give us a call or email yngsparro@aol.com.

How did you travel?

We traveled in an eye-catching white van, decorated with angels and the following words painted on the side doors – ARE YOU OVERWHELMED? MAYBE A TEAM OF ANGELS CAN HELP! We hoped that people who saw us traveling along the highways and back roads would stop us and ask for a team of angels pin. In addition to passing the pins out at my presentation titled TEA, TALK AND A TEAM OF ANGELS, I welcomed the opportunity to give them out at local Holiday Inn, Cracker Barrel or McDonald’s restaurants.

“Every day, I travel around my town and others in the vicinity with boxes of angel pins. Some families load their vans with luggage while they travel for vacation. I skip the wardrobe and am content to wear just a few outfits. I need my suitcases for angel pins.

This week I visited two Veterans Hopitals, three 12-step recovery groups, a methadone clinic for folks with addictions, University of Pennsylvania Hospital, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, seven churches, two cancer centers, the Masonic Home and lots of shopping malls and restaurants. I feel like the Easter Bunny hopping around leaving pins for people.

Patients with HIV, caregivers and mourning families are all suffering. I place the pins in baskets or gift bags and leave them anonymously in restrooms, lobbies, on waiting room tables and handed them to lots of individuals. When I tell my friends about all the interesting people I am meeting and the incredible stories, they say “You ought to write a book!” So now I am planning to do just that.

As I travel this summer and fall, I will compile the stories of inspiration, goodness and all of the sweet, kind and lovely things we experience along the way. I hope that love, hope and encouragement will reach out from the pages of my new book. What will the title be on the cover? I don’t know. If you have a suggestion, I would love to hear from you. Thank you for your prayers of support as I venture into the unknown.”

SUBMIT A TEAM OF ANGELS PIN STORY

I am writing a book about the people who have received my team of angel pins. If you would like to submit a story or experience for consideration, please contact me.

Patricia Gallagher vividly recalls the day in 1999 when she was dropping off film to be developed and a kind Wal-Mart clerk asked whether her husband, John, who was in a wheelchair, had been in an accident.

“No, he jumped out of a third-floor window,” Gallagher told the clerk in a rush of words. “But don’t tell anyone because even two of our kids don’t know” that their father had attempted suicide… Read full story

Patricia Gallagher and John Gallagher have launched a project to help families dealing with depression, anxiety and suicide . www.speakingaboutdepression.com Their new book is NO MORE SECRETS – A FAMILY SPEAKS ABOUT DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.

Listen to it now: Public Radio: “Voices in the Family” Interview with Dr. Dan Gottlieb (mp3)

Gallagher front page Philadephia Inquirer story, March 21, 2008

The fog has lifted. The marriage is restored. The tears have stopped.
Because the secret is out.

John Gallagher, 57, of Royersford, holder of an MBA from St. Joe’s, a
man with a seemingly perfect life – a wife, four children, a job as a
financial analyst – attempted suicide in 1999… Read full story(pdf)

Patricia Gallagher, Team of Angels Project director, presents a supply of angel pins, soldiers’ angels, and bookmarks to Chaplain (Capt.) John Elliot at the Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Chaplain’s Office.

The pins will be distributed to hospital patients and family members. The inch-high lapel pins feature three gold angels with linked hands and are attached to a bookmark with a short inspirational poem. So far thousands of service members and their families have received angel pins. They are available for purchase to send to our troops and their families. See the online catalog for ordering information.
(U.S. Air Force by Staff Sgt. Ruth Stanley).