Sen. Smith dedicates new wellness library named for his son -- Meditations!!

With the present living enviroment, stress is the key to kids life.. both parents & kids are under ever increase stress.

Then the depression kicks in. I have observe that in countries like Singapore, Japan, UK, Hong Kong.. all having the same issues.

My recommendations is that teach Kids how to meditate to heal themself for their wellness.


Sen. Smith dedicates new wellness library named for his son

PENDLETON— Sen. Gordon Smith came home Friday to dedicate a wellness library named after his deceased son at St. Anthony Hospital, in hopes the library can help others who struggle with depression.

Smith, a Republican from Pendleton, created the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Fund soon after his son Garrett committed suicide on Sept. 8, 2003, after battling bi-polar disorder and the depression that stemmed from it. That fund helped to generate enough money to establish the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Library at the hospital.

“We’re profoundly grateful for this place of healing,” Smith told an invitation-only crowd of nearly 200 at the hospital Friday morning. “This is the very place where my own mother brought me into the is world, so it’s good to be back.”

The library houses numerous books and Internet-capable computers for patients and community members to use in order to gain knowledge about depression and other mental health issues, as well as to provide assistance to young people battling depression.

A wall outside the library showcases Garrett Smith’s life in large, colorful photos, along with a message from the Smith family. Sen. Smith, his wife Sharon and his daughter Brittany unveiled the wall following the library dedication.

“Today, with the Smith family, we have the opportunity to shed a ray of light of hope on those struggling with depression,” said Kevin Hale, chairman of the St. Anthony Hospital Foundation Board.

As Smith began his dedication remarks, he warned the crowd, “I will try to keep my eyes dry today so I can share the thoughts in my heart, but if I don’t succeed, they are tears of joy.”

The tears did come as Smith told of President Abraham Lincoln’s struggle with his own son’s death to typhoid fever, and how he locked himself in his room for 14 days following the funeral, troubled with the thought of moving on without his son.

“After Garrett’s death, I began to figure out how to go on,” Smith said. “I contemplated returning to Pendleton and focusing on my two other children, but that wouldn’t have been keeping on with the people of Oregon.

“But I found comfort in a cause,” Smith continued. “This is very important because every year in America 1,700 high schoolers take their lives, and in American colleges, 3,000 take their lives.”

Following the death of his son, Sen. Smith championed the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, which President Bush signed Sept. 9, 2004, a year and a day after Garrett’s suicide, It would have been his 23rd birthday. The act sets aside $82 million over three years for youth suicide prevention and intervention programs.

Sen. Smith dedicates new wellness library named for his son