Gail Urso is the recipient of the 2023 Loss Survivor Award

The Washington, DC-based American Association of Suicidology (AAS), the world’s largest membership-based suicide prevention organization, announced Gail Urso, the co-founder of Kevin's Song is the recipient of the 2023 Loss Survivor Award. The award was presented at the 56th Annual AAS Conference in Portland, Oregon.

“We received more than sixty submissions from across the world for 2023 Annual Awards and we could not be prouder of this year’s winners,” said AAS President & CEO Leeann Sherman, MPS, CAE. “Due to her extraordinary commitment to supporting other families, Gail stands out among the many courageous and generous loss survivors active in our community. We are happy to present her with this prestigious award.”

Kevin’s Song is a charitable organization dedicated to generating public awareness about the causes of suicide, its prevalence in our society and possible preventive measures. As an organization, it creates a working community that is an important resource in the metropolitan Detroit area for offering knowledge, hope and healing to individuals, families and communities touched by suicide.

Founded in 2013, when their oldest son Kevin died of suicide at the age of 41, Gail and John Urso, founded Kevin’s Song to educate about the prevalence of suicide, the stigma associated with mental illness which prevents people from getting needed help, and the measures available to prevent suicides.

Since then, Gail has dedicated herself to sharing her story in order to help others who suffer the loss of a loved one. She has also led Kevin’s Song to become a nonprofit leader in the suicide education and prevention effort in Michigan and beyond. Under her leadership, Kevin’s Song has accomplished so much to fight this tragic epidemic including:

• The annual Three-Day Conference on Suicide, each year brings together nearly 500 local and national experts, clinicians, and others dedicated to ending this scourge and offering hope and healing to loss and attempt survivors.
• An annual School Summit, spreading suicide awareness and prevention to educators, social workers, parents and students, to schools throughout Michigan.
• Gail and John worked with documentary filmmaker, Keith Famie, to produce “Death is not the Answer,” which explores various aspects of suicide research and prevention. The film also shares the stories of many loss and attempt survivors who, while confronting guilt, grief and stigma, emerge from their loss in a spirit of hope.
• Kevin’s Song collaborated with Detroit Public TV and The Children’s Foundation in the creation and airing of a three-part series “Preventing Youth Suicide.”
• The film “We Need to Talk” was created, premiering during the School Summit and made available for free to schools throughout Michigan.
• Gail conceived the new statewide initiative, “With One Voice”, bringing together other nonprofits, hospitals, schools, businesses and other stakeholders to work together to promote legislative changes in suicide prevention.
• Gail established a Survivors of Suicide Loss Group, and an Attempt Survivor Support Group, each of which meet twice monthly in Royal Oak and Madison Heights.

Gail is well known around the state of Michigan as a leader in suicide prevention and an important advocate for survivors. She believes that the need for suicide education and support is more important than ever, making Kevin's Song a powerful vehicle for getting information to the public, as well as mental health professionals and educators.

Since the organization’s inception, the Kevin’s Song Annual Conference on Suicide has become the preeminent professional conference in the state of Michigan and the region, dedicated to suicide prevention while offering hope and healing to survivors.

Gail has a master’s degree from the University of Michigan in educational psychology and was a teacher for many years before she decided to focus on a career in interior design. Currently the owner of Urso Designs, Gail has been married to her husband, John Urso for over 50 years. Gail and John have three sons.

Kevin’s Song’s goal it is to educate others about the suicide epidemic and to bring together the many knowledgeable people and organizations dedicated to suicide prevention. They also hope to be a resource for professionals and the general public through conferences, survivor support groups, the website KevinsSong.org, their support of documentary films and videos as well as other activities and events.

The Loss Survivor Award has been given since 1995 to acknowledge ways in which survivors of suicide transform the trauma of their loss into suicide prevention efforts and/or survivor support.