Damn. Just found out that a former colleague killed himself

[Lorien]

His name was Jim Snider. We never worked together directly as he was in the LA Studio and I was in the Florida studio, but he was a friend of one of my best friends, and they worked together as Democratic activists during the 2000 and 2004 elections. He lost his job at Disney when they closed down the 2D animation studio. He went on to Dreamworks, but then that 2D studio was also shuttered. He lost his home, then his marriage. He had been searching for work for the past three years without finding enough to sustain himself. He had been sleeping on a friend's sofa. The friend is a cop, and Jim "barrowed" his gun while he was out of the apartment. He was in his early 40s.

:cry:

[MrsBrady]

1. i'm sorry to hear about your friend. n/t

[yellowdogintexas]

2. my dear I am so sorry. That is such a tough way to lose someone and believe me

I know what I am talking about.

[Lorien]

5. Thank you YellowdoginTexas. I'm really worried about our mutual friend

now. She's had nothing but horrible news in the past several years. Also laid off, then became disabled. She lost her husband to cancer a while back, and her stepson was taken from her by his birth mother, who showed up out of the blue after years of ignoring him. Most of our friends are also unemployed animators. So many have lost nearly everything-and now one has lost his life. Things HAVE to change for the better. They just have to.


:cry:

[yellowdogintexas]

8. please encourage your mutual friend to seek out a Survivors Group, they are

often sponsored by the local Mental Health Association . I am sure there is one near her.

[fizzgig]

3. i am so sorry

:hug: to all touched by this

[LeftyFingerPop]

4. I am very sorry to hear this Lorien

:hug:

[Haole Girl]

6. How awful.

My condolences. Suicide is such a waste. I wish he could have found another way. :hug:

[Droopy]

7. Rest in Peace, Jim

It's a cold world out there. I've been at the brink of where Jim has now gone. I know how he probably felt. He'd probably lost contact with all the people who used to know and love him. There are places that can help people like Jim. We just need to figure out how to reach them.

[Lorien]

10. It's especially cold out there in LA

the film industry is an awful place to be from when you hit hard times. It's like that Clapton song; "nobody knows you when your down and out"; it couldn't be MORE true out there. And people just accept it! They say "well of course ___ doesn't talk to me anymore; they have a job at the XYZ studio and I can't find work". As if it's the most natural thing in the world to bail on your one time "family" when the going gets tough.

I've been to that brink myself too-even recently. It's tough when you are the only person you have, and it just doesn't feel right to reach out to complete strangers. We live in a society that is very cut off from one another. Everyone seems to value "stuff" more than they value their companions, and a man who has lost all of his family AND all of his stuff ends up abandoned in one of the shallowest cities of all. It just twists my insides. I wish I could have done something. I'm going to try to keep in better touch with the others that I know out there who are in the same boat. I can't offer them work, but I can let them know that someone understands and is pulling for them. And that goes for you, too. :hug:

[Droopy]

11. Thanks Lorien

:hug:

That's nice to know. I've been absent from this place for a little while, but to know that I could get support here when times are tough, just someone saying they understand and hoping that things can get better for me, is nice. People knock us loungers for not being as involved in some of the political forums as other posters. Hell, I already know who I'm going to vote for. Let's talk about life. :)

[libodem]

9. That's so depressing

I feel bad just hearing it. I can't imagine what you must be feeling. Sorry for your loss. Such a young and talented man. Seems like the artistic type are so sensitive and prone to despair. If a person can just hang on, most folks report feeling better in about 6 months and are glad they didn't commit suicide. I have a hunch that it could become an epidemic with the tough economic picture. Time for a resurgence of the hotline/suicide prevention services.

[Lorien]

12. I have a feeling that you're right

I've had an awful knot in my stomach all day over this. I really worry that more of us will come to the same end. It's tough when EVERY SINGLE DAY is a struggle. I know that others are worse off, but when everyone abandons you it's especially hard. I know all too well how he felt.

[NJCher]

13. I'm so sorry, Lorien

Another factor is the "no money." If you don't have money in this society, you are persona non grata. Being an artist and therefore a sensitive soul, I'd bet the no-money thing was getting real old for him.

Hang in there, Lorien. I and I'm sure others on this thread will be thinking about you.

Cher