Joshua’s Voice: Our First Year

Celebrating our first year seemed like a good time to introduce myself and share a little about how Joshua’s Voice came to be, reflect on where we’ve been, and provide a look ahead.

I’m Shawnette Good, founder and Executive Director of Joshua’s Voice. After 26 years in the insurance industry, I never would have imagined myself making an about-face and changing industries, much less starting and leading a nonprofit. However, life often takes us to surprising places for unexpected reasons.

Our Family Journey

Joshua’s Voice is named for my son, Joshua Richey. Like our other children, Joshua gave us many reasons to be proud. The fact that he was on the autism spectrum did little to slow down his achievements, although it had provided some roadblocks. It seemed he would smash through every one of them as he graduated high school with honors and even received a college scholarship. Interpersonal relationships still proved challenging, but he seemed to accept his differences and embrace the characteristics of autism that made him uniquely Joshua. He did seem to falter in college, not finding the same level of success he had in high school, and seemed uncertain of his future goals. However, Joshua was an overcomer and we were sure he would find his way.

Maybe that’s why I was so sure there was a mistake when I got the call on May 1, 2020, that Joshua had died by suicide at 21 years old. It was hard enough to accept that he was gone, but it must have been an accident – not suicide. Not only would I say this to myself, but I would hear this from others over and over in the coming weeks. No one could understand how easy-going Joshua could or would take his own life. While the world was focused on COVID, depression had taken our Josh.

As our family began our grief journey, more and more people began to share about the conditions, physical and mental, they or their loved ones struggle with that no one sees. If we could live in the same house, say, “Good morning,” and eat dinner next to someone in such despair that they would take their own life and not see their struggle, it stood to reason that there are people all around us every day struggling in silence – unseen.

Joshua’s Voice’s Origins

When a tragedy strikes, everything goes through a filter of importance. Only the most crucial things get through because grief filters out all but what is most necessary for survival. Hearing my son’s name often and ensuring his legacy was a positive one became essential for my family’s survival. Over time, how our family would do this became clearer, and Joshua’s Voice was formed.

We didn’t want Joshua’s Voice to only focus on autism, as that was only one part of Joshua. Instead, we wanted to bring awareness to all invisible disabilities and, more importantly, share how we can provide compassion to people who are suffering when those sufferings aren’t readily apparent. We received our nonprofit status determination on August 14, 2021.

Our First Year

I can’t believe it’s been a year already. Even though each year that passes is another reminder of a year without Joshua, we are so proud of the work being done in his name. I would be remiss not to start by thanking our family, friends, and fantastic board members: Matt Good, AnnaGrace Richey, Layna Weldon, and Anita Deraney, for sharing in this journey. Their advice, hard work, and encouragement have been invaluable. Still, without the help of our generous donors, much of what we’ve done this year would have been impossible.

So, what have we done? Well, to start with, we’ve learned more than I could have ever dreamed. From the filing of necessary documents to establish a nonprofit to building a website and community awareness, each step has been a learning experience. The things we’ve learned could fill up an entire year all on their own.

As far as our mission to provide awareness, education, and tools to assist individuals with invisible disabilities, we’ve also made a good start in our first year by:

• Presenting autism and sensory processing disorder education to over 500 police, fire, and EMS first responders.
• Providing over 200 sensory kits to first responders.
• Starting a YouTube channel featuring interviews with people with invisible disabilities.
• Educating hundreds of community members on invisible disabilities through speaking to various civic groups.
• Growing a support base of community support.

Looking Foward

As proud as we are of these accomplishments, we have much work left to do. Success stories like the one we recently received from a police officer who was able to use the education and tools he received to de-escalate a situation with an aggressive young man with autism without using force, along with your encouragement, keep us moving forward.

While we have big plans for the future, we’d like to hear from you. What programs would you like to see? If we continue to work together moving forward, our collective voice of compassion will be that much stronger.

We miss you, Josh. Hope we’re making you proud.