Editor’s note: This story includes mention of sexual violence or assault. Resources are available here.
High school twin brothers produced an award-winning 2025 documentary about my post-traumatic stress disorder recovery story that is impactful and timely to share for September’s Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. I’m a 1994 Master of Public Administration graduate of Indiana University.
Last summer, these talented 17-year-old Arizona boys decided to take a chance on me, telling my story through this visual medium. And in doing so, they are now opening up important dialogues about stigma-riddled issues like suicide.
The documentary, “I Am,” produced by Aidan and Ethan Sinconis, recently won best longform non-fiction fest Short Film at the Rocky Mountain Southwest Emmys. At the event, the Academy judges called this film incredibly powerful and inspiring. One judge stated, “This is one of the best short films I’ve ever seen from anyone. Student or professional. Masterful storytelling.”
The film addresses how a fortuitous joke from “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” stopped me from dying by suicide at 10:44 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2015. I struggled badly with post-traumatic stress disorder as a consequence of a near-deadly incident.
The trauma occurred when three men entered my downtown Phoenix loft. I was held down, beaten and raped. Significantly injured. It was identified that police anti-LGBT bias was involved in what happened to me that night.
That spark of hope from the Colbert joke sent me out on a cross-country mission. To re-engage with society. To learn how to talk about and process the trauma. And to get support from strangers for my determined efforts to overcome PTSD and to try to become a guest on “The Late Show.” My symbolic goal.
This documentary sheds light on an issue that is becoming more concerning in our country: loneliness and isolation. I experienced both of these conditions following the trauma. Pulling away from nearly everyone. Spiraling into a pit of loneliness and despair. Suicide became my best option to escape the pain from these conditions.
Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an 81-page advisory in May 2023 declaring a public health crisis of loneliness and isolation. One that is causing destructive consequences for about half of all U.S. adults.
In his advisory, there is a letter from the surgeon general in which Dr. Murthy writes that the mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity.
Evidence in his advisory report shows that increased social connectivity can successfully combat this public health crisis, effectively reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, premature death, anxiety and depression for Americans.
Dr. Murthy is therefore encouraging people to cultivate a culture of connection, utilizing the no-cost medicine that’s all around us: one another. He wants us to go out and engage with each other.
I’m here to be that loving nudge. To tell my extended Hoosier family that it can be done. To get you moving in the right direction by sharing an uplifting story that will hopefully inspire you to achieve a healthier life with no more seclusion. A story of my exhilarating recovery journey involving connectivity is told in this documentary.
It is far more than a story about me and my efforts to escape the abyss, despair and depression that cloaked me in darkness for so long. It’s also a story of 34,686 compassionate strangers coming together one at a time to help me move past isolation and loneliness.
These individuals have given me kindness, hugs and their written support for my determined efforts on this ongoing 10-year, 98,000-mile cross-country mission.
It is a thrilling adventure of human connection, love and a sense of belonging. These tens of thousands of individuals are writing their amazing stories of support in 95 languages with 32 Sharpie marker colors on 521 giant foam boards.
The boards are a colorful reminder of the life-sustaining necessity of connection. Additionally, it has been an adventure of vulnerability, with many of those people sharing written stories about their traumas as well as their triumphs.
I have just eight months to try and become a guest on “The Late Show” before that comedy show is gone forever.
Fingers crossed. When I get that invitation from Stephen Colbert, I will take with me to the show this massive display of social connectivity. All 521 of the boards. To inspire millions of viewers to see the profound power of tens of thousands of human beings from all walks of life coming together to be a friend for a guy in need.
A loving journey of connection that was ignited with one simple joke.
Here’s hoping this award-winning documentary film “I Am” will inspire IU’s students, faculty, staff and alumni during this Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and beyond.
You are only one person and one conversation away from overcoming isolation and loneliness. You can do this. Starting now
Ron Blake (he/him) is a social practice artist based in Phoenix. Over the past decade, Blake has advocated across the United States and Mexico for victims of trauma and PTSD.
