ABOUT US

Chronically Strong believes that hope, healing, and mental health can be found by strengthening the community. This includes those going through crisis, those experiencing chronic mental illness, and the family members who support them.

We know that by connecting to support people grow stronger. We are educating our community on how to talk about the untalkable, loving people where they are at through peer-led support groups, and providing ways for the community to connect and build hope together.

At Chronically Strong, we understand that suicide is a community problem that requires a community solution.

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Katie's Story

Katie and Gina had been estranged for a couple of years prior to Katie's suicide. Years of Katie being in and out of mental health facilities put a strain on their relationship, and Katie came to a point that maybe it hurt her to face her mom--perhaps a reminder of her own hurt. As a mother it was agony for Gina to watch her child suffer inside for over a decade. The hours in the hospitals, the over 52 suicide attempts, they had Gina in a place that she often prayed that God would have mercy on Katie and end her pain.

Gina watched for two days as medical professionals did what was medically required to prove viable life unlikely so that Katie would be able to donate her organs as she would have wanted. Why? Because that first night at the hospital Gina made a promise to Katie--a promise that she would make sure that Katie's life counted--that she would help Katie give meaning to her suffering.

On April 8, 2019, Gina's daughter Katie was pronounced brain dead as a result of taking her own life at the age of 23 years old. This was her 53rd suicide attempt.

For over a decade Katie struggled with chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which also presented with severe psychogenic seizures. Not only did her seizures cause medical concerns, but also the increasing severity of Katie's attempts. When Katie died, she was in a physical rehabilitation center learning how to walk again after her most recent suicide attempt. Katie experienced good days, great days and also hard days. She struggled to love herself and she wanted desperately to be loved. She was loved much more than she was able to see.

Katie was an amazing young woman. She loved animals. She had a gentle spirit. She had a smile that lit up the room, and a mind like no other. Katie saw things as they are as well as how they could be. She would sacrifice herself to help another, and would smile through the pain. One of her greatest dreams was to become a doctor and it is through her death that she was able to help countless others through organ and tissue donation. Katie’s life mattered. Your life matters too.

Katie's Journals

Katie’s journals became Gina's last source of connection to her daughter, and they told a story--Katie's story. But not just her story, the story of others she had helped even in her darkest hours, quotes she loved, songs she had heard, and random hopes for the future. Katie's journals became a way for Gina to understand a glimmer of what deep depression and mental illness can feel like and she knew that these journals were a way that she could help her to help others.

Hope

It is true that Katie is no longer physically with us, but her story lives on and is helping countless others to realize the need for suicide prevention, the need to strengthen community, and to help bring others together in order to come out of their suffering.

Katie did not want to die. She wanted to stop feeling the pain that she so deeply felt so much of the time. If Katie were sitting next to you right now, she would want you to know that you matter and to hope always for a brighter day. You too, can become Chronically Strong.

"It wasn’t until months later that I was able to bring myself to read some of the journals she kept during her times in the hospital. It felt like a violation of privacy at first, then disbelief and heartache over what I read, until finally incredible compassion for the battles that she fought I had known nothing about."

~ Gina Casner

Chronically Strong Is Born

It all started with a promise that a mom (Gina) made to her daughter (Katie) to not let her story end in pain but to redeem her tears and make sure that her story was shared to help others.

By November 2019, Gina was looking for a way to honor Katie's life on the one year anniversary of her death. She came across an article of a woman in Portland, Oregon who had begun the Don't Give up Signs Movement in response to the youth suicide rate in her area. The day before Thanksgiving that year, Gina had a Zoom conference with Founder, Amy Wolff. It was decided that Gina would purchase 'Signs of Hope' closer to April 2020 in memory of Katie to spread hope in Central PA.

But like most things in life, when it comes time to do a new thing, Gina shrunk back and got nervous that no one would want to put a sign in their yard. She had nearly decided to abandon the whole project, ashamed of not keeping her promise to Katie, when the COVID-19 Pandemic shut the entire community down in March 2020. Deciding that people needed hope more than ever, for the next couple of months, Gina placed over 350 'Signs of Hope' throughout Central PA, in six different counties.

By May 2020, weeks after the sign project, the promise Gina made to Katie that night in the hospital kept echoing in her ears, "I will make sure your life counts." Gina knew in her "mom heart" that Katie's story would be able to help so many others find the healing that she was not able to find. Gina knew without a doubt that it is her job as Katie's mom to continue to carry her story forward--but how?

Gina was convinced that it was not enough to spread hope, but that something needed to change in mental health and the way society went about suicide prevention. She filed paperwork to officially create Chronically Strong (part of Katie;s Instagram handle).

For the rest of 2020, Gina thought about what it would take to bring the community something unique that could help people outside of the traditional mental health system and provide the most access to the most people. Finally, in February 2020 the first official Board of Directors for Chronically Strong was formed.

During 2021, the group struggled to define the vision, mission, values and bylaws for the new organization. They held six mental health awareness events while they continued to develop Chronically Strong. The challenge before them was immense, and the resources few.

Just when they were giving up hope that any more would be accomplished, they received a notice in the mail that Chronically Strong had finally been given 501c3 nonprofit status. The 7-month long wait was over, and a renewed sense of commitment bubbled to the surface.

'Signs of Hope', courtesy of Global Leadership

Our Founder

Our founder, Gina Casner, has a diverse professional and educational background. As a young, single mom, she put herself through a Medical Assisting program while going to community college part-time, while also raising her daughter, Katie. In 2008, she received her B.S. in Sociology, and has worked in Family Preservation & Reunification Services, Family-Based Mental Health Services, Wrap-Around Behavioral Health Services, Domestic Violence Services, Inpatient Psychiatric Care and Outpatient Therapy settings.

In addition to receiving her B.S. in Sociology (Penn State Harrisburg), Gina has done extensive graduate-level studies in Human Resources & Employee Relations (Penn State World Campus), and is currently completing her M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Walden University.

Over the years, Gina has been extensively involved with local communities and has volunteered with Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS), led bible studies at her church, served as Homeschool Co-op Teacher, helped at food pantries and women's shelters. Most recently, Gina has served on the Lower Paxton Township Parks & Recreation Special Planning Committee.

Gina also offers coaching services through her private practice, Mindful Connections LLC, and is a member of the American Counseling Association and the American Association of Suicidology.

Gina was named 'Woman of Strength' by Susquehanna Style Magazine (2020), 'Woman of Influence' by Central Penn Business Journal (2021), and was presented with the Polly Murphy Spirit of Volunteerism award (2023).

Gina currently lives in Harrisburg, PA with her husband Terry, and their two dogs, Ginger and Zelda. She is grateful to be mom to her son, Connor, and her two bonus children, Terry III and Rhiannah, as well as a Gigi to Marcus.

Gina Casner, courtesy of KLee Photography