"Pokémon Go, Second Families, and Mental Health (x-posted from r/TheSilphRoad)"

#PokemonGO: I’m cross-posting this from TSR with approval from the mods because I hope it resonates with anyone that has been a part of this game’s evolution (no pun intended) over the last 2+ years.This is a really difficult post to write, but I feel like it's an important thing to share. As we all know, Pokémon Go has transformed and isn't just a viral "fad" anymore. The folks here know better than most that what started as a game has become a community - a family - a home.So let's talk about home - mine is a Pokémon Go community in central MD that's a little over a year old. We are 1200+ members strong, with 28 volunteer leaders and an additional 12 volunteer raid coordinators to wrangle the cats, herd the cows, and keep things moving along. Over the course of the last year, these people have gone from complete strangers to friends (and even a boyfriend). They mean the world to me, and the reason I'm posting here is because yesterday my home suffered a big loss.I was getting ready to go out with three of my closest friends for our biweekly nest rotation adventure - every two weeks, we hop in the car and head to Gettysburg National Park (or Poké Paradise, as some call it) to spin the stops, catch the mon's, shoot the breeze, and watch as one junk nest rotates to another. Shortly before we were scheduled to leave, a cryptic message was sent out that one of our group's raid coordinators had passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. I sat there in shock for a moment, reading and re-reading my screen. Hoping it was just a messed up joke or sick prank, I immediately jumped up and started making phone calls to figure out what was going on. Unfortunately, my hopes for a misunderstanding or a terrible trick were in vain.One of our raid coordinators took his own life. He had been experiencing a lot of personal difficulties at work and at home - and unfortunately, one of his few forms of catharsis was taken from him when he couldn't make the phone bill last month and was unable to play Pokémon as a release. We would hotspot him when he made it into town, but maybe it wasn't enough. Maybe he hid how bad things had gotten, or maybe we just weren't paying attention. Regardless, all we can do now is try to help pick up the pieces - including doing whatever we can to support his wife and four children, including a beautiful baby girl they just welcomed in July.So after spending the last 24 hours setting up whatever assistance we could for the family, creating a GoFundMe page to raise money, planning collections of food and baby supplies, and trying to offer comfort where little could be had... this is my catharsis for today. To tell you about what this game means to me. To tell you about my second family. To tell you about our loss. And to urge you to hold your loved ones close and to let them hold you in return. People care about you. People want to know when you're doing well - and when you're not. They will listen. We will listen. I will listen.And if nothing else, my community - my home - is 25 minutes out of Baltimore, MD. I don't know where your home is, but you're always welcome at mine. via /r/pokemongo https://ift.tt/2OCtFxk