48 | NOVEMBER 4 • 2021 

faces&places

A few technical glitches 
couldn’t stop the Reach for 
Hope Benefit from being a 
huge success. On Oct. 21, 
A Single Soul, Black Family 
Development and L!FELeaders 
Inc. hosted the event, featuring 
a table reading of the play 
Right Before I Go, by Stan 
Zimmerman and starring Hill 
Harper. Detroit native Lily 
Tomlin sent a video message.
The event, held at Cass Tech 
High School and emceed by 
Fox 2 personality Lee Thomas, 
raised funds to provide free 
suicide prevention training 
in Detroit, a passion of Rabbi 
Daniel Syme, rabbi emeritus 

at Temple Beth El, who shared 
with attendees how he lost his 
brother, Michael, to suicide 
more than 40 years ago.
Among the many attendees 
was Donna Rene’e Harris, 
who traveled by bus from 
Oklahoma to see the table 
reading of the play written 
by Stan Zimmerman (Gilmore 
Girls, Roseanne, The Golden Girls) 
which brings to life the last 
words of those lost to suicide, 
including the heartsick, the 
bullied, survivors of war, the 
mentally ill and the achingly 
lonely, which aims to provide 
a sense of understanding and 
hope for the living. 

 PHOTOGRAPHY BY GLENN TRIEST

Reach for Hope

Stan Zimmerman, Hill Harper, Rabbi Daniel Syme, Amy Nederlander, 
Kenyatta Stephens, Walter Stephens.

Francie Mutual, Stan Zimmerman, Karen Cantor.

Dr. Jill Syme, Rabbi Daniel Syme, Elder Cameron Bracefull and Jane Smitt.
Donna Rene’e Harris and Rabbi Daniel Syme.

Filmmaker Steve Palackdharry, filmmaker Dr. Sherry Rogers and Stan 
Zimmerman.
Hill Harper, Amy Nederlander, Kenyatta Stephens, Walter Stephens

