Please help me to help others and save lives by working to prevent suicide!

https://www.theovernight.org/participant/26882

Almost eleven and a half years ago (on December 24th, 2006), our son Chris Groener died by suicide.  In spite of the passage of time, the pain remains strong as does my question of what more could we have done to try and prevent this terrible loss. Chris faced many challenges during his all too brief life and we provided as much help and support as we could.  I miss him terribly and I am determined to do anything and everything that I can to help other families avoid this awful loss. 

On June 16th and 17th of this year, my wife (Anne) and I will walk nearly 17 miles from dusk to dawn through the streets of Philadelphia.  The event is called the Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk and it is organized and staged by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  AFSP is the leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research and education and to reaching out to people with mood disorders. Another important aspect of their work is to assist those impacted by suicide.   

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among those 15-24 years old.  A person dies by suicide about every 16 minutes in the United States and an attempted suicide occurs every minute.  Far too many people come to the conclusion that suicide is the best and sometimes the only answer for their many problems.  This can and must change and it will through hard work and effort. 

We have done this walk eight previous times. It is physically and emotionally difficult, but well worth the effort. We walk because “no one deserves to be forgotten”. We walk to honor our son Chris (and his cousin Cory who also died by suicide on June 2nd, 2012).  We walk to turn our grief into positive actions that will help to save lives.  We walk because it is the right thing to do. Together we can save lives and bring hope to those impacted by suicide and suicidal thoughts. 

Following Chris’ death, we were fortunate to have the love and support of countless friends and family members to help us move forward.  It is our hope that the funds raised by AFSP will help other victims of depression to seek alternate solutions so that their families won’t have to walk in our path as we try to move “Out of the Darkness”. 

Please help me to help others by donating: https://www.theovernight.org/participant/26882  

If you are unable to help financially, please know that your prayers and support are equally as important. 

Thank you!