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Walking for Prevention

This post may trigger.

On September 28th, 2008, my life changed. That was the day Wyatt killed himself; that was the evening Susan and I found Wyatt’s body on the third floor of our communal house. A year later, the grief has abated somewhat, although there are sharp moments of pain. The anger’s still pretty strong. So is the determination.

In 2006, 33,000 people killed themselves in the United States. Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death for adults between the ages of 18 and 65 years in this country. (15 to 24 year olds? Third leading.) Last year the rate of military suicides increased for the fourth year running. More than half of all violent deaths are suicides.

Two hotlines, if you are concerned about yourself or others:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Samaritans Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-877-870-HOPE (4673) (and in Boston: 617-247-0220)

On October 10th, we will be walking to raise money for suicide prevention. I expect to be working for this cause for the rest of my life. I barely saw Wyatt’s body; he’d fallen between his bed and the wall. I still won’t ever forget it.

I’m asking for donations. AFSP is a good, solid organization that does a huge amount of work to raise awareness. Anything you can give is wonderful. Little-known fact: my mother spent a lot of time in the 80s as a fundraiser for hunger causes, so I’ve seen how much difference the small donations make first hand. It adds up!

Also, if you’re moved to spread the word on this, or if you want to walk with us, that’d be completely wonderful.

Thank you.

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