Sept. 7, 2018 - My kids and I walked in the AFSP Out of the Darkness Campus Walk in Helena, Montana in honor of my husband and their father.
In April of 2016, my husband took his own life. Our daughter Danielle was only three at the time, and our son James was just over a year old. It was both a blessing and a curse that they were so young.
It was a blessing because they were too young to fully understand what was happening, and it was a curse because now that they are getting older, they are starting to realize that their father is not here.
We participated in the Walk because we want others to know that they are not alone, and that they never will be alone.
“'I don’t want anyone else to lose their daddy.' And that’s why we walk, this year, next year, and every year after that."
Danielle, who is five now, and getting ready to graduate from kindergarten, told me, “Hopefully we will help raise a lot of money so people who are sick like Daddy can get better. I don’t want anyone else to lose their daddy.”
And that’s why we walk, this year, next year and every year after that – to raise awareness and funds to help support innovative suicide prevention research, advocacy efforts, education programs, and resources for those who have lost someone to suicide or who struggle themselves.
We will never stop fighting for those who feel like they have no one. We want to be the little voice that whispers, “You are loved. You are needed. You matter.”
Click here to find out more about AFSP’s Out of the Darkness Walks.