SUICIDE. The word brings chills up my spine. You may wonder why I even dare say the word and it's because sadly, my close friends and I were affected by the loss of our beautiful friend Cassie this past summer.
FACT: In the United States a person dies by suicide every 16 minutes, claiming over 30,000 lives each year.
Cassie decided to take her life at the young age of 20 years old. Cassie was a lovely, intelligent young girl who had so much talent and potential in this life and she left us all too soon. My dear friends and I often ask if there is anything that we could have done to prevent Cassie's tragedy. I don't have an answer to that and probably never will, but I have learned a great lesson from Cassie- awareness.
I have learned from Cassie that it is my job and the jobs of all of us to bring awareness to suicide and make this word less taboo. If more people were aware of signs and causes of suicide, maybe just maybe we can help save lives. As part of our attempt to continue the healing process of our great loss, we are marching on behalf of Cassie at the Safe A Life Walk. I invite you to join Team Cassie and walk with us on Sunday, November 14th, 2010-Team Cassie. If you can't join us, I ask you to please try to bring awareness your family, friends and community.
If someone you know is reaching out to you for help, listen to them and be there for them. For immediate help- Suicide Prevention Lifeline
R.I.P. Cassie. There are a lot of people in this world that love you.
No comments:
Post a Comment