Run For Suicide Prevention.... a thought...

[hammertime]

I would love to hold this race. I had a brother who sadly committed suicide when he was 19yo , I was 14yo.

There are countless races in the area for breast cancer, brain disease, leukemia... I want to do one for suicide prevention... I really do.

I wonder if it would get a good turnout. There is a 'bad' stigma associated with suicide... people don't like to talk about it ... it brings alot of shame... people bury it under the rug, they hide their feelings, their guilt, their "what did I do wrong that I couldn't prevent this", and survivors suffer so ... but I would like to try to turn it around... to bring out the awareness... of suicide... of the countless people we lose due to mental illness. Suicide can be prevented... it can.

I'm just putting this out there. I really want to do this, but don't know how to start. Maybe I should talk to one of the race coordinators for a race that's already in place...

If you have any ideas on how to start a race, your thoughts would be appreciated

[Trek420]

I think it's a great idea. A lot of good info right here where we discussed starting a women's ride:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=16592

[lph]

I think this is a fantastic idea. Especially since suicide still has a stigma attached, I think there are many many people who would appreciate this way of being able to come out and show their grief and support.

stigma story: One of my co-workers (not one I knew well) committed suicide about a year ago. By chance, I wrote something on our intranet recently where I linked to a older page with a lot of photos, one of him, a nice close-up of him smiling. I was asked (ok, told) if that wasn't a bit "unappropriate"...

That made me so sad, as if the only appropriate behaviour after a suicide was to pretend that that person had never existed.

[OakLeaf]

I think it's a great idea too.

I admit I'm skeptical of most "runs for" and "rides for" this and that cause. I give money to a number of causes, and when I do, I prefer to donate to a direct service organization, not some race organizer or celebrity who sets up a pet charity to skim a bunch of administrative costs off the top and send a couple of nickels to whatever cause they used to draw people in.

But when the real cause is to raise awareness and pierce taboos, I'm all in favor. When you read the statistics about suicide - and then every week when four people are in the paper dying of traffic accidents, and statistically you know someone in your area has died of suicide as well, but it isn't in the paper - to me it's just sad and wrong.

[Trek420]

There are walks to raise awareness, you might want to network with:

http://www.outofthedarkness.org

[Tuckervill]

Thanks for posting that, Trek. I was on the committee that held the first Out of the Darkness Walk for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Little Rock. It is a really well run organization that raises money for research into the prevention of suicide.

I think it is a wonderful idea to do something to raise awareness about the issue. The walks are very good at that, too.

Karen

[Trek420]

A lot of races have a walk at the same time or on a shorter route. I think that could be done with them.

[hammertime]

There are walks to raise awareness, you might want to network with:

http://www.outofthedarkness.org

hey trek, thanks!... I actually did that walk 2 years ago, it was awesome. The amazing thing about people coming together is that you are so surprised how many are affected by suicide. Since not alot of people talk about it, it' hidden... survivors hide theiri pain. For this walk that was done in Chicago, alot of popular Chicago TV personnel were out, as well as sports members that you never knew had someone close them to them take their life.

There is such healing in knowing you're not alone when suffering or greiving the loss of a loved on. That's why I want to do my run... so people don't feel they are the only one.

Thanks for your thoughts

[Trek420]

You're welcome. Just think of the Susan B Komen race for the cure which in most cities is an actual race ..... followed by me walking.

I think they'd welcome a race version.

[Melalvai]

My cousin is doing this walk, 8 months pregnant, for her dad who attempted suicide, happily unsuccessfully. His sister has also attempted, and the sister's son (another cousin) did commit suicide 3 years ago, at age 20. I heard that our grandmother's brother & mother both committed suicide. We have a big family, but that is a disturbingly high rate.

[Tuckervill]

It infects families in unbelievable ways. There was a family at our first walk who had FIVE members of the family who had committed suicide over a 15 year period. All but one were young men; the fifth was in his 40s.

Karen

[bikermaze]

Sounds like a good idea. It's high time people finally realized the gravity of the situation. People may object saying that suicide doesn't kill as much as donkeys or car collisions, however the occurence of suicide is surely a clear indicator of social problems of today. If we continue to allow them to happen, it'll simply continue on and on. We certainly don't want suicide to be a leading cause of death along with cancer right?

If people can proclaim that genetics don't always dictate destiny if we play our cards right, surely social illnesses as reflected in suicide can also be prevented?

This run is a fantastic idea. I'm all for it.