In 2005 I lost a very close friend to suicide. He was only 18 years old and I was in my first year of college. His death nearly destroyed my friends and I as we struggled to make sense of it all. Five years later, after moving to Boston, I heard about The Overnight walk of June 2010 in Boston. I immediately signed up but was worried I wouldn't make the $1,000 minimum. Only 4 months later I had reached $2,047, doubling my original goal. I had signed up as a solo walker but was placed on a team and met some wonderful people who live near me. My family traveled from New York to root me on and I walked through places in my new city that I had never been to before. Because of my endeavors I became closer with my friend's family and encouraged them in their healing. That fall they got a team together for a community walk, and on the anniversary of his death, at the beginning of this month, we had a Celebration of Life get together a local bar back home. Now I am a team captain and I have a team of friends prepared to walk in New York City this year. I am also on the board of members for the Boston chapter of the AFSP and the co-chair of the Walk Committee for a community walk in Boston. I am also about to go through training for grief support.
To sum this all up, I took one step towards healing by registering for The Overnight 2010 and here I am, many steps later, feeling better than I have since February 3rd, 2005, the day the world lost Louie Grieco.
Team Nothing Else Matters
No comments:
Post a Comment