Fashion for a Good Cause

This past weekend, my friend walked the runway at a fashion show event in Dallas. Although, I went solely to support her; I ended up gaining a lot more knowledge and sympathy than when I left. I soon learned that this fashion show also benefited the Suicide and Crisis Center; an organization focuses on preventing suicides. As we left the show to the dinner, a speaker got up and spoke about her experience with suicide. She is a suicide survivor; that does not mean she attempted suicide herself but that someone close to her has committed suicide. She went on, explaining that her husband had committed suicide almost ten years ago, he shot himself on their anniversary. She then went on to say that a few years after that her daughter, Hailey, had committed suicide when she was fourteen. She found her hung in the closet. Those details were more than graphic for me and there was not a dry eye in the room as she finished her story about her two loved ones who had committed suicide as a result of depression. This woman, however, was not looking for pity or sympathy, she told her story to get a point across. She said that the following years after the death of both her husband and her daughter, she went into a severe depression. As she began to notice these symptoms, she called the Suicide and Crisis Center for help. They helped her realize that the death of her husband and daughter were not her fault and helped her loose the pain and regret that had been dominating her life. She ended her speech by stating that it has taken her years to forgive herself and realize that it is not her fault. She was speaking on behalf of the center as she believes that the center can save lives of people who are a suicide risk as well as help beloved loved ones come to terms with their loss just as it did her. Suicide takes the lives of over 30,000 people a year. Although I do not know anyone personally who has attempted or committed suicide, I was so grateful to hear this story and to know that these topics are not going unrecognized.