Woburn High School graduates raising awareness of teen suicide with kickball tournament
WOBURN - Noah Dhaliwal is using the beloved playground game of kickball to fight back against teen suicide.
The Boston College junior started the "Kick it For a Cause" charity kickball tournament when he was a junior at Woburn High School. It was a tough time for one of his best friends.
"Around that time, Sam came out with his story of his battle with his mental health," Noah told WBZ-TV.
"It's personal," said Sam Gerry, of the tournament and its goal to prevent suicide. "Starting in middle school, but throughout high school, I experienced pretty intense suicidality," he said.
Wanting to find a way to help, Noah came up with the kickball idea to help raise awareness and money for suicide prevention programs. He brought the idea to Sam and asked if he wanted to join in.
"He was on board right away," said Noah.
"Oftentimes, I find that people tend to shy away from really anything regarding suicide and suicide prevention," said Sam, recalling that moment when Noah approached him with the idea. "It was really, really encouraging, not just any random teen but one of my best friends reaching out to express interest."
In four years, the friends have raised thousands of dollars for local organizations.
Sam got help, and now he wants to help others like him.
"I'm planning to pursue a Ph.D. of some kind focusing on suicidology," he told WBZ.
He is currently a student at Bates College in Maine. He has an internship this summer working on a research project about mental health.
"It can get pretty dark at times, but it's really fascinating, and I love every second of it," he said.
Even with high school long behind them, these two are passionate about supporting the mental health needs of people in their community.
"It would have been easy to let it fizzle out, especially with COVID happening and when we graduated and left the area," Noah said. "But we stayed strong all the way through and we have gained massive support from everyone."
Sam knows that awareness is important but isn't going to solve the problem.
"We hope what we do makes a difference, it's really only the beginning. There is so much work left to do," he said.
The tournament is Saturday, May 20 at Woburn High School. For more information click here.