Walk For Suicide Awareness At 'Out Of Darkness'
By Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Thousands are expected to participate in an overnight walk to raise awareness about the rising number of suicides in America. It's the first time the event will take place in Philadelphia.
Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among school-aged children and the 3rd leading cause of death among college students, but few understand the causes and symptoms.
The purpose of the Out of Darkness Overnight Walk is to change that.
"As most survivors can attest to, hindsight is 20-20," says Catherine Siciliano. She lost her son Anthony to suicide in 2008. She says her son was always the life of the party, but a bad break up sparked a change that began a few months before he took his own life.
"He was always off to himself, always texting and being really agitated. And now when I look back...I realized that wasn't him," says Siciliano.
She says the walk also raises awareness on how to deal with the grief after the loss of a loved oned.
"I remember people saying- well how did he die? And I'd say, he died by suicide. And they said-- is that what you're going to tell people," she said. "I said yes. I've seen families torn a part where they are blaming each other. I've seen families struggle."
The Overnight Walk takes place June 28th at the Art Museum. Details on how to sign up, as well as the warning signs of suicide are at www.afsp.org.
