Hi, I’m Tiffany Brown and this year I decided to run the New York City Marathon this coming November, which will be the most challenging and rewarding experience of my life. This isn’t as much a personal accomplishment but to help raise awareness for suicide prevention, a cause that is near and dear to my heart. About three years ago I lost my dearest friend Ruari to suicide. There are no words in the world that could comfort the family or friends of someone who takes their own life. After three years I still ask myself what if? What if I had known there was a problem? What if I showed up that night? What if he didn’t feel alone in that moment? In these moments, I remind myself that some things will always be out of our control. Rather than ask myself these questions over and over again I decided to focus my efforts on helping those that are silently struggling. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in the world for those ages 15-24. Close to 800,000 people die from suicide in the world each year, which is around one death every 40 seconds. Those who take their lives are not always the “loners” of the group. Depression and suicide does not discriminate and it effects people of all social backgrounds. Life can be tough and hit you hard. What matters is how bad you’re willing to fight back and overcome all of the pain, loneliness or self doubt. Sometimes it takes the person next to you to remind you how precious and beautiful life can be and that help is always right around the corner. I chose to run for Suicide Prevention hoping to reach out to anyone who is too scared to speak up and thinks that no one cares, because truth be told someone does care. So please join me in helping this amazing organization by donating anything to help raise awareness. - [ ]
