In 2004, my fifteen-year-old neighbor Kaitlin took her own life. 

I remember standing at my living room window with a baby on my hip, watching as the fire trucks came screaming around the bend.  Watching as the paramedics carried the stretcher out of the house and slid it into the ambulance.  And watching as Kaitlin’s family piled into cars and followed to the hospital behind her.  As they drove away, I felt confused. Conflicted. Saddened.  And a bit like a voyeur... feeling an unmistakable helplessness to help.

In 2006 I read about a nineteen-year-old named Suzy who also ended her own life.  The details of her unsuccessful attempts at finding a suicide support group ripped at my insides, and again I could only wish it hadn’t happened.  I tried to put Suzy out of my mind, but I couldn’t.  I couldn’t stop thinking about the terror of living against one’s will.  The desperation of losing all hope of having something to look forward to.  I began studying to write about a character who would suffer from severe depression, losing her will to live.

As I researched, I learned of others in my circle of friends and family whose teen and young adult years were clouded with thoughts of suicide, of their honest attempts, and of some, like Kaitlin and Suzy, whose attempts were successful. 

In 2008, I accepted a position on the board of directors for the Kaitlin Harris Foundation.  Through  community outreach, the Kaitlin Harris Foundation strives to offer Hope, Help, and Healing for adolescents who suffer from depression and mental illness to further prevent the loss of life.

It is their (and my) sincerest hope that increased awareness and resources will lead to increased prevention. 

For more information, visit www.kaitlinharrisfoundation.org.