The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Out of the Darkness Walks

Few of you know that I have a younger brother, Dennis..... my only brother. He would have celebrated his 56th birthday this October had he lived. He was a handsome, generous, gregarious guy who loved his family and friends so much. He was so freaking funny, too...with the best belly laugh ever...sounded like it came from deep within his soul, ya know? He loved all kinds of music(David Bowie was his fave),his country(was an expert marksman in the US Army) and was crazy about his nieces and nephews. We lost him 13 years ago suddenly...and to suicide. He was a sensitive soul... I believe much too sensitive to live peacefully in this realm. It was a tragedy for our family and humankind. The biggest part being he still had so much more to do and so much more to give. Statistics show our family is not the only one who has been affected by this silent, largely still not talked about, killer. You don't even have to go further than your television to see of what I speak is true....Robin Williams, Chris Benoit, Kurt Kobain, Lee Thompson Young, Mindy McCready, Don Cornelius, Tyler Clementi...sadly the list goes on... people gone way too soon. Everyone has been devastated by it in some form or fashion. For me personally, I have lost too many people in my life to suicide and I am sick to death of it....sick of the loss and heartbreak, sick of the look in my kids' eyes when their friends become hopeless feeling that's the only way, sick of the fact that my mother will never recover and laugh the way she did before "it" all happened, sick of the fact that my sister carries major guilt and that some of my friends have tremendous heartbreak due to the loss of their son or brother to it.....I'm just fucking sick of it!!!! I guess the biggest question in my head for a long time is what could I possibly do to try to help make a difference and honor my brother's life and so many others. It seems so huge, doesn't it? The hugeness of it all has probably paralyzed me more days than I should of allowed it to and now I have made the decision to not let it anymore.I am going to be proactive. I have my friend Jean to thank for that. She has been nudging me in that direction for a while... just in her brave silent resolve. She told me just last week when I asked her what we could do to make a difference....and her response was simply "I walk". So this year (Sept. 28th) I'm walking too...and hopefully soon in the coming years, it will become a vital part of my life and healing. I want to encourage you to consider walking, too, and in effect raise money for AFPS who are on the front lines of this crisis. ( http://afsp.donordrive.com ) This year I will be walking and collecting donations in my brothers' name, Dennis Clark, and Yusef Neville, a lifelong friend of my boys who recently took his life. Please consider donating. Thanks in advance. ( http://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=589233 )