American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

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Tommy’s First Mates walk for suicide prevention, Sept.17

Last year, following the death of 17-year-old Tommy Reay, his friends at Glen Lake School formed a peer support group called Tommy’s First Mates, which raised $40,000 to train school staff and local teens—with the help of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), a national organization that raises funding for programming, training, research and governmental advocacy. Throughout the United States, the Walk Out of Darkness offers an opportunity for people affected by suicide and mental illness to gather, remember, share and also raise funds. The Traverse City walk features teams from all over Northern Michigan that will meet at the TC Open Space on Saturday, Sept. 17, beginning at 9 a.m.

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A grieving Glen Lake family shines a light on teen depression

It wasn’t until an Aug. 29 memorial service for their son, Tommy, that Holly and Tom Reay learned how much the 17-year-old had helped other northern Michigan teenagers who also suffered from anxiety and depression. The loss of Tommy on July 10 sent shockwaves through the Glen Lake community and pried open the door for some families to talk about mental health issues. “There were children who knew Tommy and immediately went to their parents and asked for help,” said Tom Reay. Out of a desire to educate the community about mental illness and depression, and shine a light on a painful subject too often swept into the shadows, the Reays—who own the Burdickville restaurant Trattoria Funistrada—used social media to destigmatize and foster conversations about suicide soon after Tommy took his own life.

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