Chrissy Tomasco and the 2014 Overnight Walk

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Chrissy Tomasco and the 2014 Overnight Walk


My cousin Chrissy Tomasco is participating the 2014 Overnight Walk in 
Philadelphia to raising 
awareness about suicide and raise funds for the American Foundation for 
Suicide Prevention. 
Take moment to support her efforts by making a small 
donation here.

She says: 


Please support me as I take an amazing journey. The Out of the Darkness 
Overnight Experience is an 16-18 mile walk over the course of one night. Net 
proceeds benefit the 
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, funding research, advocacy, 
survivor support, education, and awareness programs both to prevent suicide 
and to assist those 
affected by suicide.

In 2001 I lost my mother to suicide. Being a 13 year old at the time, I had a 
very hard time moving on from that day. One of the biggest struggles I faced 
and still face, is feeling 
comfortable enough to tell people how I lost my mother. I have been carrying 
this weight around with me and I very rarely tell people how my mother passed 
away. There has 
always been a serious taboo associated with suicide. It makes people 
uncomfortable. To avoid the conversation that always follows upon someone 
finding out I do not have a 
mother, I have often made up other reasons for her death. I catch myself 
telling people "she was sick" to halt any further questions. In retrospect, 
she was sick. She was sick for a 
very long time. She spent her whole adult life battling mental illness and 
addiction.

My mother was embarrassed by her illnesses and felt alienated by those around 
her. She made a choice that day because she felt hopeless and abandoned. She 
was wrong. She 
had more love and support than most. She was unable to think rationally and 
she made an irrational, life-altering decision that rocked the lives of many 
people.

July 17th 2001 was the day that Barbara died. I carry that moment with me 
everyday and everywhere. I still break down. If anything, it only gets 
harder. I would like to gain my 
voice back. I want to feel comfortable to say I am a victim of suicide, and I 
am surviving. For every person I feel comfortable to expose my true 
experiences with, the taboo 
surrounding suicide is chiseled away little by little. It is time to talk 
about mental illness and suicide. We all know someone who has been affected 
by this. Lets talk about things 
that make us uncomfortable, it is time to get it out there and to spread the 
word that hope and support are always around us. We are never alone, even in 
the darkest of times. 


Donate Here.


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