Help Paul raise money

Dear friends and family,

As most of you know, I am a survivor of suicide, somebody who has experienced the suicide of a family member or close friend. In my case there were two in my immediate family (father and sister) as well as two first cousins.  I also have a cousin whose older son died by suicide.  And I have known at least 3 others personally  who also took their own lives.  So this is a very personal issue for me.

Once again I am participating in our annual fundraising walk for Distress Centres of Greater Toronto to raise awareness around the topic of suicide.  This year we have changed the name from the Walk to End Suicide to Walk for Suicide Awareness (Hope & Healing, One Step at a Time).  I am gratified by this change of name as we all know that while aspirational, given the human condition in our world, ending suicide is not an achievable goal.  But we can certainly seek to reduce the number of suicides by providing support for people who are deeply distressed and contemplating taking their own lives, as well supporting people who have survived the suicide of a loved one.  The vast majority of people associated with DCGT are volunteers, working distress phone lines or text lines, reaching out to different folks in need of support and running events like the Survivor Support Program with which I am involved.  

Please help me to help others affected by suicide by supporting Distress Centres of Greater Toronto who run these wonderful programs.

With gratitude,

Paul