Parents of Rockwall teen who committed suicide launch nonprofit, host 5k Saturday By Tasha Tsiaperas ttsiaperas@dallasnews 1:23 pm on September 9, 2013 Hanna Clark would be turning 16 next week. But instead of a sweet sixteen birthday bash, Tim and Raina Clark are hosting a 5k to raise suicide awareness in their daughter’s memory. Hanna fatally shot herself April 25. Another teenager committed suicide a month later, prompting school officials in Rockwall ISD to host a forum on teenage suicide. Since Hanna’s death, her parents have been working to launch Hanna 4 Hope, a nonprofit aimed at encouraging communities to talk about teenage suicide and prevention. The foundation kicks off its first event, a 5k color run Saturday morning in Rockwall just two days before Hanna’s birthday. The event also coincides with the end of National Suicide Prevention Week. The event starts at 7:45 a.m. with a show performed by Rockwall musician Jason Castro, of American Idol fame. The run begins at 9 a.m. at Squabble Creek Trail, 2201 North Lakeshore Blvd. After the run, participants will be covered in color dye. Tim and Raina Clark and Missy Wall, a certified social worker and director of Teen CONTACT, will speak before a balloon release. Tim and Raina admit they’ve thrown themselves into building the foundation so quickly to help them cope with their loss. “When it comes down to it, we feel like … Hanna was taken from us, maybe for this reason, for what we’re doing,” Tim said. “We use that grief to fuel this. Everybody grieves in different ways and different forms.” Raina added: “She had a bad day so we want to be there for that child that has a bad day.” Rockwall ISD students have already joined a Hanna 4 Hope teen committee. The has already met with a social worker to learn how to recognize warning signs of suicide among their peers. “They’re the ears, the eyes and the voice inside that school,” Raina Clark said. For the 12 teenagers on the committee, joining the group has helped them heal. “There’s so many people who were also pretty close to her,” said Shelby Songer, a sophomore at Rockwall High School who serves on the Hanna 4 Hope committee. “We’ve helped each other out.” She and Hanna were friends throughout elementary school. Though they attended different middle schools, they remained close. “I wanted to honor Hanna and who she was,” Songer said. “I was her best friend. I felt like I needed to be a part of spreading awareness [about] teenage suicide.” For more information on the run, go to hanna4hope.
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 12:35:13 +0000
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