Marty was already familiar with Samaritans' when she lost her husband, Philip, to suicide in July of last year. She first learned of the 5K in 2012, when her niece Lindsay participated as a member of Team Cate, in memory of Lindsay's friend. This will be Lindsay's second year as a member of both Team Cate and Philip25, in memory of her uncle. "Philip was a loving father, husband, a great friend to many, and a hard worker. He was just a wonderful person." Marty told Development Manager Eve Rabinowitz, while discussing her experience as a member of Samaritans' community. 

Marty's husband, Philip

"The 5K means everything to me. It means that we're healing, that we are doing something good for other people, showing people that there are other ways to deal with something bad that happens in your life. It makes me feel good to see everyone who has been through the same tragedy come together and support each other. It's a fun day - a healing day, and one more step towards hopefully helping someone else. I love seeing all of my friends and family come and support me and each other, and my kids. It's hard, but everyone is very open in sharing stories about their family members or friends. 

It was hard at first to start talking about suicide, and decide to host public fundraisers, but I am very lucky. My community has been very, very supportive. I spoke at work a few weeks before our fundraiser at Home Plate  [a local restaurant]  and so many of my coworkers came out, donated, and really put a lot into the event. My fundraiser was actually the biggest one Home Plate had ever hosted, they actually didn't have enough staff because they weren't expecting so many people to show up! I also hosted a fundraiser at my boxing gym, Phoenix Fitness, and at both events there were people there who I didn't know who came up and talked with me about their own experiences with suicide and thanked me for not being embarrassed to talk about what happened. I just want to bring more attention to the issue. It's really been overwhelming support." 

Thanks for talking with us Marty, and for all of your hard work to help prevent suicide! To learn more about Philip25 click here, and to register for the 5K Run/Walk for Suicide Prevention taking place on September 26th in Artesani Park, click here.