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September: A Month to Remember, Speak Their Names, and Choose Hope
By Sue with a little help from AI
September is Suicide Prevention Month.
For some people, those words may feel like a public health message. For others, they are deeply personal.
For me, they are personal.
I have experienced suicide in my own family. I know the kind of grief that doesn’t simply disappear because the calendar moves forward. I know that there can be questions without answers, memories that arrive unexpectedly, and moments when you would give anything just to hear that person’s voice again.
And I know something else:
We should never be afraid to say their names.
There is a tendency to become quiet when suicide is involved. Sometimes families don’t know what to say. Sometimes friends worry about bringing back painful memories. Sometimes people simply don’t know how to approach someone who has lost a loved one.
But grief needs somewhere to go.
Sometimes hearing your child’s name can bring comfort.
Sometimes seeing their picture can make you smile through the tears.
Sometimes telling a funny story, remembering their personality, talking about their favorite things, or simply saying, “I remember them,” means more than we will ever know.
So this September, I want to open a space for remembrance.
Tell us about your child.
If you have lost a child, son, daughter, brother, sister, parent, friend, or someone you love to suicide, you are welcome to share their picture and their story.
Tell us their name.
Tell us what made them laugh.
Tell us what they loved.
Tell us what made them uniquely them.
Tell us a memory you never want the world to forget.
There doesn’t have to be a perfect story. There doesn’t have to be a certain number of words. And you don’t have to share anything you’re not ready to share.
Their life was more than the way it ended.
That matters.
Suicide is a serious public health issue, and the CDC emphasizes that suicide is preventable. There is no single cause of suicide; risk can involve a combination of individual, relationship, community, and societal factors. Connection to family, friends, community, and health care can also be protective.
That means awareness isn’t simply about statistics.
It’s about people.
It’s about checking on the person who has become unusually quiet.
It’s about asking, “Are you okay?” and being willing to listen to the answer.
It’s about taking someone’s pain seriously without judgment.
It’s about reminding people that asking for help is not weakness.
And it’s about understanding that one conversation can matter.
If you or someone you love is struggling, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can call or text 988 for free, confidential support. You do not have to wait until you are at the point of suicide to reach out.
And for those of us who have lost someone, please remember this:
You are allowed to grieve.
You are allowed to laugh again.
You are allowed to say their name.
You are allowed to tell their story.
You are allowed to remember them with love.
This September, let’s not just talk about suicide.
Let’s talk about the lives behind the loss.
Let’s remember the children whose parents still miss them every single day.
Let’s remember the smiles, the personalities, the accomplishments, the stubbornness, the hugs, the inside jokes and all those little things that made them ours.
Because sometimes healing begins with something very simple:
“Tell me about your child.”
And sometimes the greatest gift we can give a grieving parent is to listen.
So, if you would like to share your child’s picture or story, please do.
Let us say their names.
Let us remember their lives.
Let us hold space for the families still carrying the loss.
And let us keep choosing compassion, connection, and hope.
Because they mattered.
They still matter.
And they will always be remembered. ❤️
If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
For emotional distress or a suicide-related concern, call or text 988.
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