Glow Run 2023
The Glow Run is a 5K event to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).
Join the Wilkes University Office of Residence Life for the annual Glow Run to promote unity and awareness towards suicide prevention. Mental health is important to us. This motivates us to raise awareness and move our passion for suicide prevention out into the community.
Register for the 2023 Glow Run! external website
“October 27, 2018 was the absolute worst day of my life. I lost a wonderful man - my husband, Dino Damian Cussatt. He was...
- ...a son
- ...a brother
- ...an in-law
- ...a husband
- ...a father
- ...an uncle
- ...and friend.
Dino was 58 years young when he decided to end his life.
I believe Dino suffered from depression, but was never medically diagnosed. Like most men of his generation, he was probably too embarrassed to discuss having mental health issues. Unfortunately, there is still a stigma surrounding someone admitting or being diagnosed with depression. I often wonder what I could have done differently. The guilt that survivors feel is horrible; Dino had a village of people to help him but chose to suffer in silence.
The loss of a loved one is difficult, but when someone commits suicide, the grief, at times, is unbearable.
If you suspect someone you know is suffering in silence and might be capable of taking their own life, please encourage them to talk to you or a professional who can help.
Dino was a great human who was very much loved, but that love couldn’t save him. If in sharing my story these words can touch and save just one person, then I am happy to do it because that’s what’s most important.
Remember, you matter.”
Learn how to contact your local representatives about getting a national hotline number for mental health issues and changing laws to better suit those suffering from these concerns.
About the AFSP
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) has a mission to save as many lives as they can and bring hope to the lives affected by suicide. By 2025, the foundation aspires to drop the annual suicide rate by 20%. AFSP raises awareness, funds scientific research, and provides aid and resources to those affected by suicide. The organization started in 1987 due to the alarming rise of youth suicides over the decades. Being the first national, non-profit organization dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide, the group has now connected and reached out to tens of thousands of suicide survivors, those at risk for suicide, and those who have lost loved ones to suicide.