Sydney is 19. Jake is 17. Hunter is 12.
They were among the children across our country who lost a parent yesterday.
Most of these children are nameless and faceless to the public at large.
Sydney, Jake, and Hunter are different.
Their dad’s death was breaking national news.
Future Hall of Famer Junior Seau, NFL linebacker from 1990 to 2010, chose to end his life, proving once again that suicide is not an epidemic contained to average Americans.
Suicide can take down people in every community. And it does annually, most recently slotting in as the 6th leading cause of death in the United States and the 13th leading cause worldwide.
When it strikes, it’s always shocking and always heartbreaking.
The Seau children are numb today and they have a long road ahead as they discover their own, individual walk with grief after the loss of their dad.
But, if you can spare children you know from a similar road, don’t hesitate.
National and local resources are available if you have a loved one you believe is at risk for suicide.
Visit the Georgia chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s great resource page by clicking this link.
Would you like to share your story? Please get in touch with Kate's Club! KC has free grief support with grief resources, grief counseling resources, grief training, and volunteer work in Atlanta and surrounding places in Georgia. Kate's Club is a growing nonprofit in Atlanta with grief specialists for kids and young adults going through bereavement. Our goal is to make a world where it is okay to grieve.