Walk Raises Suicide Prevention Awareness

On April 10, 1996, Adam Mock called a friend to tell her he was at peace with his plan to commit suicide within minutes.

His life had deteriorated through a series of bad decisions until he was fed up with it all. He wanted something so far from what he had and just couldn't seem to navigate through adulthood.

"She said, 'Will you please give me one more day, one more day to talk to you?'" Mock remembered.

Mock, now president of Medallion Media Group in Aurora, sitting in the bleechers next to the track Friday afternoon. The group gathered to remember , a high school student who killed himself last year, and other suicide victims, as well as to raise money for Suicide Prevention Services.

Organized by student groups TRY Club and Student Council, the event also featured a walk, a balloon launch, and a poetry reading by Larson's sister. Mock joined participants for a few laps around the track after sharing his story.

He ended up promising his friend he wouldn't kill himself on that particular day and woke up early the next morning.

"I woke up and found everything was different," Mock said. "I found God."

He began to turn his life around. He had been working as a waiter but got promoted. His art career took off, leading to a job as art director at what was then known as Medallion Press. He met his wife and started a family.

"I thought today was forever and things would never get better," Mock said. "I was so wrong."

He encouraged audience members who were contemplating suicide to remember that life has value, that no one knows what plans have been made for them.

"And to you, I would say: Don't," Mock said. "Reach out. Get help. Say what's on your mind."