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It has been six years since Sarah Benedict's brother Brad took his life at 28 years old.
Losing him by suicide is the reason she got involved with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. This year, Benedict became the Board Chair of the Sacramento area chapter.
"It's a community of people who have been there and can just be supportive and share their experiences," Benedict said.
Volunteers like Benedict hope sharing their experiences will encourage other people to speak about suicide and mental health more openly.
"After I lost my brother, people told me things they hadn't told me prior," Benedict said. "And just in the last two to three years, I've seen an increase in people being more open about mental health struggles.
"Don't assume you know what somebody else is going through. You could be the most perceivably happy, people like Kate Spade [and] Anthony Bourdain."
After the deaths of Spade and Bourdain, calls the to National Suicide Prevention Lifeline jumped 25 percent. Just last month, President Donald Trump signed the National Suicide Hotline Improvement Ace of 2018, a bill that would research the lifeline and find ways to improve it.
Benedict is optimistic about the direction the country is headed when it comes to mental health awareness. Looking locally, for example, Sacramento County opened its first mental health urgent care clinic last November.
"Suicide doesn't discriminate...anyone can suffer from mental illness," Benedict said. "In a dream world, I would like it to be talked about just like every other illness...and for people not to feel judged."
For suicide prevention resources, click here.
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