LifeAct Celebrates 25 Years of Saving Lives

CLEVELAND, OH – LifeAct (formerly known as Suicide Prevention Education Alliance) will be celebrating 25 years of saving lives at the special evening event, Celebrate, which will be held at LAGO on the East Bank on Friday, October 6. This momentous occasion will honor the legacy of the suicide prevention organization’s founder, Lyman H. “Tim” Treadway. Tim, who lost his beloved son to suicide, developed an adolescent education program on depression and suicide risk so that other families would not have to endure the loss of their child to this epidemic.

Since 2000, LifeAct’s trained instructors have reached more than 250,000 teens with their signature programs “Recognizing Teen Depression and Preventing Suicide” & “UROK” at no cost to the schools. Approximately 25,000 students are educated each school year and just last year alone, 2,130 teens were identified as at-risk and referred for help. Elaine Myers, a retired school teacher who’s been a LifeAct instructor for 12 years, says “Just the fact that we are willing to go in and talk about subjects that most people aren’t comfortable talking about – depression, suicide, stress – is a help to students who might be struggling. It gives kids permission to open up.”

Tim’s tiny nonprofit has grown into something truly remarkable.

John Trautwein, former professional baseball player for the Expos & Red Sox, will be the keynote speaker for the Celebrate program. John and his wife Susie tragically lost their son, Will, to suicide in 2010. As a result, the Trautwein’s created “The Will to Live Foundation” to work closely with kids to help spread the message of teen suicide awareness. John has delivered more than 500 speeches and presentations to parents, coaches, teachers kids, and communities across America.

Approximately 300 guests are expected to attend Celebrate in support of LifeAct’s mission to prevent teen suicide by educating youth to recognize depression and the warning signs of suicide and access help for themselves and/or their peers.