Shirin Salari For Pete's Sake

I truly didn’t understand what was wrong with me. I had a supportive family, was doing well academically, had lots of friends, totally surrounded by love, but didn’t want to be here. This is a thought loop I’d get stuck in all the time. My life didn’t matter, I don’t make a difference, I just feel so sad even when I have everything I need and more, what’s the point? Why should I continue to exist and suffer with all of these negative thoughts and pain I have to hide behind a smile every day. It was so exhausting. I felt in that moment that removing myself from this life was the only way I could feel peace and for the pain and sadness to stop, which is when I made my first attempt. 

After that night, I had to stay in the hospital and got evaluated and finally given an answer, I have clinical depression. There’s nothing wrong with me, nothing I was doing to make me feel this way, it’s just a chemical imbalance and other people have these thoughts too. 

I’ve made other attempts when my depression has gotten really bad and I couldn’t figure out what to do later in life, but I keep going back to the first time at thirteen in my head. If I had found an organization like The Pete Foundation at that time and the conversations about mental health, depression and suicide were more common, I don’t think the other attempts would have happened. 

The Pete Foundation works to stomp the stigma around mental health. To show people that it’s okay to not be okay and to give people the resources they need to get help.

I am so grateful to have met Pete and The entire Jones family and to be able to keep his legacy alive through this work. 

When someone collapses from a heart attack, we all know what to do: call 911 and hope someone nearby is trained in CPR. That training saves lives. But what about when the crisis is invisible — when someone is battling thoughts of suicide or deep despair? The truth is, one in every family needs QPR training (Question, Persuade, Refer), the mental health equivalent of CPR. Your support today helps The Pete Foundation train more people in our community with these life-saving skills. Together, we can be the difference between silence and hope, between despair and another tomorrow. 💚

This is why our Give for Good matters.