The Triangle Survivors of Suicide presented NC State’s Rho chapter of the Sigma Pi fraternity $2,000 Friday for its suicide prevention efforts through its volunteer work in Triangle Survivors of Suicide’s annual “I Will Survive” walk.
The Triangle SOS is a Raleigh-based organization dedicated to raising awareness, preventing suicide and providing a support group for people who have lost loved ones to suicide.
Sigma Pi will be donating the funds to the NC State Counseling Center, according to Dylan Ebert, the Sigma Pi brother in charge of organizing the event and a sophomore studying psychology.
Sigma Pi works with Triangle SOS because it shares a deep personal connection with the organization’s mission, according to Ebert.
In December of 2010, a suicide within the fraternity “shook the brotherhood to its core,” spurring the fraternity’s long-term suicide prevention and awareness advocacy efforts within the Triangle community, Ebert said.
“A death like that in a brotherhood of 80 men has a powerful effect,” Ebert said.
The board of the Triangle SOS is composed of people from throughout the community, including Caleb Risher, a freshman studying civil engineering, and Frank Brinkley, a university police officer.
The board extended an Ebert a member invitation in hopes to access more students, particularly those involved in Greek life.
“If we have students talking to other students about the issue and getting them behind it, we will see better results,” Ebert said. “Just the word ‘suicide’ makes the room uncomfortable with most students, and we need to stop that. We need to erase the stigma around it.”
Brinkley is the Crisis Intervention Team Coordinator for NC State. The Crisis Intervention Team helps to train officers to assist persons who are in crisis or are mentally ill and connects people with long-term help.
The Raleigh LGBT Center and HopeLine, Inc. are also included in the board’s representatives. HopeLine, Inc. is a hot line for people in distress to call to speak with trained professionals equipped to help them through the crisis.
Somebody attempts suicide every 32 seconds, and every hour someone’s attempt is successful, according to Larry Bernstein, executive director of Triangle SOS.
Bernstein praised Sigma Pi for its work to make the “I Will Survive” run a successful effort in spreading awareness.
“They helped to make our run a community event and not just a campus event,” Bernstein said.
Due to Sigma Pi’s help, this year SOS was able to double the money they were able to donate back to Sigma Pi to give to the Counseling Center.
SOS also hopes to send brochures out to classes to raise awareness about mental illness and how to spot a person or peer in distress, what to do and where to get help.
Sigma Pi is hosting a 5K called “Break the Silence” on March 21. Last year the fraternity raised more than $7,000 and had an attendance of roughly 400. This year, Sigma Pi hopes to raise even more and expects about 500 participants this year. The run will be hosted on Centennial Campus.
The brothers who were present to receive the award were Ebert, David Lettnney, the fraternity’s president and a senior studying chemical engineering and Alex Lasek, a senior studying civil engineering.
