The purpose of the Resilience Run is to raise funds and awareness for suicide prevention. The Resilience Run was started in honour of Natalie Puente, a UCLA rower who lost her life to suicide. Our goal is to shift the narrative surrounding suicide and mental illness. We want to end the stigma that having a mental illness makes you weak and show that instead, it takes immense resilience to live with a mental illness. Despite the daily resilience it takes to battle a mental illness, suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-34. 

Our goal at Resilience Rally is to end the stigma surrounding mental illness and suicide and give those suffering the professional support they need. Proceeds from T-shirt sales and donations will go directly to The Resilience Rally Foundation. With your help, our non-profit will offer professional individual and group counselling for each illness and disorder for any demographic. We will also offer mental health workshops and compensated subscriptions to mental health resources. 

A portion of proceeds will go to Natalie Puente's memorial page for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. 

What does it mean to end the stigma?

There is a harsh stigma that exists surrounding suicide. Suicide has a long tradition of being thought of as a criminal act. People who attempt suicide or die by suicide might be wrongly labelled as "attention seeking", "cowards", or "selfish". Those who perpetrate these stigmas avoid, shun, distrust, and stereotype those affected by suicide. 

We want to end this hurtful stigma and educate people about suicide. Someone might want to end their life to escape what they feel is an impossible situation, to relieve unbearable thoughts or feelings from mental illness, or to relieve physical pain or incapacity. These individuals are often the most magnetic, bright, selfless, compassionate people you know. It is the pain you do not see that takes their life. Suicide is not selfish, it is devastating. 

Together, we can help those who are struggling by creating a world that is more accepting. Allowing people to be vulnerable with their thoughts and emotions will lead to more conversations about mental health, more mental health care professionals and programs, and a society that is compassionate to pain that they cannot see on the outside.

We invite you to run or walk 5k with us in-person or virtually on May 7th to end the stigma. Show your community that no one is alone and we will face mental illness and suicide together, head on.

You are not alone. You are resilient. Let's end the stigma.