Henley letter: Peter Wolheim

I applaud the hard work and effort that have gone into making the suicide prevention hotline of today a reality and all the good work they are accomplishing with each successful intervention. All the decision makers and all the people manning the phones deserve all the accolades they receive. Good on all of you.

Please, please don’t forget the people who came before and laid the groundwork for today’s impetus. One name comes to mind and I hope we never forget ... Peter Wolhiem. For some many years Peter gave selflessly to keep the prior hotline going. Linda and I learned so many things from him. Without Peter’s energy and constant efforts, we would have never come to be involved in the prevention of suicide after losing our own son to suicide in June 1997.

So as the month of September has drawn to a close and some of the focus on Suicide Prevention is aimed on other worthy causes, remember Peter Wolheim, who gave so much early on and up to the end of his own life to get and keep the wheels of suicide prevention rolling.

This story was originally published October 12, 2017 at 11:19 PM with the headline "Henley letter: Peter Wolheim."