Woburn Native Walks For Son Lost To Suicide

WOBURN, MA — When Woburn native Maria Sallese first heard about the Samaritans Run/Walk for Suicide Prevention, last year, her loss was still fresh: her son had died by suicide in Feb. 2019, just months earlier.

She shied away at first, but she was convinced, and ended up bringing together a group of over 40 friends and family of her son Mario as the Team 4 Mario. It was uplifting, she said.

"It enables me to feel like I'm still doing something for him now, while lending a voice for awareness," Sallese said. "I believe my son would want to help other people who are struggling.I think it lends his voice to this as well."

Samaritans, which has a 24/7 call/text hotline at (877) 870-HOPE (4673) as well as the grief support group SafePlace and other services, raises money with the annual walk/run, which will begin Saturday at 10 a.m.

"Samaritans do so much for me people like myself who are just seeking support," Sallese said.

Sallese said it was nice to gather for the event with other people who have lost a loved one, where everyone knows why they are there and are comfortable talking about it.

"Sometimes people shy away, because they think they're going to bring up something you don't want to think about," she explained.

SafePlace, the support group, has helped for the same reason, Sallese said.

This year the walk/run will virtual, and instead of walking in Boston, Team 4 Mario will walk the Breakheart Reservation trails in Wakefield, where Mario, who was 26 when he died, used to run.

"He loved the quiet of the woods," Sallese said. "He would go out there running, that's why I thought it would be a good place for us to do our walk... It's very comforting, to know that's a place where he found a lot of comfort"

Mario was "incredibly loving and kind," Sallese said, and struggled with anxiety and depression from a young age.

"We need to take away the stigma of suicide," Sallese said. "And only by doing that are we going to be able to encourage people who are in need of help to feel that they can speak out and ask for it. Part of the problem is people are afraid to ask, just because of the stigma. They're afraid they're going to take their life and afraid to speak out and say that."

Sallese encouraged people to speak openly with people in their life who might be at risk.

Team 4 Mario has 47 members registered for this year's event and has raised nearly $20,000 for Samaritans.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.