MAHANOY CITY — Their bright orange shirts emblazoned with a photo of the late Travis Schuller made Schuller’s family hard to miss.
There were 27 members of his family present at the third annual Together We Can Stomp Out Suicide Walk on Saturday at Mahanoy Area Alumni Field. More than 250 attended the program coordinated through the Suicide Prevention Task Force of Schuylkill County, a strategic partner with Schuylkill VISION.
“I heard about it on Facebook and a friend had sent information about it to me,” Travis’s mother, Pauline Schuller, Saint Clair, said. “It took a while for me to recover, but I see a lot of support here today.”
Orange was Travis’ favorite color, she said.
“He wore his heart on his sleeve, but he wouldn’t tell us what was going on,” Pauline Schuller said of her son, who was distraught over his relationship with his girlfriend and died as a result of suicide at age 24. “One of my son’s friends also took his life. It’s so sad. I don’t understand why they can’t work through it.”
Schuller’s sister, Phelicia, said she saw her brother just two days before he died. She’s also had three friends who committed suicide.
Schuller’s aunt, Shirley Gilgore, Schuylkill Haven, and his cousin, Patty Gilgore, New Philadelphia, remembered Travis’s kind-hearted spirit. Shirley said her nephew was a building contractor.
“He fixed my bathroom,” she said. Patty shared that her cousin also enjoyed working on cars and riding dirt bikes. Patty showed the back of her orange T-shirt, which had “In Our Hearts Forever” written on it, along with a pair of angel wings.
Susan Moyer, a member of the task force, coordinated Saturday’s event.
“We’re seeing more people here, getting more community resources and volunteers. Every year it grows,” she said. This year was the first time a balloon release was held.
“When a family member loses a loved one, they don’t always get closure or time to say goodbye. This is a way for them to send a message up with a balloon,” Moyer said.
In addition to the balloon launch, activities included face painting, record spin art, beaded necklace making and a planting exercise. DJ Chuck Rock provided musical entertainment.
About 40 people volunteered.
“If you can save one person from completing suicide, that’s what it’s all about. That’s why I do this,” volunteer Karen Spencer, Deer Lake, said. Spencer is a Hope After a Loved One’s Suicide, or HALOS, facilitator. She lost her son, Scott Spencer, to suicide at age 36.
Kay Jones, Schuylkill VISION executive director, was manning the Chinese auction booth Saturday. She said all proceeds from the event benefit the Suicide Prevention Task Force of Schuylkill County and are used for suicide prevention activities throughout the county.
Other community resources available were from Schuylkill Women In Crisis, Community Care Behavioral Health, Schuylkill County Drug & Alcohol, Ashland Behavioral Health and the Schuylkill County Speakers Bureau.
The local, toll-free, crisis help line is 877-9WE-HELP (877-993-4357). For more information, visit www.schuylkillvision.com/Partners/suicide-prevention-task-force.html.