D.A.Y.S. Depression Awareness & Youth Suicide

Hello! My name is Brie Burke and I am the CEO and founder of D.A.Y.S. (Depression Awareness and Youth & Young Adult Suicide).

High schools and colleges have seen a spike in suicide numbers over the past 3 years but don’t have the proper training to deal with or notice these youths. Due to this lack of training more and more kids are being singled out and left feeling like they are alone. It is my mission to show them not only are they not alone in what they are feeling, but they are also loved and heard and there is a program just for them.

D.A.Y.S. has been a dream of mine since I was 10 years old after my cousin David committed suicide at the age of 22 years old. I not only felt the heartbreak that came with losing my favorite cousin but I also witnessed the gut-wrenching pain that my family went through & I realized at that young age that I would stop at nothing to help those suffering from depression, those being bullied, or those who thought that they were better off not existing in this world. No family should know the pain of losing a loved one through suicide, to forever wonder if you could have stopped that person by simply being there and listening, wondering if you missed some sort of sign that could have told you what that person was thinking & feeling. Suicide is never the answer nor the solution to your problems; problems can be solved & situations always can & will change, you can’t solve or change death.

D.A.Y.S.’s mission is to prevent youth & young adult suicide, be a friend to those who are bullied, help those dealing with depression, assist those dealing with self-esteem issues as well as provide support to those grieving with the loss of a friend or loved one due to suicide. D.A.Y.S is meant to be a shoulder to cry on, a program to lean on in times of want or need. Working together with the community, we at D.A.Y.S. strive to lower the number of youth & young adult suicides by providing peer groups, buddy systems, talk workshops, and a source of information as well as education to High Schools and Colleges. We are here to listen and help so that those with depression, those suffering due to bullying, those dealing with the loss of a loved one due to suicide, will once again see the light of the future instead of the darkness of the past.

Will you help us “Strive for Better Days”?