#afspctx

  • AFSP Austin Walk – 2024

    AFSP Austin Walk – 2024

    On July 9, 2016, we said goodbye to a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend… my best friend, my favorite person, and my husband, Jay . This could have been the final period on a tragic story. However, together our team, The Jay Walkers, successfully raised close to $20,000 for the American Foundation for…

  • The Out of the Darkness Walk Speech

    Today, despite casually researching flights out of Austin the night before to make an escape, I stood in front of the Texas State Capitol and addressed a crowd on behalf of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and delivered the following speech: Good Morning everyone. My name is Beth Doughty, and I am the team…

  • Every Year…

    Every year she comes back and asks us to donate to AFSP. Blahblahblah. Hand outstretched yet again. We get it. Your husband died. But that’s your cause that ain’t mine. “Please donate to our walk.” “Please help end the stigma associated with seeking help for mental health.” “Please help end suicide.” I’ve heard that request…

  • The Jay Walker’s Silent “Let’s Get Loud” Auction

    I NEED YOU! This year the Jay Walker’s are all about trying something new, stretching their wings a bit, going out on a limb, and any other similar idiom you can think of that means all of that. But for new to be successful… I NEED YOUR HELP! This year, we’re trying out a Silent…

  • I Want You!

    As those of you who know me and follow this blog are well aware, Suicide Prevention is an important cause to me. Each year I talk about suicide prevention. I raise funds. I walk. I do it because I believe I can make a difference, and I know with your help, we can make a…

  • Thank You!

    This is a long overdue thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s AFSP Out of the Darkness Walk here in Austin, TX. Thanks to your support we had 29 walkers from around the globe and across the US and we were able to raise $7,362!!! Thus making this our most successful fundraiser to…

  • Call to Action: Burgers & Ice Cream

    You, yeah you – my friends, my family, that person around the corner sitting near the coast, laptop flipped open or sitting in the comfort of your living room, even you, you know who you are – the one dangling precariously off the edge of a mountain – all y’all (real Texas phrase) – know…

  • The Jay Walkers – 2021

    September is Suicide Prevention Month – the month when mental health advocates, prevention organizations, survivors, allies, and community members unite to promote suicide prevention awareness. Each year my team, the Jay Walkers, get together to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and put a spotlight on this cause, and we’re doing it again this…

  • Support

    The death of Jay by suicide is the most devastating event I have yet to experience. To lose someone so suddenly, so definitively, and so needlessly ripped out a big piece of my heart. I spend a lot of time talking about the aftermath of surviving Jay’s death, about my struggles, about the struggles of…

  • You Can Help Stop Suicide

    I belong to a fairly exclusive “invitation-only” group on Facebook – one you must be vetted first in order to join. It’s a group no one seeks membership to, but once accepted everyone is so thankful to be a member. This “elite” group is for those who have lost a spouse or partner to suicide…