CMHA suicide awareness walk sees Windsor woman share her story [Video]

WARNING: This story makes reference to suicide.

Two and a half years after losing her best friend and first love to suicide, Brooke Ford shared her story of grief and resilience at the CMHA Windsor-Essex Suicide Awareness Walk on Sunday.

The annual event raises awareness, reduces stigma, and supports those impacted by suicide in the community.

“To some people, ‘suicide’ is simply the name of a hot sauce at a local restaurant. It stings physically but the word has no meaning other than that,” said Ford. “But to most of us here today, it is a reminder of the worst day of our lives.”

For Ford, that day was June 3, 2022, when her “best friend and first love” of more than four years, Justin, died by suicide.

He had just turned 24 years old.

“He loved snowmobiling, video games, and eating pizza. He had a huge heart with lots of compassion for others,” she said. “Unfortunately, he struggled with mental health for the …