Josh Velasquez
Josh Velasquez has seen up close the pain suicide can cause.
The high school swimming champion, who is now pursuing a neuroscience degree at the University of Arizona, battled depression and suicidal thoughts only a year ago. And six years ago, he lost his best friend to suicide.
“In 2011, my best friend, Aaron, became another suicide statistic. Like others, Aaron felt that no one understood him or his place in the world,” Velasquez says. “He thought it would be best if he was no longer around. It destroyed everyone that knew him.”
To honor Aaron and to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Velasquez is running in a half-marathon in Long Beach, Calif., on Oct. 8. He has set up a fundraising page for AFSP, with the goal of raising $10,000.
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Velasquez is now very proudly out and gay and his Instagram page is filled with photos of him and his boyfriend, so life is good. But he knows well the struggles of dealing with depression and thoughts of suicide.
In a joint coming out story this year — written along with fellow swimmer Axel Reed — he discussed the trauma of being sexually abused as a child. “Last year I was really struggling with what happened to me as a kid,” Velasquez told me. “Last November, something happened on campus that triggered a memory, and with school being hard I fell into deep depression.”
In his fundraising letter for AFSP, he credits the organization with helping him deal with his own suicidal thoughts.