The Richardsons do it for Daron

They say time heals all wounds. But a year later, the pain of losing their 14-year-old daughter Daron to suicide is still sharp for Luke and Stephanie Richardson.

The loss of a child is every parent's nightmare. And when that nightmare became a reality for the Richardsons on Nov.13, 2010, they had no choice but to grieve their loss. And yet at their most vulnerable moment, they made a decision. The decision to take their very private grief public in the hopes of removing the stigma connected with suicide. Their goal was to start a conversation -- one that, in hindsight, they wished they’d had with Daron.

Daron Richardson was a typical 14-year-old girl. In her mother's words, Daron was the funniest and happiest person in the Richardson home. She loved her older sister Morgan. She loved playing hockey. And she loved the colour purple, the same colour that would become a symbol of the Do It For Daron movement.

"A group of the kids came up with it right at the beginning. It was their way of coping," Stephanie explains. "They were very worried about upsetting us. Life has upset us; the kids have not." The DIFD movement began with stickers on hockey helmets and has grown from there. More than $1 million has been raised. Perhaps more important than that, conversations have been started. "With us being public and her friends being so public, it let everybody know, we all need to have these conversations."

For those families who have dealt with suicide, as mine has, there is a kind of understanding. No matter the circumstance, you feel you have at least an idea of the pain they are feeling. And you share the guilt in wondering what you could have done to prevent it. While that pain never completely vanishes, the hope that others can learn from your experience and save another family from going through that same pain is what keeps you going.

"That's what DIFD does. It has really brought (teen suicide) mainstream. It has made it OK to talk about it," Stephanie says. "We have seen such a change in a year in our community."

And if that can be the legacy of Daron, I only hope that can bring some comfort to the Richardson family.