Dad touts 5K run for suicide prevention
Drawing on his late son’s passion, he’s also donated 150 guitars to young people.
Since losing his teenage son to suicide seven years ago, Jeff Curley has been trying to help others who battle depression, one kid at a time.
Shakespeare called music “the food of love,” and that is what Curley uses, donating guitars through Pick with Austin and staying active with Alan’s Hope, a local nonprofit.
Curley attended Tuesday’s Williamson County Commissioners Court meeting, handing out electric guitars and helping promote the Alan’s Hope 5K Run and Walk set for Saturday in Cedar Park.
Curley said the event will include giving away 15 guitars, with six going to Williamson County Juvenile Services and another six to Bluebonnet Trails Community Services, a Round Rockbased mental health service provider.
According to the website WebMD, suicide overtook car crashes at the leading cause of injury-related death in the United States in 2012.
Commissioners declared Sept. 10-16 to be Suicide Prevention and Awareness Week. Precinct 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long read the proclamation, saying suicide is the second-leading cause of death of Texans ages 15 to 34.
That fact hit home for Curley in 2010 when his son, Alan, took his own life just months after graduating from Round Rock High School.
Alan Carter Villauz-Curley enjoyed playing guitar, so now his father raises money to buy guitars, donating them to young people who have been identified as at-risk for depression and suicide.
“It is transformative in people’s lives, when they can focus on something,” Long said.
Matt Smith, who serves as director for mental health at Williamson County Juvenile Services, agreed.
Juvenile services operates a 30-bed detention center off the Inner Loop in Georgetown and two other residential facilities.
“Our kids come from bad places,” Smith said. “They’ve had tough lives. Music is one way they can get out of that.”
Curley said Alan’s Hope has given away about 150 guitars to young people.
“I have met a lot of kids that I believe we have saved through what we have done,” he said. “I can’t prove it, but I believe it.”
Saturday’s Alan’s Hope 5K Walk and Run begins 8 a.m. at Brushy Creek Lake Park, 3300 Brushy Creek Road in Cedar Park. Money raised will benefit Pick with Austin.
The registration cost is $15, which includes a T-shirt. Walkers and runners can register at Brushy Creek Lake Park on Saturday starting at 7:15 a.m. For advance registration, visit AlansHope.eventbrite.com.
Those who know of someone experiencing a mental health crisis — or who might be experiencing a mental health crisis themselves — are urged to call the Bluebonnet Trails hotline at 1-800-841-1255.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline may be reached at 1-800-TALK (1-800-273-8255).