Golf tournament to raise suicide awareness after death of Agawam teen

AGAWAM, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – The western Massachusetts community is coming together to raise awareness about mental health after a 19-year-old in Agawam took his own life earlier this year.

The family and friends of Lucas Rosati are still reeling from his death by suicide back in March, but they are now coming together to honor the teen while spreading awareness about mental health. A special golf tournament is planned for Monday in Agawam, organized by a friend of Lucas and his family, Chris Roeder.

“First and foremost, Lucas’ legacy is going to continue on through this tournament and the other things we are doing is raising money for scholarship we have created in his name…We are also trying to draw awareness on mental health and suicide awareness, so we wanted to make sure we encompass all of those themes,” Roeder said.

Roeder told Western Mass News he is concerned about the mental state of young people right now.

“There seems to be a crisis of young adults kids and even older with mental health. We’ve seen a lot of stories on the news in the past few months where kids who seem to have everything going for them are taking drastic measures and making terrible decisions…They need to realize each one of them is important each one of them is special and each one of them has an impact on people and that needs to be addressed,” Roeder added.

Rosati was a freshman at Western New England University at the time of his death. Kristine Goodwin, the university’s vice president of student affairs, told us she is now working to start a mental health organization on-campus.

“This organization, Mental Health First Aid, will teach people how to recognize and respond to and not be afraid of talking about anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts because when we can communicate around these topics, we can get rid of the stigma,” Goodwin explained.

Goodwin has been asked to speak at the tournament. She told us what her focus will be.

“Provide people with information on how to deal with grief, how to recognize the grief cycle in ourselves and the lives of others,” Goodwin added.

The golf tournament will take place at Crestview Country Club in Agawam on Monday, September 19.

Resources on teen suicide and mental health:

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