On Wednesday night, the National Alliance on Mental Illness at N.C. State held a candlelight service to honor those who have been lost to suicide in the United States.

The service began with a speech given by Deidre Hughey, a volunteer at HopeLine Inc, a 24/7 crisis hotline in the Triangle. Hughey spoke about her personal experience with suicide and how the help of others helped her decide not to end her life.

“I didn’t feel like there would ever be any hope for me,” Hughey said.

Hughey spoke about the signs she exhibited  while she was slipping into a deep depression. Neither her friends or family noticed them.

“When I came up with the perfect solution [to end my life], I started writing poems. I was entering them in contests, these very dark poems, and nobody said anything,” Hughey said.

Looking for signs in friends and family was extensively discussed at the event. Some of the warning signs to look for, according to Angel Johnson, a counselor at the University counseling center, are mood, behavior, interpersonal and physical changes.

“A lot of students come to us and say ‘if someone had asked me if I was doing okay, I would have told them the answer’,” Johnson said.

Hughey said that it is important to look for signs, because even the smallest signs can be an indication of serious emotional trouble.

“If someone’s giving you a sign… there’s a reason,” Hughey said.

There were tables set up at the event with information about the Counselling Center, things to look for in people who are exhibiting signs of depression and general information about the National Alliance on Mental Illness at N.C. State.

About 30 students attended the event with people coming and going throughout. After Hughey and Johnson spoke to the crowd, Tim Riggins, a suicide prevention program coordinator, spoke about why being aware of suicide is so important to college students.

“35,000 people in the United States die by suicide every year. On average, a person commits suicide every 15 minutes. Those are huge numbers and a lot of lives have been lost,” Riggins said.

Officer Timothy Hammonds of Campus Police also spoke at the event. According to Hammonds, at least one member of every Campus Police team has been trained in crisis intervention and are able to help students with issues like suicide.

After all the speakers had finished addressing the crowd, candles were passed around to everyone who was in attendance. Once they were lit, a moment of silence was observed in honor of all the lives lost to suicide.

“We’re remembering the lives we lost to suicide tonight,” Riggins said.

Riggins said that one of the main reasons for hosting the event and providing the information was so that students could act as protectors for people who might be considering suicide or harming themselves in another way

“We are training people to act as gatekeepers for these types of situations,” Riggins said.

Johnson said that paying close attention to little signs is a good way to ensure that your friends and family stay safe.

“90 percent of people who are thinking about suicide will tell someone about it,” Johnson said.

Tierra Pressley, a senior in biology who attended the event, said it is important to raise awareness about suicide and suicide prevention, because many students do not consider it a major issue.

“A lot of students take things for granted, and think if they’re doing great that everyone else is doing great too, but that’s not the reality,” Pressley said.