The parents of a Mercer County teen who took his life have started a nonprofit organization in his memory that will serve as a legacy to the son they so tragically lost.
They called him Coby. By all accounts, he was a sensitive and caring young man, the type who would spend his free time helping out at Christmas parties to benefit his grandfather's ministry, or head to a poor area of the Bahamas for a humanitarian aid mission.
Nobody knows why Jacob St. Phard ended his life that Sunday night in March. But Vladimir and Rachelle St Phard do know this: The nonprofit organization they are creating in his memory will serve as a legacy to the son they so tragically lost.
The East Windsor family started a GoFundMe page the day before Coby's funeral drew 2,000 relatives, friends, coaches and fellow students. By the following afternoon, the effort had yielded $18,000.
Earlier this week, the sum had swelled to $50,000, and the momentum showed no signs of slowing.
The money will go to charities Coby would have wanted to help, the St. Phards say, and possibly to provide academic scholarships for deserving students.
Teen suicide victim's parents start nonprofit
What a remarkable act of courage and grace on the part of these grieving parents. To face the unspeakable horror of their child's death at the age of 18 and still be able to look outward and consider the needs of others - that takes an act of will few of us can imagine.
Tragically, suicide remains a taboo topic of conversation in our society. But the truth is, it also remains the third leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year-olds, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
In 2005, two fathers who had both lost teenage children founded the Society for the Prevention of Teenage Suicide, which was instrumental in promoting legislation in New Jersey requiring all educators to complete at least two hours of instruction in suicide prevention to fulfill their professional development requirements.
According to the Freehold-based nonprofit society, New Jersey became the first state in the nation to require training of this nature when the bill passed.
Parents and other family members also should know about a teen crisis hotline - 609-896-4434 - staffed by CONTACT of Mercer County. The 200-plus members of the organization's team are supervised and undergo intensive training to help them counsel the young callers who turn to them in despair.
Teens who are more comfortable sharing their thoughts online can find support thanks to a resource offered by Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care and the N.J. Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
No one should have to live in the private hell the St. Phards have been thrust into. We hope the family finds solace in the seeds of kindness and compassion their son sowed during his brief time on earth.