A Masquerade Gala to Support Suicide Prevention

Suicide is the second cause of death among teenagers today. One of these teens was Angel Kline who took her own life in 2017 a few weeks short of her 14th birthday. On Saturday, February 15, the Angel Forever Foundation (AFF), an organization founded to support suicide prevention, is holding a masquerade gala entitled, “A Night of Mystique and Awareness” at 333 Harrison Street, Oak Park.

Angel was beautiful, smart and talented. She had a loving family, caring friends and was admired by many. But she was also depressed and bullied on social media by her peers. Somehow, those who loved her didn’t see just how much she was suffering. One afternoon the pain apparently became more than she could bear. The masquerade theme of the AFF gala is a recognition that all too many suicides, unable to communicate their pain to others, hide their intentions behind a mask of normalcy.

Shortly after Angel’s passing, her father Sebastian Kline established the Angel Forever Foundation to help enhance the attention paid to mental health and suicide through experience, knowledge and support. Part of the organization’s plans to support this mission is the establishment of a coffeeshop where teens can go for non-judgmental support and comfort.

Almost everyone in our society, whatever demographic group they belong to, has been touched by the specter of suicide. Perhaps a family member killed themselves. Or a friend, acquaintance or the relative of one. Statistically, for every person who is able to complete suicide, there are 25 others who tried and survive. The goal of the AFF is increase this number as soon as possible. Since 9 out of 10 suicides suffer from depression, encouraging increased treatment of mental illness is key to this endeavor. All of the money – 100% - raised by the gala will be put toward this cause.

Gala attendees will enjoy an extraordinary buffet provided by several well-known restaurants, an open bar, the music of several local bands, various other entertainments, a silent auction and another conducted by a professional auctioneer. Auction items will include vacation packages among other luxurious and exciting items.

But most of all, this event will raise funds to help the most vulnerable among us – young people suffering from depression and thoughts of self-destruction. For more information about the AFF please visit https://angelforever.org/. To purchase tickets for this exciting event please text Angel at 78000. Tickets are $200 each. However, there are still a few tickets available for an Early Bird price of $175.