Friends honor Seibert, raise awareness about teen suicide

Debbie Seibert was sure people would forget her son Ben.

After funerals, even those closest to you typically get on with their lives, often leaving the bereaved to grieve alone. But not Ben Seibert's friends.

Last August, they launched The Seibert Foundation in his memory. It was their way, said founder Kyle Murphy, of honoring the 19-year-old's memory and raising awareness about depression and suicide.

Shortly after graduating from Marist as its STAR student and enrolling at Emory University, Debbie Seibert said, her son fell into a deep depression.

Then on the morning of March 2, 2008, just months after his diagnosis, Ben killed himself, Seibert said.

In the U.S., teen suicide is the second leading cause of death for college-age kids, the third leading cause for those between 10 and 24, according to the Center for Disease Control.

More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza and chronic lung disease combined.

For Kyle Murphy and six of Ben's other friends, those statistics translate into human lives.

Debbie Seibert said that until summer 2007, Ben had never shown any signs of depression.

Within months of his diagnosis, she said, he killed himself.

"It was quite a shocking event," she said.

"When your child dies," Seibert said, "your biggest fear is that everybody will forget about them."

Having Ben's friends remember him this way is a "fabulous effort," she said. "Kyle's done a great job."

Murphy, of Sandy Springs, said because he himself suffers from bi-polar disorder, he feels a special connection to Ben, whose story could've very easily been his own. So come Tuesday, Murphy plans to fly to Maine and bike down to the Florida Keys to share Ben's story and raise money for organizations that work to prevent suicide among teens and young adults.

"Suicide is not inevitable, and the only thing you can do wrong is nothing," Murphy said. "Everybody can do something to participate."

To help, contact Murphy at 770-598-1297 or log onto