On Friday, September 15th 2017, CAPS and the Athletic Department unveiled a Messages of Hope Board in the Ross Academic Center for student athletes. Around 100 people attended, including Cathy Radovich, mother of Garrick Roemer, who died by suicide a few years earlier.
"Garrick liked people to be connected," said his mother, Cathy Radovich. "One of his teammates said he was the glue that connected people. And the people that I've connected with since his death are really because of Garrick. He is bringing me to all of these other people that I'm meeting and helping. So, he's still helping people. But it's just through me. If I can honor him that way, that's what I will do."
CAPS unveiled the first Messages of Hope Board in March 2013. The collaboration between CAPS and the UM Athletic Department is the first to bring an additional Board to campus. UM Athletic Director attended the event and shared these thoughts:
"We often talk about being a family," Manuel said of the athletic department. "And because we are a family, we care. And we have family members in our midst in athletics who need our love and support and who are considering and thinking about suicide more than we know."
Find out more about the event, including an article and video by MGoBlue.