WHEREAS, the fourth annual Ben’s Memorial Mile will be held on Saturday, June 15, at Downers Grove North (DGN) High School’s outdoor track from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.; and
WHEREAS, Ben’s Memorial Mile and Family Festival celebrates the life of DGN’s star runner, singer, songwriter and poet Ben Silver; and
WHEREAS, Ben started showing signs of schizophrenia during his sophomore year of college. He fought a hard battle, and ended up taking his life in 2015;
WHEREAS, the goal of Ben’s Memorial Mile is to raise money and awareness for mental health and suicide prevention; and
WHEREAS, Ben’s Memorial Mile has raised over $50,000 distributed to three organizations in the mental health field; Hope for the Day, the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation and NAMI DuPage, and
WHEREAS, it is critical to promote and give attention to suicide prevention and mental health services and to publicly state and place our full support behind those addressing suicide prevention and mental health;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert T. Barnett, Mayor of the Village of Downers Grove, do hereby proclaim Saturday, June 15, 2019, as MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY in the Village of Downers Grove in honor of Ben Silver and invite everyone to participate in the Fourth Annual Ben’s Memorial Mile and Family Festival.
Dated this 15th day of June 2019, at Downers Grove, Illinois.
Bob Barnett, Mayor of Downers Grove
