OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — When her 16-year-old daughter took her own life, Allie Doss started to blog. She documented her grief and now she’s writing about the fight for suicide prevention and education.
Sara Prideaux took her own life seven months ago. She had just turned 16. No one saw it coming.
“We played the game of life on Tuesday. We snuggled on Wednesday, I brushed her hair before we put her to bed,” said Doss of the days leading up to her daughter’s death.
Prideaux had an infectious laughter, loved penguins and One Direction. She was a typical teenager, or so her mother thought.
Doss turned her grief into a crusade to prevent suicide through education. She teamed up with other families to amend Senate Bill 323 that will require teachers and principals to complete suicide prevention training every year.
“She’s here with me saying, ‘ok, mom keep fighting. Keep speaking up,’ because she suffered in silence and I don’t want anybody to suffer like she did,” she explained.
In hindsight, Doss said there were signs but she only knew to identify them after she had learned about suicide. That’s why she said it’s so important to educate.
The measure, Senate Bill 323, has been approved in committee. It’s now awaiting a vote in the full Kansas Senate.