AHWATUKEE — Nearly 50,000 people die by suicide every year in the United States, according to the CDC — and one Ahwatukee man is determined to change that.
Terry "Wookie" Hoffman, owner of Wookie Style Tattoos, is hosting his eighth annual suicide awareness fundraiser on Saturday, September 19 from 11AM to 8PM.
The shop, located in Ahwatukee at 4142 E Chandler Blvd Ste 102, will donate all proceeds to La Frontera and Military Veteran Project.
The event will feature free semicolon tattoos. The semicolon symbol represents a person choosing to continue a sentence rather than end it — a powerful metaphor for choosing to continue one's life.
For Hoffman, the cause is deeply personal.
"The biggest problem with suicide awareness is the stigma," Hoffman said.
Hoffman lost his friend, Linkin Park singer and Valley native Chester Bennington, to suicide in 2017. The tragedy motivated Hoffman and his wife to start the fundraiser.
"He looked like he had it all. The demons beat him that day. And so it resonates with so many more people," Hoffman said.
Hoffman has also experienced suicide ideation himself. He describes the experience as an overwhelming darkness that builds over time.
"It's like a darkness or shadow that kind of comes over you...it gets so dark it doesn't feel like the sun anymore," Hoffman said.
It was his wife and daughter who stepped in and that's when he sought professional help.
"You have to look deeper and have to look at the person who is struggling. They are fighting demons. It doesn't matter how much you love them. If they are afraid to talk to you because of the stigma, then they're going to sit in their own demons," Hoffman said.
More than 14 million Americans contemplate suicide each year, according to the C.D.C..
Hoffman's stepdaughter, Tatum Hoffman, knows that reality firsthand. She tells ABC15 she attempted to take her own life three times and deals with suicidal ideation daily.
"It wasn't until I was 13 that I tried to take my own life for the first time," says Tatum. I overdosed on my mom's medication," Tatum said.
Through therapy, a loving family, and a passion for helping others, Tatum has found a way to face her own struggles.
"I want to use those hardships to help other people and help them realize anyone can do it no matter what you're going through," Tatum said.
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