HATFIELD — Growing up, Riley DiPillo said his older sister, Laura DiPillo, always wanted to keep him safe.
After Laura took her own life five years ago at age 15, Riley is now trying to keep others safe.
The 17-year-old Smith Academy student has been raising awareness and funds for suicide prevention in his sister’s memory for the past several years.
For his work, he was one of six residents honored by the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention at the Statehouse on Tuesday.
“She struggled with mental illness,” DiPillo said. “I just want to help people to not experience what we experienced and what Laura experienced.”
About a year after her death, DiPillo noticed signs around his school advertising the Greater Springfield Out of the Darkness Walk raising money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. A physical education teacher from his school was recruiting students to participate, and he decided to join.
“Why not do some fundraising?” he said he thought to himself.
So he started a campaign, and support flowed in from friends, family and community members. Now people donate every year.
“It’s kind of become a tradition,” he said.
For the past four years, he has been a top fundraiser. He has raised over $18,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, according to the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention.
“It’s great to see the support of the community — my community and friends and family — come together, and (we) have continued to come together to remember her,” DiPillo said.
At the walk this past October, DiPillo was the keynote speaker.
DiPillo remembered his sister as caring. “Laura was just really one of the most selfless people that I ever knew,” he said. “She was always just looking out for the underdog and for other people. She was just full of life and really left a strong and lasting impact on those that met her.”
His mother, Margaret Russo, is also involved in mental health awareness work.
Russo co-founded HEADS Up — Hatfield Embraces Acceptance and Dismantles Stigma — a group that works on mental health issues in the town. Last year, the group sponsored a mental health first-aid class for community members that has now been incorporated into Smith Academy’s professional development, Russo said.
March 12, the day Riley DiPillo was honored at the Statehouse, marks Laura DiPillo’s birthday.
“It just happened to be today,” Riley DiPillo said. “That was really meaningful. She would have been 20.”
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com