Arlington HS Grad Running Boston Marathon In Father's Memory

ARLINGTON, MA – Peter Cunningham did not know it would be the last time he'd see his father alive when he was dropped off at school on April 6, 2009. His father would take his own life later that day, shocking his close-knit community in Jamaica and sending Cunningham to the United States with his mother and brother.

"Seeing some of the documents we found on his laptop afterward, we could see that he had been struggling in silence for years and years," Cunningham said.

Born to a Jamaican father and American mother, Cunningham spent the first 14 years of his life in his father's native country. At age 15, his family moved in with his aunt in East Arlington, and he enrolled at Arlington High School.

It wasn't a smooth transition. Cunningham struggled with the move and the loss of his father. His own feelings of depression led him to contemplate "going the same way [my father] did," he told Patch.

It wasn't until he enrolled at Northeastern University that Cunningham's healing process began. Now graduated with a degree in International Affairs, he will run his first Boston Marathon for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSB).

Having done some fundraising before, Cunningham acknowledged that raising $15,000 for the marathon is a "totally different beast." He was nervous about the response when he started posting on social media and reaching out to his neighbors in the community after getting accepted to the AFSB team in November.

So far Cunningham has raised $4,585 and said the reaction to his fundraising efforts has been "absolutely amazing."

"I'm trying to find good and create good out of this tragedy," he said. "While I've grown and learned a lot it's not an experience I'd want anyone else to share."

Click here to contribute to Team AFSP Boston 2019.

Photo submitted by Peter Cunningham