A Night for Suicide Awareness Slated at Sleepy Hollow High

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December 13, 2023

By Tom Pedulla—

Peggy Noonan wishes her son, Kevin, had openly discussed the anguish he surely endured before he took his life in his Penn State dorm room on Sept. 30, 2022. She is taking up a microphone, hoping to prevent other tragic losses.

Noonan, the aunt of Sleepy Hollow varsity boys’ basketball coach Chris Starace, will be the featured speaker on Dec. 15 at 6 p.m. when the high school hosts A Night for Suicide Awareness. She will briefly address the crowd before the Horsemen play Hendrick Hudson.

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“I want to help another family,” said Noonan, “and I know I will.”

Her greatest message to those struggling to cope is that many sources of help are available, including a phone call to 988, a suicide and crisis lifeline.

“What I’ve learned is they have tunnel vision at the end and they can’t see things outside of that tunnel,” said Noonan, a nurse. “They can’t see the good things that are happening in their life. It’s just that tunnel and they can’t get out of that.”

Senior captain Declan McCarthy welcomes the initiative his school is taking by drawing attention to an issue not often discussed. “This night is going to mean a lot for everyone,” he said. “It’s good for people to come together and it’s something greater than basketball.”

McCarthy emphasized that being young is not necessarily to feel carefree. “People definitely feel a lot of pressure, academically, socially, things at home,” he said. “Everyone knows someone who is going through a hard time and can use that extra little help and support. It’s always good to get that information out there.”

Starace, a special education teacher at Sleepy Hollow, embraces the “family atmosphere” that he believes exists at the school. He does not want any student to feel alone.

“People love you. That is the message of the night,” Starace said. “People love you. People are here for you. Don’t ever feel you are by yourself because there is always someone there for you.”

In the case of Noonan, his parents and his sister, Erin, never imagined the depth of his despair. “He was one of those people who lit up a room,” his mother said. “He was so well liked. He didn’t have any enemies. He was a beautiful person inside and out.”

Noonan was studying engineering at Penn State, and his mother said he struggled academically with that complex major. She said the family remained supportive when he took a year away from his studies and began treatment with a therapist. Everyone was encouraged when he returned to the campus, determined to complete his degree.

There was nothing to prepare the family for the phone call that came. Noonan had ended his life. He was 21.

“When this happened, we were really shocked because he suffered in silence,” his mother said. “He really kept this from a lot of people.”

She has already spoken at Penn State and hopes something positive can come from her tremendous loss through events such as the one being held at Sleepy Hollow. She also started the Kevin Noonan Jr. Foundation and his holding fund-raisers with the proceeds to go toward a scholarship for a student pursuing a mental health career.

“After the initial shock subsided, we decided not to sweep this under the carpet,” Peggy Noonan said. “We wanted to raise awareness so another family doesn’t have to go through something like this. It has become a passion of mine. If it helps one person, it is all worth it.”

The overriding message is for someone to seek help and not keep disturbing thoughts and emotions inside. As Starace said, “It’s okay not to be okay. We want to encourage kids to ask for help.”

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