Loved ones host suicide prevention awareness event, fundraiser in memory of Rock Hill woman

Friends and family of Christina Leigh Gainey will host a benefit and suicide awareness and prevention event Saturday in Rock Hill.

Gainey, 27, died in March. Her friends and family members told The Herald recently they were shocked at news of her suicide earlier this year because she had such a zest for life.

They said they hope Saturday’s event will help other people who have lost a loved one to suicide, and those people who may be struggling with a crisis.

News earlier this week of a woman threatening to jump from a church bell tower in downtown Rock Hill hit close to home for Gainey’s loved ones, said Nicole Hawkins, who said Gainey was her best friend. Hawkins said she doesn’t know the young woman who police talked down from the bell tower but she hopes the woman will hear of the event and attend on Saturday.

The event will include live music, food, children’s activities and games. Gainey’s family is raising money for a headstone to place at her grave in Rock Hill. Other proceeds will be donated to a suicide prevention program.

A talented artist and painter, Gainey was adopted from the Philippines. She was raised in Rock Hill, along with two brothers and her sister, Paige Gainey McCraven.

McCraven said her sister was generous and always seemed happy. “She walked in and could light up a room. ... It didn’t matter where she went, there was a friend there.”

Family friend Lauren Timberlake said she and others hope Saturday’s event will help people feel more comfortable discussing issues that can lead to suicide and how it can be prevented. Even strong and happy people, she said, can sometimes “feel like they don’t have a voice ... or feel like nobody cares.”

To help honor Gainey’s memory, Saturday’s event will include a large wooden board on which attendees can paint to create a community art piece.

For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.

This story was originally published September 4, 2015 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Loved ones host suicide prevention awareness event, fundraiser in memory of Rock Hill woman."