In honor of GM’s best friend, Portage eatery raises funds for suicide awareness

PORTAGE, MI — Growing up, Leila Groh never quite understood the impact suicide can have. That is, until her best friend Sarah chose to end her own life at the age of 14.

"It's one of those things most people don't think about often," said Groh, now 21. "Nobody really understands the idea of suicide until it affects them. And there's nothing you can do about it (afterward)."

Groh runs Michiganders WindyCity DawgHouse , 8712 Portage Road, with her grandmother Andra Lee. She will host an all-day event at the Portage restaurant, from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16, in the hopes she can help raise more awareness on the subject matter.

The day will be filled with activities, including a hot dog eating contest and a raffle with prizes donated by area businesses. Portage Public Safety will also have a fire truck on site from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. for kids to explore.

The hot dog contest, at 1 p.m., will challenge contestants to eat as many plain hot dogs as they can in five minutes. The winner will get a $25 gift certificate to the restaurant and their photo on the wall. The entrance fee of $20, along with all other money raised, will go directly to Gryphon Place in Kalamazoo County .

"Before my friend's death, I didn't know much about resources for mental health," Groh said. "We wanted to bring light to some of these resources and let people know that if you are struggling, that you're not alone, especially with the holidays coming up. The holidays tend to be very hard for people."

Groh herself is diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorders and has struggled with both. The main reason she wants to cast light on the issue, however, is because of her experience of losing her best friend.

Sarah was adopted from China when she was a toddler and struggled to bond with others, Groh said. She suffered from reactive attachment disorder and could mask her feelings very well, her friend said.

Groh will always remember Sarah for her sarcastic wit and fiery personality.

The two friends met while growing up in competitive gymnastics and were quickly attached at the hip, despite Groh being almost two years older.

"I remember having just so much fun with her during practice," Groh said. "Her mom always told me that I was the only person Sarah deemed trustworthy and safe, because I never expected anything from her. I just expected her to be herself."

Not long after Sarah died, Groh gave a speech to her high school classmates.

The title of that speech, pulled from a quote of poet Robert Frost: "In three words, I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on."

Those words have continued to help Groh as she healed from her friend's death.

She continues to hope they will also help others healing from trauma or struggling with their own depression or thoughts of suicide.

"Just the idea of moving forward," she said. "Life goes on."

In the speech, Groh hit on three other words, "There is more."

"I know that sometimes you can feel so alone that you don't see a point to living anymore," she told her classmates. "I'm here to tell you that there are always more options. People can and will help you."

Then, she hit on three other words: "You're not alone."

"It's OK to feel broken, but your life is valued even if it you don't think it is," she said. "You have a best friend who will cry and scream in the middle of their bedroom floor because they hurt. You have team members who will stare at their trophies and only think of you, never wanting to ever put on their uniforms again.

"You have parents who might seem like they don't care, but they will cry in front of your casket for hours."

Despite her friend thinking no one cared, the dinner after her wake had to be pushed back because so many people showed up, Groh said. That showed just how many people loved her.

She closed her speech with these words: "You might hurt now, but one day those wounds will heal, and (they) will be nothing but scars."

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