LANSING, MI (AP)-- Former Detroit Lions quarterback Eric Hipple is working to raise awareness of suicide prevention at a conference this week.
Hipple shared on Thursday the story of his teenage son's suicide and spoke about his own battle with depression at the Michigan Suicide Prevention Conference. He's now an outreach coordinator for the University of Michigan Comprehensive Depression Center.
Hipple said behavior that warns of suicide risk includes prolonged sadness, recurrent thoughts of death and irritability and restless sleep.
Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and the director of the state health and human services department also spoke at the conference. Workshops were held about youth bullying and preventing suicide among military veterans.
According to the department, more than 1,000 Michigan residents die by suicide every year.