Two Central Washington University students are contributing to a campaign to commemorate their best friend, a victim of suicide.

Josh Jacob Martin took his own life on Oct. 27, 2011. Joe Martin, his father, began the campaign to destigmatize the conversation about suicide. He called on his son’s friends to get the campaign going.

Martin’s suicide came about completely to the surprise of his friends and family.

Martin, at 19 years old, was slated to play shortstop for the baseball team at Spokane Falls Community College, where he took classes alongside high school friends Donnie Santos and Dean Neilson.

“We had everything, kind of living the dream,” Santos said. “And we saw, to this day, nothing that would lead me to expect that to happen.”

With the recent success of the Ice Bucket Challenge in mind, Josh’s father, Joe, decided on a simple way to honor his son. Around one finger he would twist a bread tie – the wire-and-paper kind readily available in grocery store produce sections – to spread awareness about depression and mental illness.

Santos and Neilson ran with the idea, starting Facebook and Instagram pages to challenge others to do the same.

“It’s something that everyone has access to,” Santos said. “Anyone can go to the store and get a month’s supply of bread ties.”

The founders of the Bread Tie Challenge are seeking to remove the negative stigma that surrounds mental illness, depression and suicidal tendencies.

“We wanted to create a symbol that says, ‘We can talk about it,’” Santos said, noting that bread ties are an easy yet visible way to start a conversation about the issue.

“People are afraid to ask for help because no one wants to be looked at negatively,” Santos said.

Joe Martin said he hopes the challenge will encourage those affected to step forward.

“I think the most important thing is that, if you’re wearing a bread tie, you’re willing to talk,” Martin said. “The number-one thing is to see how many people go through this.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death among Americans with 39,518 instances in 2011, the last year for which data are available. On average, someone in the country died by suicide every 13.3 minutes in that year.

Martin said it’s important for people to sit down with their loved ones and have serious conversations about each other’s emotional wellbeing.

“I’ve had three years to reflect on it, and now I realize I never had that conversation,” he said.

The Bread Tie Challenge Facebook page has garnered more than 1,300 likes and numerous photos of supporters in the two weeks since it was created. Santos and Neilson post video updates of their progress.

CORRECTION: This story has been changed to contain accurate information.