Brent, Stacy, Terri and Charlie
Charlie and Terri Brim were devastated 25 years ago when Dallas police officers rang their doorbell early one morning to inform them that their son, Brent Burkett, had died by suicide. Although he expressed optimism about prospects for a new job closer to friends and family, he was privately distraught about breaking up with a girlfriend.
The couple sought help from the Suicide & Crisis Center of North Texas, a nonprofit which provides 24/7 suicide prevention hotline services and Survivors of Suicide — or SOS — groups for those who have lost a loved one. The groups are led, not by professional counselors, but by trained volunteers who are survivors themselves. Participants agree to an 8-week schedule of 2-hour meetings to openly discuss the most distressing event in their lives.
“The power of something like that is, when people tell the worst details out loud in front of other people who have been in their shoes, it takes the power away,” says Charlie. “You’re running this film in your head about what happened, but once we told it, and once we listened to other stories, we really bonded with these people. It’s not therapy, but it is therapeutic. Everything’s confidential, so they can say anything.”
After Charlie retired from Interstate Batteries in 2023, he received training and became an SOS group leader. Now he shares his story and encourages survivors to share with each other. He reassures them that they can — and will — find happiness again.
“We’ve had a number of people in Lake Highlands take their lives, and it’s a hard, hard thing. But if people know there’s a resource, and it’s free, you never know what can happen. It’s so impactful.”
It’s easier today, Charlie says, to talk about Brent and his wonderful qualities. Before he graduated from Lake Highlands High School in 1992, Brent spent as much time as he could on the turf of Wildcat Stadium playing soccer or at Tenison Park playing golf. After graduating from college, he worked as head athletic trainer for a small school district near Corpus Christi, then he took a job with a sports rehab clinic on the Texas Gulf Coast.
“Brent was really funny,” says Charlie. “He was really kind. He was always smiling. He lived for sports. He was a sports fanatic. He grew up playing every game you can imagine and shooting Nerf basketballs in our living room. We kept a running score for about five years of Nerf basketball games because he was such a fanatic about it. He was intensely competitive. That’s why he pursued a degree and career in sports and exercise science.”
Charlie believes sharing his story — and Brent’s — with other survivors of suicide will help them deal with their crisis the way he and Terri were helped. You may read his personal story here.
To speak to a Crisis Center specialist, call (214) 828-1000.
