{"id":535839,"date":"2026-03-21T01:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T01:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/535839\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T01:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T01:46:08","slug":"one-year-after-autumn-bushmans-suicide-family-shares-grief-and-mission-to-prevent-more-deaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/535839\/","title":{"rendered":"One year after Autumn Bushman\u2019s suicide, family shares grief and mission to prevent more deaths"},"content":{"rendered":"

ROANOKE, Va. \u2013 One year after 10-year-old Autumn Bushman died by suicide<\/a>, her family is sharing their grief and renewing their push to prevent similar tragedies.<\/p>\n

At Mark Bushman\u2019s house, there are physical reminders of his daughter everywhere. From shoes, to jewelry, to a pair of shorts\u2014left untouched. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have not moved them from where they were,\u201d said Mark. \u201cNormally, I would clean her room before she came back, tidy up. And I didn\u2019t. And I am glad that I left them.<\/p>\n

For Mark, the stillness of the room has become part of mourning. <\/p>\n

\u201cSomething about them being the way that she left them is maybe comforting in an odd way. But again, that\u2019s grief for you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mark Bushman said the last year has shown him how grief can ebb and flow.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrief is unique to the individual. One day is not going to be like the next,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Bushmans say bullying led to their daughter\u2019s death. In the year Autumn has been gone, the community has rallied behind them through fundraisers, protests and a districtwide push to educate families about the dangers of social media.<\/p>\n

Autumn\u2019s mother, Summer Bushman, said she wants people to remember her daughter for her compassion. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just would love people to remember how kind and caring she was. And her smile,\u201d said Summer. \u201cShe had a beautiful smile and her eyes lit up every time she smiled. And she had so much love to give.\u201d<\/p>\n

Summer Bushman has championed \u201cAutumn\u2019s Law,\u201d a measure that would make aggravated bullying illegal. Pastor Tom McCracken helped draft the bill. Senator Bill Stanley sponsored it in Richmond this year.<\/p>\n

The bill was ultimately pushed<\/a> to the 2027 General Assembly session. But they say the fight is far from over.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to fight for this bill,\u201d said Sen. Stanley. \u201cWe\u2019re going to do this for Autumn.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCracken said he believes the awareness surrounding the issue and Autumn\u2019s story will keep the momentum going. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, that can only be good,\u201d said McCracken. \u201cNow we have another year of this being in the center of everyone\u2019s attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the grief, Mark\u2019s found the good. He started a nonprofit, the Forever 10 Foundation, in Autumn\u2019s honor. The mission: mental health outreach and suicide prevention.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust promoting a culture of kindness,\u201d Mark said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Autumn\u2019s legacy of kindness that Mark said he wants to carry forward. He also reflected on what he wishes he could tell her now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have to thank her for the example she gave us,\u201d Mark said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI would obviously tell her I love her and also say, you know, that I\u2019m sorry that I didn\u2019t catch certain signs, maybe warning signs, that were there,\u201d he added. \u201cTake those steps and have maybe some more probing questions for her, deeper conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I would assure her that I\u2019m going to try to spread that message and help other parents and prevent this from happening to someone else,\u201d Mark added.<\/p>\n

A benefit ride<\/a> for Autumn is scheduled to start at the Salem Civic Center at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 21. All money raised from \u201cAutumn\u2019s Ride\u201d will go to Tudor House<\/a> for suicide prevention efforts in the Roanoke Valley. <\/p>\n

Organizers expect hundreds of bikes and more vehicles, and registration will be available the day of the event. To learn more or to register, click here.<\/a><\/p>\n

If you or someone you know is struggling or having thoughts of suicide, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WSLS 10 – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ROANOKE, Va. \u2013 One year after 10-year-old Autumn Bushman died by suicide, her family is sharing their grief…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535840,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35020,76164,4,450,6834,451,3,5642,452,453],"class_list":["post-535839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-anniversary","tag-autumn-bushman","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-bullying","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-suicide","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}