If you or someone you know is in crisis: Call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — 988 — available 24/7.
501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization

You Don't Have To Walk Out of the
Darkness Alone

Beyond The Shadows stands alongside families who have lost loved ones to suicide — offering hope, resources, and community in the darkest of times.

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Who We Are

A Beacon of Hope for Families After Suicide Loss

"The only answer I have found to the question of what to do with grief — make sure other families don't have to go through this alone."

Beyond The Shadows is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Shad Kistler after losing his son Malachi in June 2020. We provide love, compassion, resources, and ongoing support to families navigating the unique and devastating grief of suicide loss.

💙Families Supported
🕯️In Malachi's Name
📖Free Resources
🤝Community Built
Beyond The Shadows Logo
What We Do

Helping Heal Hurting Hearts

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Personal Support

We show up person-to-person — calls, visits, and ongoing presence for families in crisis. You will not be left alone when the world moves on and the grief stays.

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Literature & Resources

We distribute our booklet Still Here, insert cards for first responders, and mental health literature — free to every family we reach.

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Funeral Expense Assistance

We provide financial assistance toward funeral costs so grieving families aren't buried under financial stress in their most impossible moments.

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Follow-Up Care Calls

Dedicated follow-up for parents, children, and siblings — because grief doesn't end when the services do, and neither do we.

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Awareness & Prevention

We distribute suicide awareness and prevention materials throughout our communities to reduce stigma and save lives before tragedy strikes.

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Community & Volunteers

We build a compassionate community of volunteers, survivors, and supporters who walk alongside families for the long road ahead.

Malachi Kistler
Malachi Kistler January 1997 – June 2020
A Letter from Our Founder
In memory of Malachi Kistler  ·  January 1997 – June 2020
I'm not going to tell you it gets better. What I can tell you is that you can survive it.

I started Beyond The Shadows because nobody handed me a folder. Nobody sat with me in those early days and said: this is what is about to happen to you, and here is someone who has survived it. I had to find my way in the dark. I don't want that for you.

Malachi's life meant something. Your loved one's life means something. The only answer I have found to the question of what to do with grief — make sure other families don't have to go through this alone.

Shad and Malachi at graduation
Shad & Malachi · High School Graduation
Read Our Full Story
Free Resource

Still Here — Our Booklet for Grieving Families

Written by our founder from inside the grief, this seven-chapter booklet goes where most resources don't — honest, personal, and grounded in the real experience of suicide loss.

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Beyond The Shadows Presents
Still Here
A guide for families surviving suicide loss
01 What Grief Does to You — and What Nobody Warns You About
02 The Questions That Won't Leave You Alone
03 The People Around You
04 What Grief Is Doing to Your Body
05 Getting Through the Days — and the Long Road After
06 Faith — and What It Can and Can't Carry
07 Forgiveness
Upcoming Events

Rally for the Light

Our flagship fundraising event — a full day of community, celebration, and purpose. Every dollar raised supports families surviving suicide loss.

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Beyond The Shadows Presents
Rally for the Light
Save the Date
August 29, 2026
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All Vehicles Welcome
$20 Buy-In Poker Run
  • 📍 Starts at Dairy Queen — Registration & staggered start 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
  • 🏆 Best Hand Wins $777 — All vehicles welcome: cars, bikes, trucks
  • 💵 $20 buy-in per hand · 1 hand per person
Top Prize
$777
Best poker hand wins
🏎️
At the VFW
Car, Bike & Truck Show
  • 🕛 Registration starts 12:00 PM · Judging starts 2:00 PM
  • 💵 $20 registration per vehicle
  • 🥇 1st place & runner-up trophies for Best Truck, Best Car, Best Bike
  • 🏅 Top 25 wall plaques · Best of Show trophy
  • ⭐ People's Choice Award — $250 prize
All Day at the VFW · 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
🍔 Food Vendors
🎨 Craft Vendors
🎵 Live DJ
🎟️ 50/50 Tickets
🧺 Raffle Baskets
Day-of Schedule
11:00 AM — Poker Run registration opens (Dairy Queen) 11:00 AM–1:00 PM — Staggered poker run starts 12:00 PM — Car/Bike/Truck Show registration (VFW) 1:00 PM — Food & craft vendors open 2:00 PM — Show judging begins 5:00 PM — Awards & winners announced
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Get Involved

Broken People Helping Broken People

You don't have to have all the answers to help. You just have to be willing to show up. Here's how volunteers make a difference:

  • Delivering resource booklets and insert cards to hospitals and first responders
  • Making follow-up care calls to grieving families
  • Helping with fundraising events and community outreach
  • Sharing our mission on social media and in your community
  • Supporting families with meals, presence, and practical help

Sign Up to Volunteer

We'll reach out within 2–3 days. Thank you.

Voices from the Road

Other Families Have Been Where You Are

The first year I didn't think I'd survive it. I didn't want to. What kept me here was knowing my other kids needed me. Six years later I'm still asking why — but I'm also still here, and some days that feels like enough.
— A father, Ohio
I thought the guilt would kill me. It didn't. Slowly I started to understand that my love for her wasn't the thing that failed. I carry her with me now instead of carrying the blame.
— A mother, Indiana
Nobody told me grief would come in waves for years. When it hits now I just let it. I've stopped fighting it. She deserves to be grieved.
— A parent, West Virginia