Out of the Darkness Walk to Hold 10th Event

On Sunday April 24, the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of American Foundation for Suicide Out of the Darkness Walk to Fight Suicide will host its tenth Walk in Centre County.  The Centre County Out of the Darkness Walk began in 2006 by Susan Kennedy and invested community members who needed a safe place to talk about the impact of suicide in our lives, our families, and our communities.  The beginnings of talking about suicide became the first Out of the Darkness Walk. 

Shanon Quick, the current Walk Chair has participated for the past 10 years.  “It is an amazing event.  The Walk brings people together who have a shared experience of loss and transforms this loss into healing.”  The Out of the Darkness Walk saves lives and brings hope to those affected by suicide.  Each step taken at the Walk is a step towards healing and remembering. 

There is no single cause of suicide.  It most often occurs when stressors exceed current coping abilities of someone suffering from a mental health condition.  Depression is the most common condition associated with suicide, and it is the most often undiagnosed or untreated.   A person is at risk if they have one or more of following warning signs:

• Talk about killing themselves
• Express feeling hopeless
• Have no reason to live
• Being a burden to other
• Isolate or withdraw from family/friends and activities
• Visit or call people to say goodbye
• Give away prized possessions
• Sleep too little or too much
• Appear depressed, agitated or easily enraged

These are a few of the most serious warning signs.  If you are concerned about someone, please talk to them.  Ask the question.  Get help.  If you are struggling yourself, treat yourself as you would treat someone who needs your help.  Centre County has a local mental health crisis service that can provide intervention and help.  Centre County Can Help is available 24/7 at 1-800-643-5432.

Suicide affects every day people in our community.  A person living in America dies by suicide every 12.3 minutes.  Every day 117 people die by suicide.  In 2010, suicide took more lives than war, murder and natural disasters.  These numbers represent our mothers, sisters, fathers, brothers, aunts, uncles, and friends and loved ones; these are lives lost.  Suicide is a public health problem and the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. 

• 2^nd leading cause of death for ages 1-44
• 5^th leading cause of death for ages 45-59
• Veterans comprise 22.2% of suicides
• 90% of those who die by suicide had a diagnosable psychiatric disorder at the time of their death. 

An estimated 1.1 million people attempt suicide each year.  The cost of suicide is staggering; the combined medical and work loss cost exceeds 44 billion in the United States each year. 

The statistics are devastating.   Regardless of our efforts in the last 10 years, the number of lives lost has continued to rise.  This is why it American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has made it their bold goal to reduce the annual suicide rate in the United States 20% by 2025.  The funds raised at the Out of the Darkness Walk support the national effort to prevent suicide and stop this tragic loss of life.

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention funds research- it is the largest private funder of suicide prevention research; education – AFSP creates a culture that is smart about mental health by providing evidence-based programs to colleges, schools, hospitals and within organizations; advocacy – AFSP rallies volunteers at the state and federal level to advocate for policies that will reduce suicide and improve mental health services; support – AFSP provides support to those who struggles with thoughts of suicide, who have survived a suicide attempt and help loss survivors heal after the death of a loved one through outreach and support programs.

Locally, the Central PA Chapter funds Survivors of Suicide Support Groups, educational programs to schools, hospitals and organizations, sponsors Mental Health First Aid Trainings, participates in International Survivor of Suicide Day and World Suicide Prevention Day, collaborated with PSU to create the Toward Daylight educational film, provide educational materials to our local libraries and brought renowned speakers to engage our community in the conversation of suicide prevention.

And has sponsored the Out of the Darkness Walk for ten years.  This is a profound event that sheds light on a serious public health issue and raises monies to prevent suicide.  Please consider walking on April 24^th and taking steps to fight suicide.   Registration begins at 1100 with the Walk commencing at 1:30 pm.  Together we can save lives.

For more information on AFSP, our Central PA Chapter and how to register for the Centre County AFSP Out of the Darkness Walk to Fight Suicide please visit the website afsp.org.