The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is hosting a suicide prevention walk in Hillsdale County for the first time on Oct. 1.
The walk is designed to give people courage to open up about their struggles with mental health and to cultivate communities that are smarter about mental health, according to the nonprofit’s website.
The walk will be located at the Hillsdale American Legion Post 53. Check-in time is at 10:30 a.m. and the walk will begin at 1 p.m.
Established in 1984, AFSP is a voluntary health organization that seeks to provide those who have been affected by suicide a community empowered by research, education, and advocacy, and a community that takes action to promote mental health, according to its website. Its mission is to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide.
“More people need to know they are not alone in their mental health battles,” said AFSP volunteer and Hillsdale Walk Chair Shannon Horn.
AFSP began hosting suicide prevention walks when it implemented the Out Of The Darkness Community Walks program in 2004, according to its website. The community walks are held across the country, occurring annually in each location in order to reach out to those struggling and to shed light on the issue in the community.
“I think the walk will be beneficial because it will raise awareness to people who don’t know that mental health issues are happening,” sophomore Rotem Andegeko said.
Director of Health Services Brock Lutz said it is good for the community to see people advocating for mental health resources.
“For college students, it’s a good thing to see that people have really been impacted by these things,” Lutz said.
Horn expressed her enthusiasm for the walk by saying it is a great way to introduce Hillsdale to the AFSP. The foundation benefits the lives of those affected by suicide by providing a community at AFSP as well as where they live, she said.
“These walks are designed to create a safe space,” Horn said. “In the short time I have volunteered there, I have connected with so many people.”
Lutz agreed.
“It is a good way to bring people together,” he said. “It’s a sign of kindness and charity. It’s a good thing for people to be a part of.”
Horn said the reason there has never been a community walk in Hillsdale is because each walk has to be 50 to 55 miles apart from another. In previous years, Branch County, 32 miles west of Hillsdale County, hosted walks and made Hillsdale ineligible to hold its own. This year, Branch County is not hosting one, giving Hillsdale County an opportunity.
Horn said he is glad the walk is happening in Hillsdale because the county lacks mental health resources. Horn said teen mental health is especially in need of more help.
“Suicide happens no matter where you are, mental health is everywhere no matter where you are,” Andegeko said. “It’s important that people who are feeling off know that there are people here for them.”