How this event brings suicide prevention and mental health awareness to light

RICHMOND, Va. -- The Virginia Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is holding its 15 ^th annual Out of the Darkness Walk in Richmond on Saturday.

Samantha Link helped put together this year's event after attending with a friend in 2022.

"Had never really shared my story," Link said.

Her father passed away by suicide when she was five years old.

"It was 1991, no one talked about mental health, no one talked about suicide, and it was until years later I started to understand how we lost him," she said.

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So, when a friend invited her to the Out of the Darkness Walk, she said she was surrounded by a support system she never really knew she needed.

Shortly after, she joined the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention team to help with their annual Out of the Darkness Walk.

"Main idea is to bring suicide prevention and mental health awareness out of the darkness," Link said.

This year's walk is on Oct. 19, with the opening ceremony starting at 9:30 a.m.

"Some fun activities, also some healing activities," she said. "If you don’t have the ability to do the walk you can sit."

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Suicide is a leading cause of death in the US, according to the CDC. In 2022 just over 1200 people died by suicide in Virginia — and Link said events like this hope to bring awareness about statistics like that.

"Our hope is that everyone that comes leaves with a bigger sense of support and community than that with which they came," Link said.

She said suicide is something that can impact anyone.

"You don’t know what’s going on inside of a person, you don't know what they might be struggling with and sometimes the strongest people you know are the ones who need to be reached out to," she said. "No one is ever going to be mad that you checked on them."

With the walk being one of many events and resources the organization offers throughout the year, Link said the goal is simple.

"We’re committed to this cause, we’re committed to helping our community and we want to make sure that someday, hopefully sooner than later, we don’t lose anybody else to suicide."

If you would like to attend the event this Saturday, you can register on the day-of or on their website ahead of time. You can also still donate or sign up to volunteer.

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