Honoring those lost, preventing suicide in Greater Northeast PA Out of the Darkness Walk

WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A local group has been holding a walk for the past 13 years to help prevent suicide and honor the memory of those who were lost to suicide.

28/22 News stopped at Kirby Park on Sunday for the walk which helps shed light on the troubling topic.

Walking with a purpose is what all of these people here came out to do Sunday afternoon at the Greater Northeast PA Out of the Darkness Walk.

They may not know each other, but they can all relate to the feeling of losing a loved one to suicide or surviving suicide themselves.

“My mom made an attempt when I was in high school and it was very stigmatized and we were told not to talk about it and embarrassing. So since then I’ve been working to advocate for mental health and to talk about it, and this is what the event does for the whole community,” said American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Eastern PA Director Samantha Bruno.

More than 50 people all gathered at Kirby Park with one common goal in mind.

“You come out here and you see all these people that have some sort of connection to suicide or mental health so it’s just really impactful that we can see one another and know that you’re not alone and we can get through this together,” Bruno added.

A mother and daughter who lost someone near and dear to them say they have been coming to this walk for several years, and get emotional as they share their story.

“So this is our fifth walk. In 2019, I lost my son Joshua and we’ve been a part of AFSP ever since. We’ve raised about $16,000 in the last five years for suicide awareness and prevention services,” said Weatherly resident Jennifer Cooper.

What brings them back time after time?

“It’s a shared grief that not a lot of people understand and so it’s important for us to see everybody out here. I’m sorry to see everybody out here kind of in the same position we are, but fighting for more people to be saved,” Jennifer continued.

“When we come here, it always makes us feel more welcome like we’re not the only ones that I’ve gone through this before it makes us feel better necessarily, but it makes us feel more happier that we’re not the only ones that necessarily that have gone through this and other people have felt the same way it just makes me feel better,” said Elizabeth Cooper from Weatherly.

If you need help or know someone struggling with mental health, remember these three numbers: 988.

It’s the suicide and crisis lifeline available 24 hours a day in both English and Spanish which you can call, text, or chat.

To learn more about the AFSP and to find other Out of the Darkness walks in the coming weeks, you can online.

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