The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Mid Missouri Chapter will host Fulton's third Out of Darkness Walk from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. Melody Seiger, AFSP Mid Missouri Chapter chairperson, said the walk is important for the community because it raises awareness of mental health issues that happen everyday.
"People need to talk about mental health issues before they lead to suicide," Seiger said. "We need to know what to do in cases of depression just like we know how to call 911(in cases of emergency)."
The walk, Seiger said, also brings people together who have lost loved ones to suicide. They are then able to share their experiences and know they are not alone in what they are going through.
"It gives them a chance to network and see what other people are going through," Seiger said. "You may see somebody who is just two weeks out of a loss walking and you may see someone who is 21 years out of a loss walking, like myself."
Seiger lost her mother to suicide 21 years ago. Seiger walked in the Out of the Darkness walk in St. Louis four years ago in honor of her mother. A group of her coworkers attended with her and the following year, they organized their first Out of the Darkness Walk in Fulton.
When they held the first walk three years ago, they were not an official chapter of AFSP, but establishing chapter status was a goal of theirs. The group reached that goal in July 2014. The Mid Missouri Chapter includes 49 counties up and down the center of the state.
The Fulton Out of Darkness Walk usually raises about $16,000, Seiger said. Part of the money raised goes to research projects that AFSP supports. The other part goes to the local community to provide education and training. The Mid Missouri Chapter provides schools with the More Than Sad Program, a video-based program that discusses signs of suicide and resources to get help. The chapter also trains support group facilitators, advocates for mental health legislation and provide outreach programs for survivors of suicide loss.
"We give them a network. We provide resources for those individuals who have lost someone to suicide," Seiger said.
Nationally, AFSP is looking for ways to get survivors of suicide attempt more involved with the organization.
"Those stories are important, too, because we want to be able to make sure we're understanding how suicide happens and how we can prevent it in the future," Seiger said. "ASFP as a national organization is looking at ways to get those people who are suicide attempt survivors involved in a healthy way so they can tell their stories and be involved in a chapter as well. It takes a community approach."
The Out of Darkness Walk is one of AFSP's suicide awareness events that all chapters must hold annually nationwide. All of the event's proceeds benefit local and national suicide prevention and awareness programs. The walk will start and end at Fulton State Hospital. Registration and check in is from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. Those interested in walking can register online until noon Friday. They can register in person at the walk on Saturday, too. Anyone interested in donating can do so until Dec. 31.
The event will also have raffles, live entertainment and barbecue. It costs nothing to walk. Seiger said all are welcome to attend.
"They can walk whether they have lost someone to suicide, if they want to prevent suicide from happening in our community, want to raise awareness or if they've personally struggled with suicide. The walk is for everybody," Seiger said.
For more information, to register early or to donate, visit www.outofthedarkness.org.