The Auto World Museum opened its lot Saturday for a car show to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).
This was the second year for the AFSP to host a car show, but this year's already had double the cars and attendants an hour into the show and cars were still continuing to roll onto the lot, AFSP Chair Person Melody Seiger said. Attending the car show was free, but the AFSP charged $15 for every car put on display.
AFSP chose the Auto World Museum as a way to help each other, Seiger said.
"Anytime we can raise business for a business while raising awareness is exciting," Seiger added.
The money, Seiger said, will be used to provide mental health first aid training, offered assist training for "gatekeepers", which is free, will train community members to recognize signs of mental health issues and suicidal tendencies and the More Than Sad program, which aids educators in recognizing similar signs, Seiger said.
The AFSP's goal is to train 100 people in mental health first aid by the end of 2015 - the group is already half way to reaching that goal. In addition to providing free training for mental health first aid, the AFSP also has support groups through the First Christian Church of Fulton.
According to 2013 numbers provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
The second leading cause of death for those between the ages of 15 and 34 was suicide.
Missouri is ranked 18th in the nation in numbers of suicides, and every nine hours, someone in Missouri commits suicide.
Approximately $37 million is spent each year on mental health - about 25 percent of that is funded by the AFSP, Seiger said.
"Sometimes when you throw numbers out there people recognize the problem," the show's Event Chair Nikki Thomas said. "People aren't alone."
Tom Jones, the director of development at the Auto World Museum is glad that the AFSP is taking advantage of the space and is hoping similar nonprofit organizations will utilize the space.
"Suicide is a part of mental health and with other mental health issues coming to the front, it's time to address it," Jones said.