The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) hosted the annual Out of Darkness Albuquerque Walk to raise awareness on suicide and suicide prevention at Hoffmantown Church on Saturday, Sept. 29.
According to the Out of Darkness’ Donor Drive webpage, the event welcomed at least 1,400 participants and helped raise over $67,000.
Tina Turner, a board member and event organizer for AFSP, said the money raised will go toward suicide prevention research and breaking misperceptions about suicide.
“There is a myth that every person who attempts suicide or dies by suicide has a mental health issue, when only one in four does,” Turner said.
Turner said the greatest way to break the stigma behind suicide is to talk about it.
“For people to truly understand what it means, it takes people sharing their story to normalize it — to make sure people know it’s okay to talk about,” she said.
Turner said suicide has affected her personally after she lost a friend in the military. She said this is a cause everyone should be involved with.
“Suicidal thoughts can happen to anybody. It doesn’t have to be because you have a diagnosed mental illness or a traumatic event, it can just pop up into your head out of nowhere,” Turner said. “You can be like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on, this isn’t me,’ and that’s okay — it happens.”
According to a pamphlet from AFSP, suicidal risk varies from person to person, but there are general warning signs.
Massive crowds of more than 1,400 people walked, ran or jogged on Albuquerque Academy’s recreational trail. Some participants walked their dogs, others carried strollers and children — some carried the memories of loved ones who were lost to suicide.
Leroy Sanchez was among the crowd of participants. He carried the memory of his 14-year-old niece with him as he jogged the three-and-a-half mile trail.
“It hit us out of nowhere — we had no clue,” Sanchez said, as sweat beaded his forehead.
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Sanchez said his niece, Amber, was a freshman in high school when she took her life one day in September, 12 years ago. He said she was bullied after she had a breakup. She was loved by her family.
“She believed she was doing everybody a favor — she wasn’t,” he said.
Sanchez said his niece’s death impacted him and other members in the family to the point where they sought counseling.
Counseling, Sanchez said, helped provide more insight into his niece’s struggles.
“Girls don’t shoot themselves the way she did,” he said. “The way she cleared her phone, her email, she knew what she was going to do.”
Sanchez was not the only person running in memory of his niece — he was part of a 30 person team. Half of his team wore a purple shirt with a photo of her face, but all had a silhouette of a dove drawn on their wrists.
“We walk for her, in remembrance of Amber,” he said.
Sanchez said this is the third year he has participated in the walk. He said he hopes it makes a difference.
“Hopefully we can help somebody with this. This money can (lead) to a phone call and save a kid’s life.”
While the topic of death was present, the gathering was lively with food, music and photo opportunities with Star Wars characters. Among the festivities were suicide prevention and awareness resources.
Barbara Barkoff is the chat coordinator at the Agora Crisis Center. She said events like this spread the message for suicide prevention resources and serve as a channel to recruit volunteers.
“It’s emotional support of any kind,” Barkoff said, “You don’t have to be in crisis to call. People talk about their day.”
If you or a loved one is having suicidal thoughts, Agora Crisis Center can be reached all hours at (505) 277-3013.
Anthony Jackson is a freelance reporter with the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @TonyAnjackson.
