2019 Out of the Darkness Walk flyer, provided by CAPS.
According to the most recent data obtained from the CDC by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), in North Carolina about one person dies by suicide every six hours on average, and it is the 3rd leading cause of death for those between the ages of 15 and 34. Nearly twice as many people die by suicide as they do by homicide annually. In 2017, approximately 47,173 Americans died by suicide. While North Carolina is below the national suicide rate, it is clear that suicide is a significant issue in both the country and state.
To combat this issue, WCU’s Student Government Association (SGA) and campus Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) will be hosting the campus’s first Out of the Darkness community walk on March 24 at 2 p.m. The event is an awareness and fundraising effort which benefits the AFSP.
AFSP’s website describes the campus walks as “…the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s (AFSP) signature student fundraising series, designed to engage youth and young adults in the fight to prevent suicide, the second leading cause of death among people ages 15-24.”
According to Dr. Kim Gorman, CAPS director and psychologist, it is CAPS’s goal to host events such as a community walk or awareness event. Student interest in participating in and hosting an Out of Darkness event on WCU’s campus, along with increasing knowledge of student mental health concerns and collaboration from SGA, helped CAPS take the step towards hosting the event.
“We have noticed, over the years, an increase in the number of students who experience some type of suicidality, and that was part of the reason we had begun thinking about doing an event like this,” said Gorman.
Sophomore English Literature student Cassidy Rogers previously participated in an Out of Darkness Walk in her senior year of high school in Topsail Island, N.C.,when herself and fellow community members decided it was time to address the issue of suicide. At the walk, Rogers met Betsy Rhodes, the associate director for AFSP, who asked her where she planned on attending college. When she told her WCU, Rhodes encouraged her to start a walk there.
“That statement has stayed with me to this day, and when I came to Western in the Fall of 2017 I knew that I was going to do just that. I waited until my sophomore year because I wanted to get a feel for the campus and the type of community that Western had,” Rogers said. This type of event is important because it is close to her heart. She has several family members and friends who have either died by suicide or attempted it, so she wants to be a part of preventing it.
“I believe that suicide and mental health issues are a major problem on college campuses and its time to do something about it. That is why I think that the Out of the Darkness walk here at Western is so important. Students need to know that there is someone out there who cares and wants to be there for them.”
While the event is a fundraising effort for the AFSP, Gorman notes that the event has a much larger purpose than that.
“The bigger purpose is really to bring awareness of the community to suicide, and the impact of suicide. It is to give survivors that knowledge of care and concern from the community, as we know certainly, that care and that support is such a wonderful, not necessarily just a preventative factor, but is such a curative factor for individuals,” Gorman said.
Freshman Pre-nursing student Carleigh Ballard learned about the walk through SGA. Troi Davis, the director of diversity and inclusive excellence for SGA, reached out to students for volunteers for the walk, and Ballard indicated her interest.
“This event was something I knew would make a great impact on students, and I was touched to hear that our school would be hosting such an event,” said Ballard.
Ballard has close friends who deal with depression. At the walk, she hopes to advocate for those who feel lost and need help finding their way out of the mental health issues they are experiencing.
“WCU will be showing support to suicide prevention and raising awareness of mental health illnesses. When the students see that WCU is open about both of these topics, it will hopefully make for a more welcoming environment for those that are struggling,” said Ballard.
Mental health concerns, including suicide, are prevalent on college campuses. CAPS serves about 12 percent of the student population, and they know the need is greater than that. While they are seeing an increase in utilization of counseling services, everyone who needs assistance is still not seeking it. Gorman hopes that the walk will make more students aware of the services that are offered on campus, and the community that exists, which are there to support students, and that it will raise a conversation about suicide in particular.
The event is open to the public, and will start at the Catafount, taking the heart of campus route. SGA and CAPS hope to have at least 50 people participate in the event. Participants can preregister online. Those do not preregister should register starting at 1 p.m. prior to the event.
