Out of the Darkness Walk 2019. Members of the sorority Alpha Gamma Delta continue to show their support for this cause by wearing honor beads and taking place in the NC virtual Statewide Walk.
On Saturday, April 18, 2020, Western Carolina University students walked virtually, alongside the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s (AFSP) NC Statewide Out of the Darkness Walk.
The event was held on Facebook Live and Facebook Watch and included a slideshow, honor beads ceremony, and the chance for several people to speak out about their own struggles or struggles of the ones they loved and have lost. The pre-recorded video of this event can be found here, if you are interested in watching it.
“This walk was important to me because it takes note of what students are going through. It also offers their voices back,” said Western Carolina senior, E’Quince Smith, who is a committee member and participant of the 2020 virtual walk, in an email message.
This NC statewide virtual campus pre-recorded walk began with a live slideshow from the Associate Area Director Betsy Rhodes, one of the two staff partners for the AFPS, and included Catherine English who is the second staff member and the Area Director. The Out of the Darkness Walk was broken into two sections: the Facebook watch party which included the opening program, honor beads ceremony, and call to action, and the Facebook live which included volunteer and watcher shout outs and information about AFSP as a whole.
AFSP beads to all volunteers and followers who chose to take place in the Out of the Darkness Walk for their own selves and others.
The honor beads ceremony was held at 12:45 p.m. and can be found here. Losing someone to suicide or struggling yourself with a mental illness is very hard to cope with, and AFSP started the honor beads tradition to honor those we’ve lost. There are nine different colored bead strands, and each color offers a personal connection to the cause and gives the ability for others to identify people who struggle with a similar or exact connection to theirs.
White: the loss of a child. Red: the loss of a spouse or partner. Gold: the loss of a parent. Orange: the loss of a sibling. Purple: the loss of a relative or friend. Silver: the loss of a first responder or military. Green: a personal struggle or attempt. Teal: supporting someone who struggles or has attempted. Then finally Blue: for those who support suicide prevention” (AFSP).
The call to action included AFSP sending out an “I Hope…” sign for anyone interested to download and use. The sign was created for people to take a selfie with their hopes for suicide awareness and prevention. This then lead into the call to action portion of the walk which included several people snapping a photo of their hopes with the tag #afspnc. Instagram, Twitter and Facebook profiles all over North Carolina were filled with meaningful “I hope” messages for families, friends, and relatives.
What do you hope for suicide prevention and awareness?
“This walk made me realize, despite my lowest point, that I would never be struggling alone. There is more than just me who’s struggling and it showed me that I didn’t have to fight this battle alone,” says Brittany Tuttle, Western Carolina junior and event participant, in an email message.
Western Carolina is glad to support AFSP as a student lead committee and event. Western Carolina’s Out of the Darkness Walk members currently include Kaitlyn Brasecker, Kali Fleagle, Katelyn Haskett, and Autumn Luffman. The Western Carolina University committee currently includes second year grad student Jesse Chen: co-chair, sophomore Carleigh Ballard: nonprofit partners, junior Kaitlyn Brown: publicity chair, senior E-Quince Smith: logistics, Addison Rush: recruitment, and Kim Gorman: faculty advisor.
Sophomore Carleigh Ballard shows her support for the Out of the Darkness Walk 2020, by posting a photo with her honor beads.
To get involved in Out of the Darkness Walk at Western Carolina University, don’t hesitate to reach out to Carleigh Ballard through engage or by email: cballard1@catamount.wcu.edu, and join the passionate committee of students who walk for a heartfelt cause. Western Carolina University will continue to be a part of this event to honor students who have lost their battle to suicide and mental health.
If you or a loved one is struggling with suicidal tendencies don’t hesitate to call (800) 273-8255 or text TALK to 741741. You are not alone! All fundraising goes to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Go to https://afsp.org/give-a-gift and donate!
