Walk Shines Light on Darkness of Suicide

The arrival of fall brings with it excitement:  the hustle and bustle of new school years, new classes and events.  But the popular Broadway tune, Try to Remember, captures the remembrance embedded in September as summer turns to fall. Likewise, a growing rite of passage hopes to help local citizens to remember those lost and to help them walk forward, bringing awareness to the great number of lives lost by suicide. 

The first known local Suicide Prevention Walk was organized by Sara Clapp and a group of young ladies she mentored at the Montgomery County Youth Service Bureau in 2018.   Having lost a friend to suicide, the members of YSB’s Inspire group organized and hosted the event.  In 2024, YSB again offered a walk to bring attention to suicide and remember those who have been lost. Joining YSB to host the 2024 walk was Volunteers for Mental Health in Montgomery County.

In Indiana alone, during the span of time from the first walk to the most recent, at least 6,000 Hoosiers have chosen to end their own lives.  This 1,000 deaths per year average places Indiana in the top 10 of all states in the U.S. for annual loss of lives according to in.gov/issp  That is why YSB and VMHMC will again join together to help bring awareness to suicide and those lost to it.

Over 200 individuals  registered for last year’s walk, and the YSB and VMHMC, both members of the United Way family, are hopeful that an equal number of suicide prevention activists will join them at Milligan Park on Saturday, Sept. 27. The event is free of charge, and the first 100 individuals to arrive for 8:30 check-in will receive a free commemorative T-shirt.  Suicide prevention materials, memory beads, water and snacks are also provided free to participants.  Local mental health agencies will  be present to make information available as well. The walk will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude with a butterfly release, poignantly entwining loss and hope as the butterflies rise in the sky. 

To learn further details and register for the walk, one should visit the YSB website: https://mcysb47933.wixsite.com/mcysb  and click on the Suicide Prevention Walk Registration link.

Please direct questions to Sara Clapp at the Montgomery County Youth Service Bureau: 362-0694 ext. 102 or Sara@mcysb.org