Out of Darkness walk brings awareness/resources for mental health aspect of suicide

This weekend a new event will be taking place to raise awareness of the impact and causes of suicide.

Kathy Milam and Gentryville United Methodist Church Pastor Charlotte Lee teamed up with the state chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to organize this special walk. Called the Out of Darkness Walk, Kathy and Charlotte were convicted to create the event as they have learned of the increasing number of suicides in the area recently.

Are you in a crisis? Please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. Or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741

Kathy lost her son, Justin, to suicide five years ago and, in the ensuing emotional struggle, found comfort and healing as she met others impacted by suicide at similar walks around the area. Her first one was in Louisville.

“It was at Riverfront Park,” she explained.

The park slopes down towards the bank of the Ohio River and Kathy was towards the back of the line.

“As the walk started I just saw thousands and thousands of people ahead of me,” Kathy said. “It was very overwhelming and emotional because I realized that all of these people had been impacted one way or another. You really see how widespread the problem is.”

Those impacted by suicide carry different color beads. Called Honor Beads, the colors signify an individual’s loss or connection to suicide. Blue beads mean a person is there to support suicide prevention. Teal means they are there to show support for someone who struggles or has attempted suicide. Green means you attempted yourself. Kathy wears white beads to signify the loss of her son.

“As you’re walking through the crowd, you see other people wearing white beads and you know that they know what you have dealt with — they know what your journey is like,” she explained. “And it’s just a very comforting thing.”

These moments of connection through shared tragedy build bonds and help with the healing. “Grief can be very isolating,” Kathy said.

While these walks bring people together, they are also designed to raise awareness of mental health issues.

“The issue is the stigma associated with mental health issues,” she said. “People don’t want to talk about it and people are afraid to reach out to for help.”

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s mission is to remove the stigma associated with mental illness. They are raising money to grow the campaign with the goal of reducing suicide in the United States by 20 percent by 2025.

Kathy has worked at Superior Ag for 29 years in Huntingburg. Along with her own experience, she has learned of how suicide has impacted others in the area. Especially, younger individuals and farmers.

After a local teenager took their life this past spring, Charlotte Lee, whom Kathy had met with for counseling during her own struggles, suggested they need to organize their own walk. Kathy reached out to the state chapter of AFSP to begin the process and get some guidance.

Superior Ag also stepped up to support the event as a sponsor.

When she was given a listing of available dates, her son’s birthday, October 10, happened to be one of the dates available.

This Sunday, October 10, the St. Meinrad Archabbey will host the new Out of the Darkness Tri-County Indiana Walk. Registration begins at 1:30 p.m. and walkers will begin to traverse the beautiful grounds of the archabbey at 2:30 p.m.

You can sign up and find more information about the event here: https://supporting.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=7833