State High and the Centre County community came together on Oct. 13 at Tudek Park for an Out of the Darkness Walk. The walk, which is run by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) organization, is an annual fundraiser that helps to raise both awareness and money for suicide prevention. State High’s Mental Health Matters Club helps to run the event.
Elisabeth James, mental health clinician at State High, explained what an ‘Out of the Darkness Walk’ is. “[The] Out of the Darkness Walk was created by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and it is to represent and break the stigma surrounding suicide,” James said. “So now there’s actually two for Centre County, there’s one for Penn State’s college walk, so that happens in April, and then there’s a community walk which happens in Centre County, now in October.”
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among teens, and James also explained how important it is for students, especially those who are in high school, to know about organizations like the AFSP. “I would say it’s essential,” James said. “Just talking about mental health, you know, breaking that stigma, […] I think just talking about it is the biggest thing.”
Senior Raya Wolyniec, treasurer of the Mental Health Matters Club, agreed with James on the importance of suicide awareness and prevention. “I think it’s super, super important, especially, with all of the stuff that’s happened with our own students in the past couple [of] years, it’s such a big issue that is not talked about enough,” Wolyniec said. “Events like these that happen are just so important for us to go to and at least, at the very least know about and support in any way that we can.”
As the walk began, people from all over Centre County showed support. Alongside James, Wolyniec, and the Mental Health Matters Club were members of State High’s Girls Soccer team, the Jana Marie Foundation, the Meadows, Clarion Psychiatric Center, and more. Over 20 different organizations/stations were set up at Tudek Park during the walk. Others showed up who either lost a loved one to suicide or wanted to support the cause. Those present could purchase t-shirts and other memorabilia, and any money made would go directly towards the AFSP.
Wolyniec described the atmosphere of the walk as tight, noting that there were many people all there for the same reason of raising suicide awareness.
“I feel like the atmosphere was very close,” Wolyniec said. “Right before the walk started, the leader of [the walk] read a poem, and we were all reciting and saying the words back to her. And I felt like we were all connected by this one whole thing.”
By the end of the walk, tens of thousands of dollars were raised to aid suicide prevention. “So [the] Mental Health Matters Club, we raised $1,000, […] But $22,967 [was] raised for suicide prevention,” James said.
Wolyniec encourages students to get involved by joining the Mental Health Matters Club and participating in schoolwide events throughout the year. “We have events like the Week of Hope and Suicide Prevention Month, we do a bunch of events for so I think that’s the number [one] way that students in State High can get involved,” Wolyniec said.
If you are interested in donating to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention or learning more about the organization’s work, click here. If you or a loved one requires immediate support, visit the 988 Lifeline here or call 988 for immediate connection to someone who can help. If you would like to reach out and meet with a State High counselor, click here.
