Tahlia Scherer, Editor-in-Chief
@tscherercourant
On October 26, residents from across Fairfield County gathered at Sherwood Island State Park for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s (AFSP) “Out of the Darkness” Walk. Groups of NCHS students and staff participated in the event, donning yellow shirts with the statement “We Don’t Worry Alone.” Among students and faculty, NCHS was also represented by a variety of school communities including the National Honor Society (NHS), New Canaan Service League of Boys (SLOBS), and the Mental Health Club.
This was the final walk of a series of five events across the state of Connecticut, including locations in Niantic, Hamden, Litchfield, and Hartford.
Walk organizer Anne Romano said, “We hold these walks to raise awareness about suicide and to prevent suicide. We want to raise awareness that we are never alone and that community support is vital to the healing process.”
Before the walk commenced, participants had the opportunity to engage in various activities such as painting positive messages on rocks, listening to a DJ, or exploring a multitude of vendors like Here For You, a clothing brand seeking to spread mental health awareness.
“We started the day off with a fair of many local organizations that offered their merch and mental health resources,” said NCHS senior Daniel Yoo. “The walk started at around 10:30 am, which was a really pretty half-mile loop by the waterfront. The weather was perfect for it, and I was encouraged to see our community’s support and initiative displayed at the event – from walking alongside other NCHS students and teachers to hearing Senator Tony Hwang give the opening remarks.”
Annually, NHS participates in the Walk for ALS. However, this year, leaders of NHS including Vice President Lily Mohr decided to instead take part in the AFSP “Out of the Darkness Walk”.
“Initially we planned to continue the walk for ALS, but Mrs Thompson (NHS Advisor) said that given the recent events and the focus on mental health, a walk regarding suicide prevention may be more relevant,” said Lily. “It was important for students to attend the walk and wear their yellow shirts to spread awareness around mental health and de-stigmatize mental illness and suicide. The walk showed each member that we have a community of people that care about mental health and wellness.”
NCHS counselor Julia Rossini said, “Attending the walk is a powerful way to all feel togetherness, but you don’t have to attend the walk to also make a donation which are used for suicide prevention and research.”
Beyond the walk, members of the community had the opportunity to donate to AFSP. All contributions are allocated to local mental health resources and education. “All [AFSP] materials come from fundraising. We do give back to AFSP nationally for research projects, but we want the funds to stay locally,” said Ms. Romano.
In addition to fundraising, an important pillar of the walk was symbolism, which was woven into all aspects of the event. “At the walk we have 10 different colored beads which is a way that someone can feel a connection to another person. In our opening ceremony we always include the honor beads to show people that the walk is an opportunity to find people in the community like themselves that have been impacted by loss,” said Ms. Romano.
“Purple beads represented the loss of a friend or relative and blue was to support suicide prevention. Before the walk, there was a short ceremony where the ASFP leaders told us to take off our beads and put them back on one by one as each color and the meaning behind it was announced,” said Lily. “I thought this was an important message because it calls to mind all different reasons behind supporting suicide prevention and showed we were all in a community supporting one another.”
Other symbolic activities included writing a message on dissolvable paper to communicate to a loved one who has passed away, according to Romano. The action of walking itself was also a symbol, representing the community placing one foot in front of the other to destigmatize mental illness, or “walking out of the darkness and into the light,” she said.
The activities and vendors provided the community a way to connect with one another and to gain access to the plethora of resources available to them. “There are so many supportive programs in our community that showed up and had a table and offered their resources to the people that attended,” said Ms. Rossini. It was a great way to understand what’s out there in the community to help us and to become more well versed in ways that we can support each other.”
“While it hurt to see so many there who have felt the impact of such great loss, it was also an important reminder that even when the world at large seems apathetic, it’s full of individuals who care, and I think it inspired an increased sense of trust and compassion in a lot of people, myself included,” said Daniel.
“It is an emotional day – there’s sadness, but there’s also hope,” said Ms. Romano. “I think the event exudes hope and support for those impacted by suicide and it’s an opportunity to come together as a community.”
Resources:
The NCHS school counselors, social workers and psychologists are all here for you. Whether you need assistance with academic stress, anxiety, college and career advice, a schedule change, or simply want someone to talk to, you are encouraged to visit the Counseling Suite.
| Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988 |
| 211 Mental Health Mobile Crisis |
| NCHS Teen Talk Counselor, Martha Huitron: martha.huitron@ncps-k12.org or 203-594-4645. |
| Kids in Crisis: Call 203-661-1911 or visit https://www.kidsincrisis.org/ |
| Anonymously report suspected bullying behavior at NCPS. Click here to submit a student report. |
| Say Something |
| New Canaan Urgent Assessment |
| AFSP |
