Out of the Darkness DFW Metro Walk is an American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) event to raise awareness, allowing communities affected by suicide across the DFW Metroplex to come together.
The event took place on Saturday, October 29, at Choctaw Stadium, the former home of the Texas Rangers baseball club in Arlington, Texas.
Doors opened at 8:30 a.m., the program started at 10:30 a.m., and the walk began at 11 a.m.
Many people’s introduction to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention occurs through Out of the Darkness walk events that happen not only in the DFW Metroplex but across the country.
“The Out of the Darkness walk is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s signature walk,” said Katie Moreno, the North Texas Area Director for AFSP, speaking with The Dallas Express.
“It’s for families, anyone who’s been affected by suicide to come together and share and commemorate and let people know that they’re not alone. Whether they suffered the loss, whether they’re still struggling themselves, it’s a time to come together,” Moreno expressed.
The event unites communities and provides an opportunity to acknowledge how suicide and mental health conditions have affected many people’s lives and those affected by suicide.
In 2020, 45,979 people committed suicide in the United States, which equates to one death every 11 minutes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The suicide rate among men in 2020 was four times higher than that of women, and while men only make up 49% of the population, they commit nearly 80% of suicides.
“We’re hoping that people take away that they’re not alone here in North Texas, whether they are struggling or whether they’ve lost someone themselves to suicide, that there is a community here who supports to them and who’s raising awareness for mental health and suicide,” Moreno explained.
The AFSP has raised $214,000 out of its $250,000.
For more information on the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and how to contribute, click here.
We need to keep promoting awareness and solutions for mental health issues. Another stat I didn’t see in the article is over 60% of gun deaths is suicide. As an ardent 2A advocate, we need to find solutions to firearm suicides while protecting rights to bear arms.