News & Releases

On Saturday, September 25, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will be having an Out of the Darkness Community Walks at Presque Isle. Check-in begins at 10am with the walk to start at 11am. To register, visit http://afsp.donordrive.com/ and click on Out of the Darkness Community Walks. Register under SERVICE MEMBERS HELPING SERVICE MEMBERS.

From AFSP: Suicide is a life-threatening health crisis and we are seeing an increase in the number of Soldiers who are thinking about killing themselves, and following through on that thought and dying as a result of suicide.  We want to bring awareness to suicide, and how we can prevent it.  Some important warning signs are sudden changes in behavior, social isolations, verbalizations of a sense of hopelessness, verbalizations of being a burden on others, an increase in alcohol, and an increase in drug use.  Our goal at the Soldier Member and Family Support Resiliency Office is to re-connect our Service Member and the local community in order to bring awareness.  There are thirteen local communities across the Commonwealth who are organizing Out of the Darkness Walks to help understand and prevent suicide, reach out to people with mental health concerns, and to those who have been impacted by suicide. The walks vary by location.  There will be an opening ceremony, and then you will walk along a designated path to raise awareness as a community of one.  When you walk in the Out of the Darkness Walks, you join the effort with hundreds of thousands of people to raise awareness and funds that allow AFSP to invest in new research, create educational programs, advocate for public policy, and support survivors of suicide loss.