WHNT – POSTED 10:47 PM, OCTOBER 30, 2016, BY CAITLAN DALLAS, UPDATED AT 08:41AM, OCTOBER 31, 2016
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Suicide is something that affects so many of us, but often times there is a stigma associated with it. One organization is hoping break that stigma and spread awareness this upcoming weekend on November 6th.
Kari Kingsley is the chairperson for the walk, held in connection with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. For her, suicide prevention is a cause that hits close to home after losing her brother four years ago. She said she wishes she knew more about suicide before her brother passed.
“Our family didn’t have a lot of information on suicide prevention, coping, that kind of thing, so you know our hope with this is that we can raise awareness, and have people have more education, know that there is support out there,” she said.
All of the money raised goes to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, but sometimes they don’t get the same support as other non-profits.
“Suicide has a huge stigma associated with it, sometimes we’ll approach different groups and tell them the name of our group, the american foundation for suicide prevention and you’ll see them kind of take a step back,” said Kingsley.
It’s their hope that with the Out of the Darkness walk they can help bring people into the light, and let them know they do have other options.
“It’s a hard topic to talk about so the Out of Darkness walks are trying to break that stigma,” said Kingsley.
The money raised from the walk goes to the foundation to help pay for peer support, physicians, and educational programs.
The Out of the Darkness Walk will be Sunday, November 6 at Ditto Landing Marina. Last year the walk raised $15,000 and they’re hoping to beat that amount this year with a big turnout. You can register for the North Alabama walk here, or register on the day of the walk starting at 2:30 p.m.