Be Aware: September Is Suicide Prevention Month

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

A woman who was 21 when she survived a suicide attempt in January 1996 now attends a community walk that is similar to walks that will be held this fall in Norfolk, Hampton, Virginia Beach, Suffolk and at numerous sites nationwide.

  Some suicide victims don’t live to tell their stories. But each year she shares her story at the “Out of the Darkness Community Walk” sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. It is a nonprofit that sponsors more than 400 walks and gatherings throughout the nation. It also raises funds for suicide prevention, research, policy, advocacy, loss, healing, and public education. It also provides a book list that aims to help loss survivors heal.

“At the Community Walks, I saw others who had experienced unimaginable pain but were oddly still hopeful: hopeful that by being open about their experiences and bringing this topic out of the darkness, it could ultimately save someone else’s life,” she wrote on the website for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

“I won’t go into the details of my attempt. Luckily, a man I’ll call William happened to walk out from the end of his work shift and find me. He rescued me at risk to himself. I have never seen or talked to him since that fateful day our paths crossed.”

“Somewhere along the way, in my 30s, I found the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). I cannot remember what led me there or inspired me to participate in my first Out of the Darkness Community Walk,” she wrote. “I’m not even sure what I told people as I was fundraising for the Walk, because up until that point, I had barely spoken about my attempt to anyone: not family, not friends, not coworkers, and certainly not strangers.”

“Why wasn’t I open about my experience? Because following my attempt, my story was not my own. It had been swept under the rug as a shameful family secret. I was pressured to explain that I’d been in a car accident.”

On World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10, Norfolk Community Services Board Prevention Services will partner with Norfolk Botanical Garden and host “Guidance Out of Silence,” from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Norfolk Botanical Garden, 6700 Azalea Garden Rd.

On Sept. 10, the Virginia Peninsula Walk will be held at Buckroe Beach in Hampton.

On Oct. 24, Suffolk will hold an “Out of the Darkness Community Walk” at Bennett’s Creek Park.

On Sept. 26, Virginia Beach will hold an “Out of the Darkness Community Walk” from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Mount Trashmore Park-North, Bendix Rd.

Walks take place across the country beginning in September and run through the fall. Over a quarter of a million people from cities in all 50 states participate.

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and Virginia ranked No. 11 in 2024, the same year that 1,196 suicide deaths were reported. Whites had the highest age‑adjusted suicide rate in Virginia (16.7 per 100,000), followed by Blacks (8.4), Hispanic/Latino (7.8), and Asians (9.6).

Statistics show every 40 seconds, someone dies by suicide.

So in September, the National Alliance on Mental Illness headquartered in Arlington, is another nonprofit that will spark “meaningful action” on this “urgent mental health issue.”

According to its website, NAMI offers numerous services throughout the year including virtual support groups open to everyone across the country. It also provides tools, resources, and support that allows people to talk openly about suicide prevention, recognize warning signs, and seek help.

Aiming to bring suicide’s impact into focus, the survivor, who participates in the annual walk, said, “Statistically, most people have been affected by suicide and mental health issues in some way, and the place where they can start to find healing is in community.”

Walks begin in September and run through the fall. To find and register for a walk near you, go to afspwalks.donordrive.com.

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It is important to remember that the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention also sponsors numerous events throughout the year including many specialized ethnic programs such as L.E.T.S. Save Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention for Black and African American Communities. The program is open to anyone over age 18 and is designed for Black and African American audiences.

The goal of this new program is to create conversations in Black communities about mental health and to prevent suicide and suicide attempts by encouraging help-seeking.

The Virginia Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention serves all of Virginia except for Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Arlington Counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park. To find locations, visit afsp.org/ncac.