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Register Now for the Hamden Out of the Darkness Community Walk
The fundraising walk, open to people from throughout the greater New Haven area, supports the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
More than 900 people from throughout the greater New Haven area are expected to participate in the upcoming Out of the Darkness Community Walk on Sunday, October 4, 2015. The fundraising walk supports the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP, afsp.org) by helping to support local and national suicide prevention and awareness programs to reduce the annual rate of suicide by 20 percent by 2025.
The Hamden Out of the Darkness Walk, presented by the Southern Connecticut chapter of AFSP and Gold Sponsor Yale-New Haven Hospital, is one of more than 360 Out of the Darkness Community Walks (www.outofthedarkness.org) being held this fall nationwide. The walks are expected to unite more than 100,000 walkers nationally and raise more than $12 million for suicide prevention efforts.
“Much more needs to be done to prevent suicide. Yet, suicide and the underlying mental disorders that can sometimes lead to suicide continue to be surrounded by misinformation and stigma,” said event co-chair Marie DiZazzo Wilson. “This walk is about reducing that stigma, raising awareness and raising needed funds for research and local prevention programs.”
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The Hamden community walk will begin at the Hamden Town Center Park at 12:30pm and end at the same location at approximately 2:30pm. For more information, visit http://tinyurl.com/HamdenWalk
According to AFSP, close to 700,000 people will make a suicide attempt requiring medical care and more than 38,000 will die by suicide in the U.S. every year.
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“Despite the troubling statistics, an important goal of the walk is to stress that suicide can be prevented. The walk is also a call to action that more must be done to prevent suicide, nationally and in communities across the country,” said Robert Gebbia, executive director for the foundation.
About the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention:
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is the leading national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research, education and advocacy as well as to reaching out to people with mental disorders and those impacted by suicide. For more information please visit www.afsp.org.
