Lorraine Bracco, Crowd Of 500+ Walk, Run To Fight Depression

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Star Lorraine Bracco led more than 500 participants at the Third Annual Walk of Hope + 5K Run to Defeat Depression in Southampton Sunday.

Men, women and children — plus a few four-footed canine friends — gathered at the starting line at 9 a.m., with participants including CBS’s Blue Bloods star Bracco, The Watermill Center’s Robert Wilson, and Jenny and John Paulson; those who attended completed a 5K course around Lake Agawam. The USA Track and Field-sanctioned event raised more than $250,000 for advanced depression research, organizers said.

HDRF Founder and Chair Audrey Gruss, speaking on the steps of the Southampton Cultural Center, said: “Depression is the number-one reason in the world for disability, and the leading cause of suicide. We want people to know there is help, and we need more research if we are going to turn the tide on depression and suicide in this country, so thank you all for coming out to support the cause today.”

Southampton Village Mayor Michael Irving helped to kick off the event and cut the ribbon at the starting line. “The Walk of Hope has gathered the entire community to raise awareness about depression,” he said, adding, “I am so proud to see such an enormous turn-out and outpouring of support from our village.”

Participants sported caps in HDRF’s signature yellow, along with T-shirts with a custom design by Wilson. A total of 89 competitive runners took the lead at the starting line, followed by families and fun runners. Following the race, Gruss and her team presented medals for best times in various age categories.

Travis Taylor won the best time in the Adult Male category, and Tara Farrell won best time in the Adult Female category. Mark Jacobello, 13, won for best youth male, and Caroline Clagne, 13, won for best youth female.

Gruss then presented awards to top individual fundraisers Scott Snyder and Kim Heirston, and an award for Top Fundraising Team to Arthur Dunnam and Roy Cohen, who named their team after their dog Oskar, also in attendance.

This year, the Walk of Hope + 5K Run was prefaced by a Week of Hope, a village-wide effort in Southampton to raise mental health awareness that commenced on July 26. More than 90 stores in Southampton “turned yellow” by placing two-foot wide yellow statement balloons by their front door to symbolize hope and their commitment to changing the staggering statistics around depression.

The initiative came in the wake of the suicides of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade, as well as local Sag Harbor resident and publicist Jeanine Pepler, organizers said, adding, "Each shocking loss is a reminder that the suicide rate is rising in the U.S. and that depression is a national health epidemic. Every 12 minutes a person dies by suicide in the United States; depression is the leading cause."

Next up will be the 11th Annual Luncheon Seminar, to be held on Nov. 6. The event will focus on “Brain Health and Wellness – the Science of Self Care,” and will honor public figures speaking out about depression and salute the research progress of HDRF’s team of neuroscientists.

Gruss founded HDRF in April 2006 in memory of her mother Hope, who struggled with clinical depression; today, HDRF is the leading nonprofit organization focused solely on depression research and public education, organizers said.

"The World Health Organization has declared depression as the leading cause of disability worldwide, but despite its prevalence, depression is still misunderstood, underfunded and under-researched," organizers said.

The mission of the HDRF is to fund neuroscience research into the origins, medical diagnosis, new treatments, and prevention of depression and its related mood disorders, bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder and suicide.

To date, HDRF has provided more than $30-million through over 125 grants for breakthrough depression research that promises to transform the way depression is viewed, diagnosed, treated and prevented.

Patch photo courtesy HDRF.