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Springville Junior High School Hope Squad students Kaitlyn Gee, 13, and Mallory Murdoch, 14, hold signs while marching in the Hope Walk for suicide prevention and awareness in Spanish Fork on Tuesday, March 31, 2015.

Grant Hindsley, Daily Herald file photo

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Laura Giles

Jeremy Hall

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The beginning of September marks the beginning of National Suicide Prevention Month, a time for renewed efforts to educate, become involved, support and reach out. We can never have too much information or knowledge about how to potentially help save a life.

This month, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, afsp.org, is holding “Out of the Darkness” community walks. These annual walks, which are held throughout the country, draw hundreds of people together in different communities and campuses to walk to conquer suicide, aiming to open up conversations and help people be more aware. Funds raised help the foundation fight suicide.

“I walk because it gives me hope that other families can be spared the pain of suicide loss,” states a recent AFSP social media post. Whatever the reason, walking to prevent suicide can be both healing and helpful.

In Utah, there are several different walks happening throughout the month of September. Salt Lake City’s Out of the Darkness Walk will be held Sept. 7 at Veterans Memorial Park in West Jordan. Walkers can register online and donations help to raise money for suicide prevention efforts in Utah.

Hope4Utah’s Walk4Hope will be held Sept. 28 beginning at Timpanogos Elementary School, 449 N. 500 West, Provo. Registration is at 9 a.m., with a program at 9:30 a.m. and the walk beginning at 10 a.m. The walk is free and everyone is welcome.

The annual walk is a way to bring awareness to suicide in the community and promote the message of suicide prevention. Participants who have lost someone to suicide are encouraged to bring a photo of their loved one for a memory wall.

Hope4Utah, which is celebrating 20 years this year, is a suicide prevention program primarily for schools. Hope Squads began 20 years ago, and they are now in hundreds of schools in the United States.

How else can we begin to prevent suicide? One way is to talk! If you’re feeling hopeless, talk to someone. If you notice that someone seems to be struggling, ask them how they are doing. If you’re not sure who to talk to or how to ask if someone is having suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 at any time. Don’t forget: It’s OK to talk about suicide.

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