
1013 Surviving suicide
During the Out of the Darkness Walk, each pair of shoes represents one person lost to suicide in Alabama.
Kelsey Allison, 25, credits the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Out of the Darkness Walk for saving her life.
Allison had seriously contemplated and attempted suicide in October 2010 while attending the University of Montevallo.
“The depression had been so consuming,” she said. “I had been existing, not living. I was never happy, excited or even angry. I was just there. I believed I had nothing to live for.”
But the Out of the Darkness Walk has given Allison and many others the comfort of knowing she is not alone in her struggle.
The 280 area resident has participated in the local Birmingham walk for seven years and has been on the walk committee and AFSP’s Alabama board of directors a few years ago.
For the past eight years, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) has sought to prevent suicide, promote awareness and terminate the shame that surrounds depression and other mental illnesses with its Out of the Darkness Walk in Birmingham.
Last year, the Birmingham event was the sixth largest walk out of more than 250 national walks. Participants helped raise $158,717 for the AFSP.
Along the 3- to 5-mile walking path, participants see numerous pairs of shoes that represent each person lost to suicide in Alabama. There are also statistics, hotline numbers and pieces of advice posted throughout the walk.
Marissa Grayson, the chair of the Birmingham walk, said some people find it hard to see how many have been lost to suicide. Grayson, who lost her father to suicide in August 2005, finds it “eerily comforting.”
“It was difficult to be a part of because it reminded me of my father, but it was comforting to be around so many people that understood what I was going through,” said Grayson, a political science professor at Samford University.
The event also provides a survivor area where people can bring mementos of their lost loved ones and speak with a therapist.
Grayson, who has been a part of the Out of the Darkness Walk since 2008, said it allows her to honor her father and to comfort others so that they avoid the same emotional rollercoaster. She knows what the statistics tell.
According to AFSP, more than 90 percent of those who commit suicide have a diagnosable and treatable mental illness at the time of their deaths.
Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. among adults ages 18 to 65 and the second leading cause of death among teens and young adults.
AFSP also hosts the Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk, an 18-mile event that lasts from dusk to dawn, and Out of the Darkness Campus Walks, which cover three to five miles on college and high school campuses across the nation.
This year’s Birmingham walk will be held on Nov. 3 from 2:30-4:30 p.m. at Heardmont Park, 5458 Cahaba Valley Road. Register for free at afsp.donordrive.com.
For more, call Grayson at 613-6630 or visit afsp.org.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s
Out of the Darkness Walk
Nov. 3
2:30-4:30 p.m.
Heardmont Park
Register for free at afsp.donordrive.com.
Advice for Those Complemplating Suicide
From Kelsey Allison and Marissa Grayson
- Know that there is help.
- Recognize the illness and get help.
- Take all threats of suicide seriously.
- Suicide is preventable, but he or she must be willing to ask for help.
- Things will get better.
If you are contemplating suicide or know someone who is, visit suicidehotlines.com/alabama.html for a list of national and regional suicide hotlines.