Out of the Darkness Walk held
Published 9:58 am Tuesday, April 10, 2018
- Pictured are, from left, Kathe Goller (Virginia Area Director for AFSP), Angela Rozmus, Angela Cook, Sasha Johnson, Lorrie Eanes-Brooks (Danville-South Central Out of the Darkness Walk Chair), Helen Chay, Hannah Harris, Danette Gibbs, Brittany Williams, Kathy Reed (Crossroads’ Prevention Coordinator), Shirley Ramsey (AFSP Virginia Chapter Chairperson), Erin Sandow, Kandy Freeman and Nicole Hill (COPES President).
Friends, students and community members joined together on March 17 for Longwood University’s fourth annual Out of the Darkness Walk. This year the walk was open to the public and was able to raise approximately $3,000 for our local American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Chapter. The 117 walkers in attendance had the opportunity to paint inspirational rocks and wear honor beads to acknowledge the ways in which suicide and mental illness has affected their lives and the lives of loved ones. It united the community and campus for the common cause of breaking down stigma and bringing awareness to mental health issues.
Money raised from The Out of the Darkness Walk allows AFSP to fund research, provide free suicide prevention workshops to the public, advocate for public policy and support survivors of suicide loss. Sponsors of this year’s walk included Centra, C.O.P.E.S. Coalition, Crossroads Community Services Board, Lamda Pi Eta, Longwood University, TASTEE-FREEZ of Crewe and The Woodland Inc.
