You matter. You are not alone. That is our adage in our student led group The Youth Suicide Prevention Program Group (YSPP) at Kent Phoenix Academy. Our YSPP group was formed last year due to student’s advocacy and desire to form an educational and support group for others who are dealing with issues of self-harm, depression, suicide and bullying. Students in YSPP have led school-wide educational and preventative presentations to our student body and have partnered with our school’s Gay Straight Alliance on important causes such as The National Day of Silence, a day of action in which students across the country vow to take a form of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools. Our YSPP students work hard all year learning about advocacy skills and coping techniques to help in the fight to end the stigma attached to issues like these.
This year, students learned about a fundraising walk called The Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk; which is a 17 mile walk that starts at dusk and goes throughout the night until dawn, when walkers cross the finish line and walk into the light of the morning, a metaphor in their desire to bring suicide awareness into the light and encourage people affected by suicide to be strong and keep hope alive. This walk is designed to raise funds and make a bold statement to bring the issue of suicide out into the light. The Overnight is organized by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), the leading national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research, education and advocacy, and to reaching out to people with mental health disorders and those impacted by suicide.
When our students in YSPP heard about this walk, they wanted to get involved! We worked with an Overnight Organizer to find out what we could do to get involved in this event and students opted to support this cause by putting their adage: “You Matter; You are not Alone” into action by giving up their Saturday night to volunteer and participate in lifting spirits and helping out at the Overnight Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention and awareness Walk in Seattle. Perhaps the most moving moment of the night was helping to set up the luminaria and supporting walkers who were met with thousands of candlelit luminaria at the finish line – each one representing a life touched by suicide. As the symbol of the Overnight these bags truly represent the importance of what this walk is all about.
The Closing Ceremony completes the event with a celebration of community. Imagine standing in the crowd amongst so many who have together completed this tremendous journey. Each has their own reasons, thoughts and memories, yet collectively they all made a loud, proud statement that suicide and mental illness can and will be brought out of the darkness. That feeling will stay with us forever.
Submitted by Kent Phoenix Academy Site Coordinator Kim Shell. For more information, email Kim at kimberly.shell@kent.k12.wa.us.