New Yorkers Walk to Prevent Suicide

NEW YORK - Aug. 13, 2013 - PRLog --  

NEW YORKERS WALK TO PREVENT SUICIDE

 

 

This fall, each of New York City’s five boroughs will host their own Out of the Darkness Community Walk, part of a national movement to raise funds and awareness for suicide prevention. More than 2,000 people from throughout New York City are expected to participate.  The walks support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), the leading national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide. 

 

1.      Brooklyn Walk, Asser Levy Park, Coney Island, NY, September 29^th

2.      Bronx Walk, Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, NY, October 6^th

3.      Staten Island Walk, Clove Lakes Park, Staten Island, NY, October 6^th

4.      Manhattan Walk, Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park,  Battery Park City, NY, NY,  October 27^th

5.      Queens Walk, Astoria Park, Astoria, NY, November 3^rd

 

According to AFSP, close to 700,000 people will make a suicide attempt requiring medical care and more than 38,000 will die by suicide in the U.S. every year.

“Despite the troubling statistics, an important goal of the walk is to stress that suicide can be prevented. The walk is also a call to action that more must be done to prevent suicide, nationally and in communities across the country,” said Robert Gebbia, executive director for the foundation. 

 

“We know that the best way to prevent suicide is through the early recognition and treatment of the mental disorders that can contribute to suicide. Unfortunately, stigma about disorders such as depression, bipolar illness, and alcohol and substance abuse, keeps people from getting the treatment they need.  Our goal is to eliminate this stigma.  It’s about bringing hope to those who have been affected by suicide,” he continued.

Many walkers participate because they have lost someone they know to suicide or because they personally live with a mental health issue such as depression or bipolar disorder, or know someone who does.

 

To register and/or donate visit:

http://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.404&...