Out of Darkness: Be the Voice’s Annual Suicide Prevention Walk

Butler’s branch of Be the Voice has finally been able to host their annual suicide prevention and awareness walk the ways they used to before the pandemic. Students, faculty, staff and community members showed up in droves to show support and speak their truths.

Cassandra Stec | cmstec@butler.edu

Trigger Warning: This article may feature topics regarding mental health that some readers may find triggering.

This past weekend was Be the Voice’s annual suicide prevention walk on Butler’s campus. After a ceremony in the Reilly Room, students, staff, faculty and community members walked around campus to show support for their loved ones and speak their truths.

Be the Voice is Butler University’s chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). The student organization spreads the AFSP’s mission of “saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide.” Be the Voice does this through helping to raise money to fund scientific research, educating the public about mental health and suicide prevention, advocating for public policies relating to the topics mentioned and supporting survivors of suicide loss or those affected by suicide.

Louise Irpino, senior English major, participated in Be the Voice’s Out of Darkness Walk her first year at Butler. She was an honoree at their opening ceremony.

“It’s a great way to bring awareness to suicide prevention and to share the stories of people who have personally been affected by suicide,” Irpino said.

One of the ways in which Be the Voice and those who attended the Out of Darkness Walk brought awareness was through Honor Beads. Each beaded necklace featured a single color which represented a variety of experiences and connections participants in the Out of Darkness Walk may have. Some examples of the beads and their correlation are white – for loss of a child – or blue – for supporting suicide prevention – or green – for personal struggle or attempt. Participants were encouraged to wear as many colors as correlated with their lives and the people they know.

Laura Jensen, senior psychology and German major, has wanted to participate in the Out of Darkness Walk in the past, but she was unable to due to time constraints. She first participated when the Out of Darkness was moved to a more virtual model during the pandemic.

“The Out of the Darkness walk means a lot to me,” Jensen said. “As someone who has experienced all sorts of mental health [experiences] first-hand, I've seen what suicidal thoughts and ideations can do to people and I feel like this walk is a way to be seen and heard. It's nice to know that those who show up are people who would care about someone else and would be there for them instead of leaving people to fend for themselves. It's also a walk that represents those who struggle now, struggled in the past, or even those who will in the future. I feel like this walk gives a sense of peace to those who have seen others struggle and those who struggle themselves. Personally, both Be the Voice and the Out of the Darkness walk bring a sense of hope to me, like, here's someone who cares and who will care for you if you need it; here are people telling you that you are not alone in this, that you never were, and that you never will be.”

Like Irpino, Jensen is also glad the event was held in person this year and with events before the actual walk, after two years of being a smaller, more Covid-concioius event.

“I actually first started participating last year and we were in-person, but it was definitely not the same as what it will be this year, as far as I have understood,” Jensen said. “Last year we did a check-in and went for a walk around campus. This year there's going to be a ceremony which I look forward to experiencing.”

In the week preceding the walk was filled with a variety of fundraising events from local restaurant give-backs to online donations and sponsorships, Butler’s chapter of AFSP was able to raise over $40,000 this year. These funds were raised by 169 participants, sixteen teams and two sponsors. Thanks to these efforts, Butler’s Out of Darkness Walk was ranked #2 in the nation for AFSP Campus Walks.

If you or someone you know are considering suicide or are in a crisis, call 800-273-8255 or text TALK to 741741 for immediate assistance. Additionally, afsp.org/get-help features a variety of resources that may help those who are having thoughts, have lost someone, are worried about someone or have survived an attempt in addition to other suicide prevention resources.