The Maine Campus: Touchstone Resources Organizes Suicide Prevention Walk

By Christopher Burns

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For everyone gathered outside Fogler Library Sunday afternoon, there was more to celebrate than an unbroken blue sky after days of clouds and rain.

The biggest cause for celebration was the sense of solidarity among a community brought together to overcome the hindrance of mental health issues.

Sunday’s event was the fourth annual Out of the Darkness walk for suicide prevention organized by the University of Maine Counseling Center and Touchstone Resources in conjunction with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The AFSP organizes walks all across the country to raise money for its prevention programs and research.

In Orono, the first walk was organized in 2009 and is just one of the events held in Maine this year. Earlier this month the AFSP organized prevention walks in Fort Kent and Waterville. Another is scheduled for Oct. 5 in Sanford.

Researchers from the Center for Disease Control estimate that somebody commits suicide every 14 minute. Suicide is among the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States behind influenza, cancer and heart and respiratory disease. It is also one of the highest preventable causes of death.

For everyone gathered Sunday, it was a “celebration of bringing suicide out of the darkness and into the light,” said Charles McKay, an organizer from Touchstone Resources.

Not everyone assembled on the mall had lost someone or struggled with suicide, but all gathered to support the cause and bring an end to the struggle and stigma.

Before the walk everyone gathered for a memorial service to remember those who lost the struggle with mental illness. Emily Cain, a member of the Maine State Senate, appeared briefly to provide words of support. A longtime supporter of the AFSP Out of the Darkness walks, she shared her connection to suicide with the audience. Her talk focused on reaching out to those in need, emphasizing that all it takes is just listening and talking.

“There is sympathy, empathy, and so many ways to show support,” she said.

The turnout was one of the best since the first Out of the Darkness walk. “Even bigger than the weather is all of you being here today,” she said. A preliminary count showed more than 350 walkers, with 287 pre-registered online.

After Emily Cain stepped down, McKay led the bead ceremony. Earlier walkers had the opportunity to show their connection to suicide by wearing a set of colored beads. Each color signified a different struggle, either personal or another’s. A select few participants volunteered to have their stories shared and McKay gathered them together for the ceremony.

In what proved to be the most powerful and poignant part of the afternoon, McKay read statements from each person. Each story was unique. Some were of recovery and others of irrevocable loss. Sons, fathers, brothers, husbands and veterans were among the lost.

When McKay concluded the bead ceremony, the Renaissance all-female a cappella group took the stage for a musical tribute. They led the audience through an evocative rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”

After the end of the memorial service, the walk began. The route followed College Ave. into downtown Orono to the public library before returning down Park Street to Rangley Road and back to campus. The route totaled a little over three and a half miles, with an optional shorter route. Walkers filled long stretches of sidewalk all along the route in a strong display of unity for the cause. Everyone was cheered as they crossed the end point back in front of Fogler.

The fundraising goal for this year’s event was $8,000. At the time of this writing, the amount raised totaled $6,259, with more money still coming in. With money raised from same-day registration and the t-shirt sale, the AFSP and Counseling Center and Touchstone Resources will reach their goal.

For more information about the AFSP and the Out of the Darkness campaign, visit www.afsp.org.

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