Participants are being invited to take to the streets in September in a fight against suicide.

The first-ever “Out Of The Darkness Community Walk” will focus on mental health awareness and suicide prevention. The event will take place Saturday, September 15 at the Grand Traverse County Civic Center. An opening ceremony will begin at 10:30am, with the 5K walk beginning at 11am. Online registrations are encouraged, but walkers will still be able to register on the day of the event starting at 9am. There is no registration fee, but walkers are encouraged to get people to help sponsor their participation. Those who raise $150 or more will receive a commemorative shirt.

“Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death, and yet it is 100 percent preventable,” says organizer Janeen Wardie. “Mental health has been kept in the dark for way too long, and yet suicide is a symptom of mental health problems that are so prevalent today. The issue cuts across all socio-economic groups, and with many of our veterans who deal with both physical and emotional injuries.”

Three years ago Wardie’s son, Zechariah, died by suicide while suffering from severe depression. Since that time, Wardie and her husband Ron have embarked on a campaign to help reduce suicides in northern Michigan.

The Traverse City Community Walk is one of nearly 400 walks organized around the country by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). The walk is a fundraiser that supports the mission of AFSP, which is “to save lives and bring help and hope to those affected by suicide” at the local and national level. The goal of the group is to reduce the annual suicide rate by 20 percent by 2025. The Foundation says nearly 45,000 people die by suicide every year – an average of 123 deaths a day.

“These are tragic statistics,” says Wardie. “You would be hard-pressed to find a household in northern Michigan that hasn’t in some way been touched by suicide. And that will never change unless we begin to normalize the conversation around mental illness."