‘Out of the Darkness’: Organizers hope to raise awareness about suicide through Nov. 14 walk


The university, in collaboration with the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention, is hosting the 2009 Miami ‘Out of the Darkness’ 5K walk. Says FIU’s George Shepeard, ‘We need to educate our university community that it’s okay to talk about this serious issue.’

By Martin Haro

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Pascale Songiovanni, Yasmin Rey, Sabrina Mendez and Melissa Hollander are four of the Panthers who participated in last year’s Out of the Darkness Community Walk.

Hoping to shine a light on serious mental health issues, FIU will host the Miami Out of the Darkness 5K Walk on Nov. 14, Homecoming Saturday. FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg will kick off the event at 8:45 a.m. in front of the MARC Building at Modesto A. Maidique Campus.

The walk, which is part of an annual nationwide series of walks promoting suicide awareness and prevention efforts, is expected to bring hundreds of participants to the FIU campus, including individuals from the FIU community, the UM Miller School of Medicine, Switchboard of Miami and Miami-Dade County Public Schools, among other organizations.

“Our goal is to raise awareness about suicide, which is often a difficult topic for many to discuss,” said George Shepeard, assistant director for crisis services of the FIU Counseling and Psychological Services Center. Shepeard is coordinating the walk with Alan Meca, president of FIU’s chapter of Active Minds, a national student organization that works to increase students’ awareness of mental health issues. “Research has shown that as many as 9 percent of college students have thoughts of suicide at times. We need to educate our university community that it’s okay to talk about this serious issue and to realize that once that happens, help is available that can save lives.”

Participants are invited to participate in a post-race discussion and butterfly release.

Click here to register for the walk or donate to the Out of the Darkness 5K Walk.

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