Hanna Murray, a fourth-year pharmacy student, is no stranger to the importance of suicide awareness. Since the age of 14, she has lost nine people in her life to suicide. As a result, Murray is active in online awareness campaigns and participates in Suicide Prevention weeks. This last Sunday, however, she found herself on Greene Street with over a hundred others for what would be her first Out of the Darkness walk.
“I'm hoping that this will be kind of cathartic for me, and it’s just a good way to honor some of the really good people in my life that I’ve lost,” Murray said, as she waited with her friends for the walk to start.
Events like this give those who are dealing with an aspect of suicide a place to comfortably start a dialogue with others who have had similar experiences. Upon checking in, participants could pick up beaded necklaces in varying colors which represented the type of suicide they personally connected with. Experiences ranged from the loss of a loved one to personal attempts, and all around the event, people were sharing their experiences with each other.
“There is that stigma of going and seeking help and going and getting therapy, and hopefully events like this that do raise awareness will help sort of bring down the stigma for seeking treatment and help when people need it,” Murray said. “We’re showing the rest of the college that not only should we partake in service more, but we are supporting this cause and hopefully starting a conversation within our college.”
The Out of the Darkness walk is sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, whose main goals are to raise awareness and to educate people on how to spot a potential suicide early. It was led at USC this year by fourth-year social work student Sarah Hunter. This is Hunter’s fourth walk, having done two community and one campus walk in the past. She hopes to bring as many resources about suicide prevention to campus as possible.
“I just hope to really unite the campus,” Hunter said. “We had the death by suicide earlier this year and I feel like it’s something that needs to be talked about, let people know this is a safe space and that there are people here for you, there are options.”
In the end, the people who showed up a little nervous left the walk feeling loved, and were happy that so many others had come out to support them and the foundation.
“I’ve been holding on to a lot of sadness and having this way to sort of honor the people that I’ve lost is really nice, and seeing everyone doing it with me is really nice too,” said Murray. I’ll be out here next year.”
AFSP's six tips for talking to someone about suicide:
1) Talk to them in private
2) Listen to their story
3) Tell them you care about them
4) Ask directly if they are thinking about suicide
5) Encourage them to seek treatment
6) Avoid debating the value of life, minimizing their problems or giving advice
Students can reach USC's counseling services at 803-777-5223. Faculty and staff can speak with the Employee Assistance Program at 800-633-3353. If you or someone you know is struggling, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline can also be reached at 1-800-273-8255.