With National Day Without Stigma having just passed on Oct. 5 and World Mental Health Day ahead on Oct. 10, this seems the perfect time to reflect on the Out of the Darkness Walk that occurred this past Saturday in Grand Rapids. On Oct. 3, many families, groups and individuals gathered at Millennium Park to partake in the Out of the Darkness Walk, an event sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). The walk is meant to raise money and awareness for suicide and depression, and also be a comfort for those who have lost a loved one to suicide.

“It’s called ‘Out of the Darkness’ because they want to try to bring people who are depressed out of that darkness and out of feeling stigmatized and get the conversation going,” said Jessica Somerville, Calvin College’s Active Minds president, who attended the event with 14 other Calvin students. Active Minds is a large national organization dedicated to raising awareness and reducing stigma for mental illness, and Calvin’s part is just a small chapter of the larger organization, which has individual chapters throughout Michigan, such as Wayne State and Michigan State universities, and all over the country. The goal of Calvin’s Active Minds group was to raise $70 for the organization, and they ended up raising $275, far above their goal. All the money raised by these students and the rest of the Out of the Darkness Walk participants will go toward AFSP’s vital research and education programs intended to prevent suicide and save lives.

At the Out of the Darkness Walk, many families were walking for family or friends that they’d lost to suicide, and before the walk itself, a few people gave testimonies. One new organization talked about how their staff helps veterans who are dealing with mental illness get treatment, which is a big deal considering that, according to sources such as CNN and La Times, the number of veteran suicides averages 22 each day.

At the beginning of the walk, participants were given a rock to carry, which symbolized the burdens that we all carry and the heaviness in our hearts of ones we have lost to suicide. Throughout the walk, they carried the rock, and at the end of the walk the participants reached a lake.

“You threw your rock to release your burden, and then you were given a feather that symbolizes how you’re lifted and you feel free,” said Somerville. “It was a really cool symbolic thing.”