IUE's social work students organize suicide awareness walk in Richmond

Nov. 18, 2008 - Social work students at Indiana University East in Richmond were so moved by the issue of suicide, they organized that city’s “Out of the Darkness Community Walk.”

The Oct. 18^th walk was designed to help lessen the stigma that often accompanies suicide. An estimated 32,000 lives are lost annually to suicide in the Untied States.

While the walk may be over, the students are planning a follow-up event Saturday, Nov. 22^nd. The School’s Student Social Work Association will host a web cast of National Survivors of Suicide Day for the campus and community. The web cast will be take place from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Room 124 in Middle Ford Hall on the IU East campus

The students’ decision to become involved with the suicide issue dates back to last spring when Lea Banks, an IUE social work student invited Lisa Davis, Survivor Support Coordinator, to talk about suicide.

Jessica Shell, also a member of the social work class Davis spoke to, took a special interest in the issue. Shell, along with others, took on planning of the walk as the Senior Class project, explained Shelia Armstead, an assistant professor of Social Work at IUE.

The social work students enlisted the aid of a number of volunteers from Earlham College, the Richmond community as well as their fellow students at IUE.

The walk, which started and ended at the Glenn Miller Park Bandstand in Richmond, attracted 54 participants Many walkers wore t-shirts with pictures of their lost loved ones and some wore laminated pictures. 

As walkers came over the final hill back to the bandstand they were greeted with cheers, clapping, encouragement and hugs. It was a healing experience for survivors of suicide to share their stories and experiences with others who have faced the same loss.

Anyone interested interested in volunteering or walking in next year's Out of the Darkness Walk can begin by checking out their Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/communitywalks.

This will also be a busy week for the IUE's social work students. They will sponsor their annual holiday dinner on Friday, Nov. 21^st for Hope House, which assists homeless men and WHIT House, which helps women in transition who have been incarcerated.

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Participants in the walk including, IUE social work student Jessica Shell, who helped organize the event is seated second from left in the front row, and IUE social work student Lea Banks, who is third from the right in the back row