Hundreds Turn Out For Suicide Prevention Walk

Hundreds of people descended upon Bucks County Technical High School in Bristol Township despite the looming threat of storms Sunday for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Out of the Darkness walk.

Nearly 800 people – including high school students from the Bensalem School District, Bristol Township School District, Bucks County Technical High School, Conwell-Egan Catholic High School, Neshaminy School District and Pennsbury School District – walked the campus on the regional technical high school and county government complex to raise awareness and collect funds for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Organizers said the roughly $35,000 raised by the numerous teams will go to fund awareness, support and research efforts.

Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia lost a daughter to suicide in 2005 and spearheaded Sunday’s Out of the Darkness walk, a first for the area. She said she was thrilled with the turnout for the walk.

County officials have formed a suicide task force that Ellis-Marseglia said will work in the schools next year, form a family support group, work with emergency responders and older Bucks Countians and pour over the coroner’s statistics to see if any insight can be gleaned.

Public funding to address suicide research and the implementation of programs to help those in need can help reduce the death toll, Cathy Siciliano of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention said.

Shelly Leaphart-Williams of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reminded the gathered walkers that it was OK to talk about suicide and reminded everyone that they were just one step away from a mental health crisis.