By Dasia Whitfield

Every year in Baltimore people walk to spread awareness and raise money to prevent suicide. This year’s walk took place at the Inner Harbor.

The walk, called Out of the Darkness, focuses on every age group from teenagers to senior citizens. About 1000 people were at this year’s walk. The awareness walk helps people who have lost people because of suicide or who have struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts themselves. The walk helps people to feel comfortable talking to other people about what they are dealing with when they realize that they are not in it alone.

Ms. Marchewka, an art teacher at Patterson High School who participated in the walk, says that “the walk at the harbor brings awareness to people, it lets people come out and talk about their issues or experience and not be shameful”.

The website AFSP explains that suicide claims more lives than war, murder, and natural disasters combined. Yet suicide prevention doesn’t receive anywhere near the funding as other leading causes of death. It’s up to us to make a difference.

According to Ms. Marchewka, the experience is very uplifting. You should consider going next time if you believe in the cause. I would recommend the awareness walk to anybody, especially to the people that are actually going through the situation so they can be more comfortable talking about it. I would have them surrounded by people that could relate to them and have empathy.

Ms. Marchewka participates in the awareness walk every year because she has been around and witnessed situations that have occurred and she can relate because of the fact that she has lost many people in her family due to suicide. She also knows people that have dealt with anxiety and depression.

I think coming up with the awareness walk was a good idea because we never know what people go through and or how they feel, and this walk could really help a person and give them that positive idea and see things on the brighter side. This walk can open the eyes of a lot of people.