A Walk From Darkness Toward Prevention
December 14, 2015
The line twisted and turned in the cold, thin November air. A line made up of what looked like 1,000 people twisted and turned — a body of people with a purpose: suicide prevention. Many wore T-shirts with reminders of lost loved ones — shirts of neon orange, bright yellow, hot pink, purple. Many had names of people lost. One of the most moving shirts was worn by a child and read “I miss you, Daddy.” The black shirt had red wings on the back.
The 5K Out of the Darkness Community Walk was held at Waterfront Park. Proceeds went to the “American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to fund research, education, survivor and awareness programs — both to prevent suicide and to assist those affected by suicide.” According to the AFSP, suicide claims someone every 12.8 minutes.
One of the families at the walk wore shirts with the words “Team Louie.” Rob Black said his brother Louie, an Indiana native who lived in Louisville, was a family man who worked at the Ford Plant. He died in 2009.
“It’s a great family gathering,” Black said of the walk. “It helps us to never forget him.”
Black has attended the walk since 2009. He said, “Back in ’09, there were 50 people. Now there’s over 500 or something like that. It’s incredible, the support we get out here.”
People in multicolored shirts, people holding signs up high and silently walking, away from the great lawn and moving toward the walking bridge. Many people began to walk back from the bridge on the bottlenecked pavement. Some people had to walk in the street.
Another family lost their brother and cousin Travis. Chauncey said of his brother, “It all happened so suddenly. It’s a struggle every day; you just wish that he was back.”
Travis was said to be the “glue” for the family. “He just brought everyone together, you know?” Chauncey said with a grin.
A sister, Donna, said of Travis, “He was always full of life, an exceptional human being, our everything. God needed him more than we did.”
The 5K Out of the Darkness Community Walk was held at Waterfront Park. Video by Tommy McConville.
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