AFSP ‘Out of the Darkness’ community walk in Santa Monica
Last Sunday, October 7th, Mary and I attended the Santa Monica “Out of the Darkness” community walk sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. We were invited to this important event to walk in memory of our daughter, Suzanne, and to speak about H.R. 940.
The turnout for the event was fantastic. We estimated there were some 300 people in attendance to support AFSP and to walk in honor of a lost loved one. There were many displays set up to promote suicide awareness, in addition to our own. The weather was perfect with a clear sky and moderate temperature.
The event was emcee’d by Fox 11 anchor Amy Murphy, herself a suicide survivor after the death of her fiancé comedian Richard Jeni who lost his battle to depression last March.
The morning started off with speeches by Amy Murphy and actress and AFSP co-founder Mariette Hartley. There was time before the walk for all to view the displays and talk to the groups that were there. The walk itself, which wound in a five-kilometer circuit starting and ending at the Third Street Promenade, was beautiful and supportive. There were many, many signs of support for absent loved ones and for each other in the walk. The AFSP organizers did a supreme job of keep the walk non-stressful and supportive.
At the closing, speeches were given by the various invited guests, including State Senator Alan Lowenthal and State Assembly members Lloyd Levine and Julia Brownley. Other VIPs included LA County Sheriff Lee Baca and AFSP’s Regional Director, Art Kane. Later, I was interviewed by Amy Murphy for Fox 11 on stage about what happened to Suzanne, and about our efforts to bring about H.R. 940 and the importance of having everyone write or call their Congressional Representatives to support the bill.
At my table we had a steady stream of interested attendees looking at the information boards we made, reading about what happened to Suzanne and her involvement with the Internet suicide groups, reading about H.R. 940 and what it means. Many were horrified about what happened, and equally horrified that it’s still going on. I was able to meet and talk to many, many interested people and explain to them about H.R. 940 and the importance of this bill. The support for H. R. 940 and for our efforts was tremendous. Mary and I had many offers of help and pledges for contacting their Congressional Representatives to support the bill. We nearly ran out of all the informational material that we brought with us because of the huge interest that was shown. It goes to prove that it is so important to continue to spread the word about what happened to Suzanne and advocate the passage of H.R. 940. So many people that I met at this event were so supportive of H.R. 940 after they learned the facts of what happened that I’m convinced that we will get the Congressional support we need. All we need to do is to keep informing the general population of what happened to Suzanne and what can be done to help prevent it from happening to others. Please support H.R. 940, and support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.