Dear Friends and Family,
As many of you know each year I participate in The Out of the Darkness Overnight for Suicide Prevention. This year I will be traveling to San Diego for my 5th Walk. This event is so important to me for so many reasons. As a Mental Health Counselor, I wholeheartedly stand behind the outreach and projects funded by the money raised such as :educational programs that help teachers and fellow students identify the signs of depression and suicidal behavior in high schools, training for field advocacy to fight for suicide prevention in legislation, training for facilitators to lead grief support groups for survivors of suicide loss, and implementing an Interactive Screening Program for College campuses.
However, this event is much more personal for me. I have struggled with depression, self injury, and suicidal thoughts for more than a decade. If it wasn’t for safe spaces like those offered by The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and To Write Love on Her Arms, I might have continued to suffer in silence. I learned the importance of sharing my story, I learned that it was a sign of strength not weakness to get help. And most importantly I learned that my past did not have to stifle my dreams for my future, instead it has actually fueled them and pushed me to make them a reality.
This year it is important for me to walk because I feel like it is a celebration and culmination of my experiences. This year I celebrated 2 years free from self injury, this year I can honestly say I am free from my ED behaviors, this year I am going to graduate with my Masters in Mental Health Counseling, and I am FINALLY getting to work in my field. It is a year of so many accomplishments for me, and I just want to be able to give back. For me that means raising the money that will help to save lives, the same way it saved my life.
So I am asking for your help once again. To get me to San Diego. To help me raise $1000. Even a small donation of $10 or $20 can go a long way if we all gather together. Your support means so much to me. These events have changed my life in more ways than I can even share.
To DONATE for the 2017 Overnight Walk
Hope Rising Project 