The Overnight

All posts tagged The Overnight

I’ll be with you through the dark..

Posted by Hope Rising on April 12, 2016
Posted in: Fundraising, Mental Health, The Overnight. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

And I’ll be with you through
The dark so that you do not,
Go through the dark alone.
   ~Biloxi Parish- The Gaslight Anthem

Depression, for me, has been like a darkness where all hope seems lost, and I can’t find my way left or right of it. In the beginning it was so difficult, because I didn’t let anyone in, and I carried the burden alone. I didn’t want to inconvenience anyone. But, I know now that I was just doing more damage to myself. When I finally allowed people in, it wasn’t a magical cure. The darkness didn’t just float away and all was right with the world immediately. It took time, it was a long journey, and in many ways it is a journey I am still on.

But those people I let in, they became my guides. They took my hand and led me to the resources that I needed. They led me to safe places where I could share my truth. And each time I wanted to give up, they held my hand tighter to remind me that I was never alone. And on the really hard days, they carried me step by step until I found the strength to try again.

And as we continued, to move forward..together.. The light began seeping in.

And that is why the Overnight Walk is so important to me.

Each year as I take this symbolic journey of 16 miles through the night,
I am reminded how my community rallied together to get me out of the darkness and into the light.

And as I walk alongside others, I know that each person is at a different point of their journey,
But I want to do for others what other so selflessly did for me.
For more than just this night, I want to walk with you.
I want to take your hand and guide you to where you need to be.

I want you to be able to witness the glorious sunrise at the end of the journey and realize just how far you have come. I want you to know that you are never alone, I will be right here through it all.

Take my hand. Together we can get through this.

 

Click here to support me on the Out of The Darkness Overnight Walk

Tribe of Warriors

Posted by Hope Rising on February 24, 2016
Posted in: Fundraising, Mental Health. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

The Overnight Walk for Suicide Prevention is something I have been participating in  over the last 5 years. And it has impacted my life in so many ways. But something I have just been reflecting on lately, are the friendships that have been fostered because of these events. If I had never chosen to participate in my first walk 5 years ago, I would have never met any of these people. People I am BLESSED to call my friends.

They say that tragedy bonds people together, and while that may be true, I believe that more than anything… HOPE is what creates these amazing bonds. I am so amazingly overwhelmed by the strength and the love that these people pour out each and everyday, as a result of what they have been through. Each and every one of our stories is different. Some have struggled, some have lost, some live each day supporting and loving on someone who struggles with mental health issues. But together, we have taken that pain, and put it into power in order to help others. To create a brighter future and a safer place for those who are in the deepest pain.

The people I have met on these walks have inspired me. They have invited me into their lives, and into their stories, and have become a part of my own. Together we wage war, on stigma, on shame, and against the negativity that tries to keep us silent. We band together with a battle cry to our government to recognize that these issues need to be addressed, for we are losing far too many of our people. We crawl into the trenches to rescue those who have been hurt by the words of the world, to bandage up their wounds, and let them know … they have not been left behind. They are not forgotten, and we aim to save every single life that teeters between life and death.

We are a people who have known the depths of great pain. We have seen the ravages of addiction. We have survived our greatest losses. We walk a daily battle against our own minds. But we are strong. We are determined. We are warriors.

And this year once again I band together with my tribe of warriors to walk through the night, and bring suicide and mental illness out of the darkness and into the light.