Liberty community supports suicide prevention at Out of the Darkness Walk

Liberty University’s Campus Recreation Wellness department hosted an Out of the Darkness Walk around DeMoss Hall and the Academic Lawn on Saturday to help students and members of the university community remember those who have taken their own lives and to overcome the stigma of talking about suicide, the third leading cause of death among ages 15-24.

Out of the Darkness Walks are held across the country to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and to make mental health awareness a national priority.

Approximately 300 people, including many members of the Liberty Football and Cheerleading teams, participated in the 1-mile walk that started near the steps of the Montview Student Union.

“This walk is a way to show support for people who have lost someone and to put it out there that this is a topic that we in care about,” Assistant Director of Wellness Programming Sharon Olowoyo (’23), who co-directed the event with Michael Chambers from Campus Recreation, said Friday. “We want the university community to be a place where students can easily find resources when they’re really down and need help so they know they’re not alone.”

Counseling and resources were available at the event, including staff from the Counseling & Psychological Services office, located in Green Hall 1830. The AFSP provided access to resources for suicide prevention outside of Liberty, on the local, state and national levels. School of Behavioral Sciences students were also on hand, along with members of the LU Public Health Student Association and Eta Sigma Gamma (ESG) — a student honor society for public health undergraduates — asking participants for prayer requests and offering encouragement along the way.

Uplifting messages written in sidewalk chalk along the route expressed peace, love, and understanding. Participants were invited to receive and share their own messages of hope, healing, and remembrance, with meaningful Bible verses, such as 1 Peter 2:9, and other prompts for reflection at various stations.

Kristin Lay, a senior from Yorktown, Va., started Liberty’s event last spring as a way of mourning and remembering her uncle who committed suicide in 2021.

“He was addicted to narcotics and could not see hope,” Lay told those gathered around the Montview Student Union steps before the start of the walk. “He was visiting us in our hometown and he sat on the bed and said in tears, ‘I know that I need God and I know that I need hope and light,’ and it broke my heart. Three days later, he went home and he took his life. I didn’t know what to do. So I pray that all of us can be that light to other people, that we can shine the love and the hope of Jesus to those who are in a deep, dark hole, that they know they don’t have to do it alone because we are here and we do know what it’s like, even if no one talks about it.”

Lay, who will graduate with a B.S. in Family and Child Development in May, said she expects the event, which coincided with a Mental Health Summit in the Montview Student Union, will continue annually as a way to further the AFSP’s mission on campus.

“I was honestly blown away by last year and the impact that it had on campus, so I just pray that it will have the same effect this year, that God will show His light on campus,” Lay said earlier this week. “We want it to be known that if someone doesn’t know God, they can learn Who He is, and the peace and joy they can get from Him, and the purpose they have on this earth. God has given them a purpose and they are not stuck where they are. They can go somewhere and to someone when they need help.”

Before offering a prayer and sending participants out on Saturday’s walk, Lay introduced Cassie Hairston, the AFSP’s Virginia Chapter Social Media Ambassador, who shared a similar testimony of losing a significant other to suicide.

Many attendees wore beaded necklaces with the color representing the connection they have to suicide. Some wore teal as the color for someone they know who is currently struggling with suicidal thoughts or has attempted to take their own life, gold for the loss of a parent, red for the loss of a spouse/partner, white for the loss of a child, orange for the loss of a sibling, purple for the loss of a friend or relative, silver for the loss of a member of the military or first responder, green as a survivor of thoughts or attempts themselves, and blue as a supporter of the suicide prevention cause.

“I want to acknowledge those of you who have suffered personally wearing green beads,” Lay said. “We are so glad to have you here with us in this fight. Your presence and openness allows others to know they are not alone in their struggle. Each of you here today is helping us send a message that mental health is just as important as physical health. You are sending a message that reaching out for help is the strong thing to do.”

Approximately 100 colleges and universities around the United States hold campus walks, and a total of 250,000 people participate in similar events around the nation, including the 30th annual Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk scheduled for June 21 in New York City.

Liberty’s Campus Recreation department will also support the American Heart Association Heart Walk on Percival’s Island near Downtown Lynchburg on April 12. Donations are still being accepted for this year’s Out of the Darkness Walk.

>> If you are in crisis and need to talk to someone immediately, please call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or call the LU Police Department’s emergency line at (434) 592-3911.