WSU hosts “Out of the Darkness” Suicide Walk


OGDEN, Utah – In June of 2010, Weber State University student Corbin Standley lost his older brother to suicide. As a result, he attended a Survivors of Suicide Loss Day and was inspired to do something more.

The WSU Honors Program and Honors Student Advisory Board, over which Standley presides, will lead sponsors of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Out of the Darkness Campus Walk on April 4 from 8 a.m.-noon.   The walk begins at the Shepherd Union Atrium. 

AFSP is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research, education and advocacy and to reaching out to people with mental disorders and those impacted by suicide. 

Participants may pledge to raise any amount, but those who raise $100 or more will receive a T-shirt. Donations can be made to the AFSP through the website tiny.cc/WSU-AFSP. Event organizers hope to raise at least $5,000.

According to Dianna Abel, WSU Counseling & Psychological Services Center director, suicide is not just an issue for the mental-health community, but for everyone. Those who attempt suicide are usually not in therapy at the time.

“The majority of people who complete or attempt suicide are suffering from untreated or undertreated mental illness.” Abel said. “It is not normal to want to take your own life. That’s a symptom that something else is wrong. Most of the time, that’s some kind of depressive disorder.”

One hundred percent of the funds raised are used to support AFSP's research, education, advocacy, and survivor programs. Half of the proceeds go to the national level, and half is kept with the local AFSP chapter. 

For more information and to register for WSU’s campus walk, visit tiny.cc/WSU-AFSP.

For a high-resolution graphic, please visit the following link:

https://wsuucomm.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2015-photos/March-2015/i-fkWdJ9H/0/X2/SuicideWalkFlyer-X2.jpg

Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.
 
Author:
Melissa Smith, Administrative Specialist for Public Relations
801-626-6348 • melissasmith9@weber.edu
Contact:
Corbin Standley, Honors Student Advisory Board president
801-675-7796 • corbinstandley@mail.weber.edu
 
Dianna Abel, WSU Counseling & Psychological Services Center director
801-626-6406 • diannaabel@weber.edu