When Esther Halden lost her friend Rita Leighton to suicide in 2004, the Out of the Darkness Walk for R.I.T.A. each fall was her therapy.
“Our group of friends, we all sort of just stepped in and it was what we all wanted to do,” said Halden, of Saratoga Springs. “It was great to be able to be there for other people who needed a place to be.”
The 7th Out of the Darkness Walk for R.I.T.A. on Sunday, Sept. 18, is a signature fundraiser for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. It was named in honor of Rita, a well-known physician in Saratoga, but its acronym also holds meaning.
“It means ‘Remembrance Intervention Together we bring Awareness,’” said Lisa Riley, co-chair of the walk.
Riley said fundraising is a cornerstone of the walk but its true value is in what it does for the thousands of people (like Halden) who participate.
“It’s really something that everybody in the community can play a role in supporting someone struggling with their own mental illness, supporting someone that’s lost a loved one,” said Riley.
The walk started with 200 people and as grown to well over 1,000. Riley said that’s a sure sign that the walk’s mission to promote awareness through suicide prevention education is working.
“We are bringing this issue out of the darkness. I really think the name of the walk is what’s been happening,” said Riley. “Anybody who lives in the Capital Region knows what’s happened in South Glens Falls, Schenectady, Guilderland … the topic is not going away but I think the community grabs on to this and grasps this issue. They can’t hide from it anymore.”
Half of the money raised stays local and funds suicide prevention education programs and materials.
“We have been able to hire a full-time staff member to do daytime education pieces in schools, workplaces,” said Riley.
The AFSP in the Capital Region also relies on 30 to 40 volunteers who provide survivor outreach services and are trained with money from the fundraiser.
“It’s an opportunity to share the same loss because all our volunteers have a loss to suicide. We send out two volunteers to offer support, offer resources,” said Riley. “We’re not mental health workers, we’re just people who have lost loved ones, colleagues, to suicide, so the loss we try to match.”
The other half of fundraising money is contributed to research at a national level.
“The AFSP is the leading nonprofit research organization studying things like what meds work, what behavioral therapies work, why is there a worry of bullying and its relationship to youth suicide,” said Riley.
The Out of the Darkness Walk for R.I.T.A. at the Saratoga Race Track is the largest of three in the Capital Region and one of about 250 nationwide. Each and every walker helps give a voice to the issue of suicide, said Riley.
“It’s realizing that this is a mental illness and if we show up in a mass like this, we really try to decrease the stigma associated with suicide in general,” said Riley.
Halden now lives in Vermont so she can only help stuff bags for walk participants, help at registration and lead her own fundraising effort. Just having some role, though, is enough.
“Once you’ve survived the loss of someone to suicide it actually is incredibly uplifting and helpful to be part of a community that feels very similarly and as long as we can keep that walk a strong community support, then other people will also feel like they have somewhere to run and not feel isolated and alone,” said Halden.
While difficult at times, the atmosphere is anything but dark, said Halden.
“It’s heartfelt, tearful, it’s emotionally draining; and at the same time it’s incredibly spiritual and uplifting,” said Halden. “For me, it’s been extremely healing … to be part of the process of trying to be proactive and the strength in numbers of people who have been through similar experiences really does move you forward instead of being stagnant in your sorrow.”
The 7th Out of the Darkness Walk for R.I.T.A. is Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Saratoga Race Track and steps off from the Union Avenue entrance at 10 a.m. It’s a 3-mile walk through downtown Saratoga Springs.
