While September may be known as National Suicide Prevention Month, a student at UNC Wilmington has made it clear that prevention shouldn’t just take place during one month, but every day.

Senior Brenna Beggi has organized and planned an Out of the Darkness campus walk hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, in order to prevent suicide and put a stop to the stigma of mental illnesses. The walk will take place on May 1 from 12 pm to 4 pm, beginning in front of UNCW’s amphitheater.

Beggi first got involved with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention when she, along with her sorority sisters of Tri Sigma, walked in the Wrightsville Beach community walk to prevent suicide, and as a team raised $2,210. The foundation was so impressed that they approached Beggi in hopes of bringing this great cause to UNCW. She has been working tirelessly to get this event to campus.

“I wanted to bring this cause to UNCW because I think it’s important, especially for college students, to know they are not alone,” said Beggi. “I want everyone to come together to raise awareness for those who have taken their own lives, to help end the stigma of suicide and to walk for the voiceless.”

The event will consist of a roughly 1.5 mile walk through campus, an influential speaker to kick off the walk, a “wall of hope” filled with pictures of loved ones and influential quotes, a station where participants can make “memory tiles,” as well as various colored beads that will be given out known as “honor beads.” Each color will represent a personal connection with the cause and participants are encouraged to wear the beads throughout the walk.

Participants are also encouraged to bring photographs of loved ones in order to hang their pictures up on the “wall of hope” or use the pictures to make a “memory tile.” The tiles allow participants to remember the special event by bringing an artifact home with them. Such activities have allowed many to heal and it’s something Beggi hopes to bring to other people.

“Personally, by organizing this event it has helped me heal in many ways relating to my own boyfriend’s suicide three years ago,” said Beggi. “My only goal is that after this walk if it helps even just one person, it’s worth it. After all the hard work I am really excited for the walk, and I hope it has a great turn out and it could be an annual campus event.”

While sororities are known for supporting one another’s philanthropy events, they also find importance in coming together to show support for other events in the community as well. Delta Zeta sorority has decided to sign up and create their own team known as “Walk for Life.”

“We have an advisor who we are fond of and she was closely affected by suicide,” said Delta Zeta member Ashling Murphy. “My dad also suffers from mental illness so we decided to set up a team that could be related to everyone. We let our advisor pick the team name because we wanted to let her know that we support her.”

While coordinating meetings, recruiting walkers for the event and setting up a location, Beggi has had the mentoring of an intern for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Lindsey Bailey. Bailey recently shared the importance of campus walks and what we can all do to prevent suicide.

“One of the most important things we can do is to talk about it,” said Bailey. “Our friends know if we are diabetic or allergic to peanuts or gluten intolerant. Why is it taboo to tell them that we suffer from depression or anxiety or bipolar disorder or suicidal thoughts? By talking about it, we are helping to eradicate the negative stigma surrounding mental health/suicide and creating a community in which people feel safe to be themselves.”

UNCW students, faculty and staff, along with the Wilmington community are encouraged to come out to this special event on May 1. In order to desensitize the word and the stigma, we must talk about it first. To register, donate or create a team in memory of a loved one, go to the following link: http://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.event&eventID=4182