Fisher to Host Out of the Darkness Campus Walk to Benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Fisher students, faculty, staff, and teams from Nazareth College and Roberts Wesleyan University will join the effort to raise awareness about suicide prevention during the Out of the Darkness Campus Walk at St. John Fisher University. The event begins at 10 a.m. on Sunday, April 16, in Cleary Family Auditorium in Kearney Hall.

Dr. Tara Sacco, assistant professor of nursing at Fisher’s Wegmans School of Nursing, initiated the Out of the Darkness Campus Walk at Fisher in 2017. As a committee member of the event, Sacco looks forward to contributing to the national effort to address the public health crisis. “Hosting this walk allows us to continue to work to break the stigma surrounding mental health and suicide, something that touches the lives of young adults around the country,” she explained.

Part of American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s (AFSP) signature student fundraising series, campus walks engage youth and young adults in the fight to prevent suicide. Sixteen teams have registered for the event, contributing to the walk’s fundraising goal of $7,500. Funds raised support research, create educational programs, and support survivors of suicide loss.

The walk is led by Fisher’s JED campus initiative, a collaborative process which studies, assesses, and recommends comprehensive systems, programs, and policies to build upon existing resources for student mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention.

Additional campus partners include the Wegmans School of Nursing, Wegmans School of Pharmacy, Office of Campus Ministry, Student Engagement and Leadership, Health and Wellness Center, and Student Government Association.

Fisher invited Nazareth College and Roberts Wesleyan University to partner in the event. According to Becky Kieffer, chair of the JED initiative and director of the Health and Wellness Center, “This is a great opportunity to collaborate on an issue that impacts higher education settings. We are so pleased that Naz and Roberts will join us in these efforts for this year’s walk.”

To join the walk or donate to the effort, visit the event website.

If you or someone you know is in a crisis, help is available. Please call the National Suicide and Crisis Hotline at 988 or text TALK to 741-741.