La Roche fights suicide with awareness walk in McCandless

An Out of the Darkness Walk to raise awareness regarding suicide and mental health will be held April 26 at La Roche University in McCandless.

The walk is not only open to university students but also to the whole community, said Maricielo Panduro, the event’s chair and leader.

“It’s important for us as students because it brings mental health and suicide prevention awareness to campus and our community, because we need to change the culture,” Panduro said.

Out of the Darkness Campus Walks represent the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s signature student-fundraising series, designed to engage youth and young adults in the fight to prevent suicide, a leading cause of death, according to the La Roche walk website.

“Depression, bipolar, anxiety disorder, and other mental health conditions will affect one in four of us during our lives, and yet too often these illnesses go untreated. In the United States alone someone attempts suicide every minute,” said Panduro, who is majoring in psychology at La Roche.

The approximate 5-mile walk begins at Wright Library Lawn on the university campus, 9600 Babcock Blvd. Pre-activities and onsite registration start at noon, and the walk begins at 1 p.m.

“The La Roche community has been very supportive. Everybody on campus takes, very seriously, mental health and cares about it,” Panduro said. Student organizers have been raising money for the walk by selling “bracelets for awareness,” which will also be for sale at the event.

Before the walk begins, various student clubs and team sports will hold activities to enjoy. A food truck, therapy dogs and representatives from the AFSP will be there, Panduro said.

The La Roche awareness walk has a fundraising goal of $10,000 for 2024.

Money from such events go a long way for the AFSP, according to Jesse Putkoski, area director for the Western Pennsylvania chapter of the organization.

“The funding helps us continue our mission of saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide by allowing us to provide educational programming to our faculty, parents, students and other community members; programs for people who have been impacted by suicide; essential resources and trainings for the community and professionals; as well as advocate and work with representatives for better mental health and suicide prevention programs and funding,” she said.

Putkoski said the Pittsburgh Out of the Darkness Walk is scheduled for Sept. 7 at Highmark Stadium. More information can be found at afsp.org/pittsburgh.

To donate and register for the walk at La Roche, visit www.afsp.org/laroche.