Walk for suicide awareness set for Saturday at Twin Lakes Park

Laurie Barnett Levine doesn’t know what to make of the early registration numbers ahead of this weekend’s 16th annual Ray of Hope suicide awareness walk at Twin Lakes Park.

“The number of people who are attending is going up. We’re not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” said Barnett Levine, the chief executive officer of Mental Health of America of Southwest Pennsylvania and vice chairwoman of the Westmoreland County Ray of Hope Suicide Prevention Task Force in Westmoreland County.

The event, set for Saturday morning, will include counseling services, information about suicides and a commemoration of those who have taken their own lives. About 250 participants have registered for the event, Barnett Levine said.

Ticket information can be found on the Westmoreland County Ray of Hope Suicide Prevention Task Force webpage or by calling 724-834-6351, ext. 118.

“We know suicide is a disease. There’s a lot of misconceptions about suicides, so we want to help people understand this is a brain disease. We want to share information about the warning signs, the risks and that there is help available,” Barnett Levine said.

According to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office, there were 54 confirmed suicides in 2021, a number that was 17% more than in 2020, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

The pandemic has potentially exacerbated conditions that lead to suicide attempts, especially among children, and officials have predicted numbers could climb before the end of 2022.

Westmoreland County received a $322,000 state grant this year to expand its mobile crisis unit program to respond to mental health emergencies and to take calls through a federal program that was rolled out this summer for a three-digit network, 988, to serve as a national suicide prevention hotline.