Page 6 - MidWeek Windward - Sep 7 2022

6 SEPTEMBER 7, 2022
Kāne‘ohe Woman Takes Steps For Suicide Prevention Walk
BY KYLE GALDEIRA
suicide loss, and our goal is to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide,” says AFSP Ha- wai‘i Chapter sponsor chair Mike O’Malley.
2012. “The Out of Dark- ness Walk is important be- cause it brings awareness to our communities. Peo- ple start talking about sui- cide and we believe talking saves lives. The stigma and having suicide as a taboo topic is dangerous.
not alone, and we learn about resources that we can share to help prevent suicide.”
Kāne‘ohe resident Kath- leen Rhoads Merriam joined the Prevent Sui- cide Hawai‘i Task Force following her younger brother Michael’s suicide in 2005.
The Honolulu Out of the Darkness Community Walk is one of more than 550 community events be- ing held nationwide this year. The walks are ex- pected to unite more than 300,000 participants and raise millions of dollars for suicide prevention efforts. Last year, these walks raised over $21 million.
According to Merriam, someone in Hawai‘i dies by suicide every two days and suicide represents the 11th leading cause of death in the state.
She works for the state Department of Health Adult Mental Health Division, and has held a variety of positions within the mental health system for 38 years. She currently serves as the manager of the Windward Community Mental Health Center and remains dedi- cated to helping the com- munity deal with pressing issues, including suicide prevention.
Out of the Darkness Community Walk will be held at 9 a.m. Sept. 10 at Sky Gate Park at Honolulu Hale. PHOTO COURTESY KATHLEEN RHOADS MERRIAM
5 American families. We hope that by walking, we will draw attention to this issue and keep other fam- ilies from experiencing a
“The Out of Darkness Walk is one of the signa- ture projects and this year I am the walk chair,” says Merriam, who also chaired the National Alliance on Mental Illness Walk in
“With participants reg- istering for the walk, they start a relationship with AFSP, which has provid- ed resources and tremen- dous education for family, friends, teachers and more. On walk day, people will be able to talk story with several organizations at the resource fair and par- ticipate in some activities that relate to grieving. The best part is the connection that happens between peo- ple. We learn that we are
“We want to create sui- cide safer communities,” Merriam says. “Whenev- er speaking about suicide, it is good to mention the Hawai‘i Cares Line (808- 832-3100), an access to services line and our crisis line in Hawai‘i. Of course, we now have 988 as well.”
Three years ago, Mer- riam became the co-chair of the Hawai‘i Chapter of American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, along with Dr. Mestisa Gass.
tion and support programs and its goal to reduce the annual national rate of sui- cide by 20% before 2025.
For more information about AFSP and to regis- ter for the Out of Darkness Community Walk, visit afsp.org/hawaii.
The organization has put together the annual Out of the Darkness Community Walk, which will be held at Sky Gate Park adjacent to Honolulu Hale at 9 a.m. on Sept. 10 (National Suicide Awareness Day). The walk supports AFSP’s educa-
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