5K Helps Survivors of Suicide Loss Move Forward

Four hundred and fifty people gathered at Civic Center Park in Palm Desert for the Second Annual Coachella Valley ‘Out of the Darkness’ community walk.

“I’m here walking for my brother who I lost to suicide,” Danielle Blixt said, who walked for her brother. “He was seventeen years old when he committed suicide. We believe he had a mental disorder but he was never diagnosed properly. He never had the help and support.”

“This is a great opportunity to spread the word and educate people on how to prevent it so other people don’t have to go through what we go through,” Maggie Walker said, who walked for her sister.

The walk, aimed at supporting suicide prevention, kicked off with keynote speakers, including one who made a special proclamation.

Palm desert Mayor Bob Spiegel proclaimed the third Saturday in March as “Out of the Darkness” day.

“It’s trying to erase the stigma of suicide. People have a negative opinion about it and I don’t think it should be a negative thing,” Walker said.

“The stigma surrounding mental illness is that it’s a weakness, or it’s a character flaw, but it’s not. It’s an illness, just like heart disease, just like cancer,” area director of the National Foundation for Suicide Prevention Jessica Van Der Stad said.

Van Der Stad adds suicide prevention should carry bigger weight.

“We talk about safe sex, we talk about not doing drugs in high school but we don’t talk about depression,” she said.

With the walk, she hopes to put suicide prevention on the forefront of many minds.