Valley community college shares mental health awareness walk in hopes to inspire other campuses
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention teamed up with Paradise Valley Community College for a “Out of the Darkness Campus Walk” to bring awareness to suicide prevention on March 2.
The one mile walk event around PVCC’s campus will begin at 9:30 am alongside students and staff from other Maricopa Community College District Colleges, and will gather to raise awareness for student mental health and suicide prevention.
The event aimed to raise $10,000 and had currently raised a total of $7,448 for AFSP’s mission to save lives and help those impacted by suicide.
“I found it to be comforting and meaningful to be around others who understood. I realized that Maricopa Community Colleges needed this, too. I contacted AFSP and brought the walk to our campus for the first time last year in 2023. We had over 150 participants and raised $10,000,” said Julie Lazzara, division chair for Behavioral Sciences at PVCC.
Lazzara states that they are hoping to exceed the $10,000 that they raised last year. Money raised for AFSP will fund suicide prevention research, educational programs, policy advocacy, and support for those who have lost loved ones to suicide.
When it comes to spreading the word of the event, Lazzara said that students in her developmental psychology classes have been learning about mental health and suicide risk as a part of their course content and took it upon themselves to spread the word about the event.
The event is free to attend and is open to students, faculty, staff, and community members. There will be a vendor fair at the event that includes companies and nonprofits that support mental health.
Although PVCC is the only current Maricopa County Community sponsoring the walk, Lazzara stated that she would love to see other colleges join them or sponsor an event of their own to shed light on suicide prevention.
“Anyone that is interested in volunteering can arrive at 8:30 a.m. Onsite registration begins at 9:00 a.m. and the program starts at 9:30 a.m. We will hear from a variety of speakers, watch a performance, and participate in a bead ceremony before we embark on the one-mile walk around campus,” said Lazzara.
Registration was required to participate in the event and donors can contribute using the event link, winning recognition gifts for donating more than $100. Donors of the event would receive gifts for varying amounts contributed, with a $100 donation receiving a t-shirt and a generous $10,000 donation receiving an Apple Watch.
