More than 300 people gather in Wilmington for the Out of the Darkness walk

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – The 12th Out of the Darkness Community Walk brought together more than 300 people in downtown Wilmington on Saturday to remember friends and family lost to suicide and raise money for area initiatives of mental health care.

The walk was part of a series of walks across the country organized by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. It started at St. James Episcopal Parish, where event organizers gave a short presentation before the walk began. It ran down Market Street before walkers turned onto 5th Avenue, then Dock Street and finally back onto 3rd Street.

“We are all connected by a thread of personal suffering, suffering of family members or losing someone to suicide,” said Mandy Anderson-ille, co-chair of the walk. “This is a day for us to remember them and come out and support each other.”

Anderson-ille, like many others who attended, has lost friends and mentors to suicide. She now tries to help others through her involvement in the walk, which raised more than $22,000 as of Sunday. That money will go toward mental health training and grief networks in North Carolina, she said.

Mental health services and counseling agencies were also present on Sunday afternoon. Attendees also helped build a memorial thread with ribbons in tribute to those lost.

Anderson-ille said it is an event that helps bring awareness to an issue that needs attention.

“It is sometimes very difficult to talk about it. Suicide is a preventable death. And so again, that sense of community, that sense of belonging – we just work really hard for that sense of community,” Anderson-ille said.