Suicide walk at Craig Ranch raises money, gives residents way to cope

When she was 19, her father and uncle killed themselves within the same year.

Ellison sought mental health help and researched suicide-prevention programs in Las Vegas. The most helpful tool she found was a suicide-prevention walk, hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, in 2012.

“It was overwhelming at first,” said Ellison, now 32. “It was unfortunate to see so many different people had been affected by suicide, but it was comforting at the same time to know that I wasn’t the only person to go through it.“

Two months after that first walk, Ellison volunteered and became a field advocate for the national nonprofit that promotes suicide prevention through research, education and advocacy. She also sits on the organization’s board and assists in planning the AFSP’s annual Out of the Darkness walks.

She said she still has bad days.

“At this walk especially, I meet somebody who I am able to connect to who has lost their dad or uncle who was close to them, and your heart hurts again,” Ellison said. “To be able to share your story is very healing in itself, and helping someone else does a crazy amount of good for yourself and them.”

The nearly 3-mile Out of the Darkness Walk will feature a resource fair with informational booths about suicide prevention by organizations such as the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling and the Stop It Foundation.

Activities will include a silent auction, a remembrance wall where people can post photos of loved ones or themselves, and an honor-beads ceremony in which participants can select colored beads to represent their connection with suicide. For example, red beads symbolize losing a spouse or partner to suicide, gold is loss of a parent and purple represents a relative or friend.

Diona and Paul Greenbaum were inspired by their 13-year-old granddaughter, Alexandra, to walk three years ago.

Their son — Alexandra’s father — killed himself eight years ago. He was 34.

“Our son wasn’t ill or anything, other than the fact that he felt everybody would be better off without him,” Paul said.

Alexandra, a frequent pageant participant who lives in San Diego, was instrumental in making the AFSP suicide walk a sanctioned event so she and others could participate and wear their tiaras and sashes, the Greenbaums said. She has also made suicide prevention her pageant platform.

“It’s helped her deal with the loss of her father,” Paul said. “We’re affected by it on a personal level. But to get to these walks and just to see the number of people who are directly or indirectly affected, whether it’s a family member, close friend or co-worker, it’s mind-boggling. Going to the walks, there’s a certain kind of camaraderie or common bond … It’s not the common bond you want to have, though.”

This year’s walk will be the Greenbaums’ second, and they also will volunteer.

Suicide was the eighth-leading cause of death in Nevada in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Suicide kills one person every 15 hours in Nevada, said AFSP Las Vegas chapter Chairwoman Karen Wall.

Wall and fellow walk co-chair Kris Ellsworth face somber anniversaries this year. Wall lost her husband and Ellsworth lost her uncle to suicide nearly 10 years ago.

People should attend even if they don’t have a connection to suicide “to get the conversations started with people on how to talk to people who have thoughts of suicide,” Ellsworth said, and to get “rid of the stigma attached to it.”

Putting a face to the movement can help people understand the importance of suicide prevention, Ellison said.

“It’s easier to identify with someone who has cancer because there’s physical signs,” she said. “Unfortunately, with mental illness, there’s not always physical signs. But to be able to come to a place like this where everybody can seem like everything’s OK … people can look like everything’s fine, but inside they’re going through something.”

Last year, about 1,000 people participated in the walk at Centennial Hills Park, organizers said. Wall said they expect more this year.

The Out of the Darkness Walk has been an emotional, healing experience, Ellison said.

“I’m a mom, I work full time and I know what it’s like to feel alone when tragedy happens,” she said. “So my biggest thing is making sure that people know they are not alone. There are places they can go for help. I don’t want someone else to go through what I’ve been through for the last 13 years.”

To reach North View reporter Kailyn Brown, call 702-387-5233 or email kbrown@viewnews.com. Follow her on Twitter: @KailynHype.