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Schools

SRHS Students Help Suicide Prevention Walk

Students and teachers from several county schools participated in the Annapolis Out of the Darkness walk, rallying county-wide to raise awareness of suicide prevention among teenagers.

ANNAPOLIS—Representing schools throughout the county, high school students and faculty showed a strong presence Saturday at the three-mile Out of the Darkness suicide prevention walk.

The walk was the third of its kind in Annapolis, and coincided with World Suicide Prevention Day.

The Annapolis Out of Darkness walk was organized in part by Paula Snyder, who said her nephew committed suicide several years ago, leading she and her sister to start a yearly Out of the Darkness walk in the area to raise suicide prevention awareness among high school students.

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school psychologist Heather Gallagher organized the school's team—a group of nearly 20 teachers and faculty members. Gallagher said that this is her third year participating in the walk and that she organizes the team each year because of the importance of raising awareness about the issue.

“Suicide is an important public health issue,” Gallagher said. “The purpose of this walk is to contribute to raising awareness of the signs associated with suicide risk, as well as the ways to recognize suicidal behaviors and how to respond to the signs.”

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School psychologist Deborah Peterson works at and said that her team—a small group of teachers, parents and students—was participating in the walk for the first time this year.

“I've spent my whole career—25 years—working on suicide prevention,” Peterson said. “I have a niece who committed suicide, so this is a personal issue for me as well. Losing one child is one child too many, and I want to do everything in my power to bring awareness to the cause.”

Students from Annapolis High School served as volunteers for the event, helping with registration and set-up in addition to participating in the three-mile walk. Maddie Snyder, who said her cousin committed suicide, has participated in the event for the past three years along with several of her friends. Snyder said that she and her classmates always are eager to volunteer and help out with the event, because of the importance of suicide prevention among their peers.

South River High School sophomore Emily Sale helped organize the school's participants and said that members of the school's two community service clubs recruited students to walk in the event by passing out fliers and promoting Out of the Darkness throughout the school.

“This event spreads the word about suicide prevention and could ultimately cause one of us to be able to reach out to another student who may be struggling,” Sale said.

Maureen Diaczok, who serves as the Assistant Director of School Health and Support for the Anne Arundel County Health Department, said suicide is the second leading cause of death in children age 10-17 in Anne Arundel County and is the third leading cause of death for that age range in the country.

“The involvement of schools and students in this walk is wonderful,” Diaczok said. “It is so important that we give students the tools they need and teach them how to get help for themselves and their friends.

“You feel like asking someone, 'Are you going to kill yourself?' is invasive or inappropriate,” Diaczok said. “But what we want our students and teachers to know is that if someone is truly considering ending their life, they want to be asked—they want someone to reach out to them and help them. That's the point of this walk today, and that's why it's important that schools encourage their students to participate.”

Out of the Darkness walks are organized by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and are designed to raise both awareness for suicide prevention efforts nationwide and funding to benefit the organization's programs.

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