Walk for suicide awareness

The ninth annual Break the Silence — Suicide Awareness and Prevention Walk will be held in Riverstone Park this Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It’s a 5k walk hosted by the Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN) of North Idaho, to bring the community together to create awareness of and dialogue on the second leading cause of death in our state for people ages 10 to 44.

Check-ins and on-site registrations begin at 9:30. Walkers will start the trek at 10 at the Riverstone Park/Centennial Trail junction after hearing a brief message from guest speaker Mike Patrick, managing editor of the Coeur d’Alene Press.

Patrick will talk about his personal experience with suicide. He and his wife, Sholeh, lost an adult son, Jay, to suicide in August 2012. Jay was a newspaper reporter and father to three children.

“Like many adults who take their own life, Jay suffered for years from depression,” Patrick said. “As painful as his death was, we learned from it. I’ll share some of the lessons Jay taught us.”

In 2015, Idaho had the fifth-highest suicide rate in the nation: 362 deaths by suicide occurred that year, which equates to one a day.

One factor is the accessibility to firearms when someone is considering suicide, said Lora Whalen, the event coordinator and Panhandle Health District director.

A study published online by Business Insider shows 57 percent of Idahoans own guns. Gun deaths account for half of all suicides.

“If you have guns, lock them up,” Whalen said. “If you know someone who is depressed or may have thoughts or ideas of suicide, be safe. Be sensible.”

Participating walkers on Saturday will move west on Centennial Trail to the Prairie Trail connection heading north. A sign will be located at the halfway point to let people know to turn around and head back to Riverstone.

Snacks will be provided to participants. Music, entertainment and booths will be set up at the park to create a morning of fun activities. There will be advocacy booths presented by the North Idaho Crisis Center and Regional Behavioral Health Board to provide help and information as needed.

All ages are welcome, and registration to walk is free. T-shirts will be available to purchase at the event. Anyone who wishes to walk is required to register, and anyone and everyone is welcome to attend. So far about 150 people have preregistered for the walk.

To preregister, visit: bit.ly/2vn8ZmR.