While I have discussed this organization in previous posts, I wanted to revisit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and talk about some of the work that they do for suicide prevention.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (afsp.org) was established in 1987 with the mission to “save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide”. The organization focuses on funding scientific research, educating the public about mental health and suicide prevention, adovcating for public policies in mental health and suicide prevention, and supporting survivors of suicide loss and those affected by suicide. AFSP has local chapters in all 50 states as well as a national office in New York City and a public policy office in Washington, D.C.
A couple of major events that I have known about from AFSP include International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day and the AFSP Out of the Darkness Walks.
International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day occurs on the Saturday before Thanksgiving in the United States – many cities host an event for suicide loss survivors to come together, and more information can be found here:
https://afsp.org/international-survivors-of-suicide-loss-day
There are also community, campus, and overnight Out of the Darkness Walks – for more information about each one, check out this link:
https://supporting.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=cms.page&id=1370&language=en
Personally, I have attended a few International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day events and found them to be emotional and impactful, yet also full of hope. I was also planning to participate in an Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk in 2020, however it has been postponed until at least 2022.
In addition to these events, AFSP’s website contains a variety of resources on both suicide loss and suicide prevention. I encourage you to visit their website and learn about the variety of resources they provide as well as ways to act for suicide prevention.