Here in the wee hours of early Sunday morning, throughout downtown and surrounding neighborhoods including Capitol Hill and Lake Union, small groups like that one are walking in a longer, more contemplative awareness- and fund-raising event: the Out of the Darkness Overnight, organized by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. We told you about it back in March, interviewing a West Seattle woman who was planning to be part of it, after losing her father to suicide (read our story here). This is the first time The Overnight has happened in Seattle, one of two cities to host the walk this year (New York City had one earlier this month); the walkers started at Seattle Center at 7:20 last night and will end the event with a ceremony there at 5:15 this morning, after walking all night. The mission of this walk is to bring suicide “out of the darkness” – it’s an epidemic, but it’s seldom discussed, and seldom reported because there is a media misconception that the mere mention of it will trigger more. One poignant thing we have noted in reporting some suicides here on WSB is that days and weeks later, people who knew the victims have found our posts, and used the comment sections to post tributes (see here and here, for example). They were looking for a public place to say “this person mattered.” We think discussing, and reporting on, suicide is another way to say its victims matter – and that it’s important to find ways to prevent their number from growing. (The local 24-hour crisis line is 206-461-3222.)
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