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Welcome to Get Connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly

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conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on

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one oh six point seven light FM.

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Thank you for listening to get connected. After losing someone

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to suicide, I think anyone who's been impacted would agree

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that the grief doesn't go away, it just changes every year.

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The Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk benefits the American

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Foundation for Suicide Prevention by raising awareness on suicide and depression,

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raising money for research and education, and providing assistance and

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a safe outlet for survivors. Our guest is Mike Lama,

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EVP and COO of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

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We are discussing their work and the New York City

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Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk coming up on June

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twenty first. Mike Lama, thank you for being on the show.

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My pleasure, Thanks for having me.

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The website is AFSP dot org. The Overnight Walks. This

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is an event, a movement that you were actually instrumental

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in establishing. Where did the origin come from?

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The event started?

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The very first event was in two thousand and three

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and it was in the Washington, DC area. It was

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by far and away the largest event of this type

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for suicide prevention at that time and then since then,

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and this was actually done the first year was done

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as a third party event.

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Someone else did.

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It for us and gave the proceeds to us, which

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was really nice because in those days we were a

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tiny little organization and we couldn't have afforded to produce

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an event like this.

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Since then, we have.

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Now incorporated the Out of the Darkness name into our

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Overnight event, which we do every year. And also we

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also have community walks that take place in the fall,

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which are your more traditional walks, three mile walk, that.

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Kind of thing. And then also we have campus walks.

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So the Avid Darkness name is sort of a brand

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series for us with three different walks.

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But obviously today we're here to talk about the Overnight.

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The Overnight is in New York on June twenty first.

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Why do you think they have grown so much?

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Well, I think the thing that we discovered is that

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there was a real need for this, that it gives

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people the opportunity to come together and to see And

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I can't tell you how many times family have said

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to me over the years, thank you all for putting

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this on so that we could come out and see

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that our family is not alone. So I think we

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were meeting a real need both in bringing people together

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and raising awareness and helping people who'd lost someone connect

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with other people who'd lost someone, and also for people

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who struggle themselves or have family members who struggle with

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their mental health issues, and it gives them the opportunity

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to come together and build this real sense of community,

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to support each other and to draw strength from each

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other and help them all in their healing journeys. And

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also it raised significant awareness around this issue. And also

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we've raised a lot of money over the years, which

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has helped us really grow the organization and invest in

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our mission, which is to save lives and to bring

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hope to those who've been impacted by suicide.

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There's a statistic that you cite that for every individual

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loss to suicide, one hundred and thirty five people are affected.

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And I always find that number so striking. What does

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that signify to you?

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You know, it signifies to me that none of us

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have to look very far to find how suicide has

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impacted our lives, while a lot of people have lost

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close family members or that kind of but even those

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who haven't. We don't have to go very far to

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find that connection to the issue of suicide.

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You've been doing this work long time. You joined AFSP

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over twenty years ago. What led you to get involved

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in this movement.

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I've been a nonprofit professional all my life. They were

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looking for someone to come in and fill a specific.

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Role that matched up well with me. Plus, I have

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a strong interest in the cause.

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I have family members who are impacted by mental health issues.

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I've lost friends and more distant relatives to suicide. So

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it was an issue that resonated with me and it

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just seemed to be the right place at the right time for me. A lot of things came together and

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it just seemed to work out well.

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Our guest is Mike Lama. He's EVP and COO of

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the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. AFSP is dedicated to

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saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide,

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including those who've experienced a loss. The New York City

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Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk is June twenty first.

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You can find out more at AFSP dot org. You're

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listening to get connected on one six point seven Light FM.

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I'mina del rio. Let's talk about a little bit about

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what AFSP does. How do you make a difference in

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suicide prevention? What are some of the ways?

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Sure?

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Sort of the underlying part of everything that we do

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and how we first started was as a research organization.

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We were founded in nineteen eighty seven by a handful

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of families who'd lost someone to suicide and a handful

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of researchers who came together because there was little or

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no research being done into why people took their lives,

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and in fact, the prevailing thought in those days was well,

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if someone wants to take their life, there's nothing you

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can do about it, which shows you how far the

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science and the knowledge has evolved over the years. So

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that's how we got started, and research is still a critical part of what we do. We're the largest private

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funder of research at this very moment in time. We're

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funding about thirty million dollars in research, and really all

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of the major therapies and treatments and things that are

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used to help people who are struggling and having suicidal

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ideation have come out of research that we've funded, and

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many of our researchers that we funded have gone on

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to then get more significant funding from the National Institute's

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of Mental Health and all that. So really the pre

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eminent people in the field have at one time or

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another been funded by us, and we've helped them in

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their journey. And one of the things that we try

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to do is to fund a lot of younger researchers

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to get them involved in this field. Because it wasn't

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that long ago there weren't that many people excuse me

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conducting research, but now I'm happy to say that we

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have a very rigorous review process. We receive a lot

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of applications to receive funding from US, and so that's

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one of the major things we do is research, but

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also education dating people about suicide. As I said, early on,

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people thought, well, we can't talk.

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Talk about suicide.

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If I talk to you about suicide, I might plant

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the idea in your head.

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Again, that's completely turned on its head.

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We know that if you think someone is struggling, the

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best thing you can do is talk to them and ask flat and ask them are you thinking of taking

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your life? And it sounds so simple and and so easy,

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but it's kind of awkward to have that conversation, but

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we really encourage it That's one thing anyone can do

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if you're concerned about a friend or a family member,

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talk to them, ask them how.

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They're doing well.

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There's something so interesting now too, about how the conversations

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around mental health do not have the stigma they used to.

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People will talk about it regarding all sorts of things.

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How has that impacted or how has that opened up opportunities,

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you think for conversations with people who might not have

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been a receptive before, especially let's say.

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Men, right well, and of course you know you might

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not be surprised. Middle aged men in rural areas are

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the most high risk population. Men don't typically like to

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talk about their feelings. You know, the macho culture is

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you suck it up and fight through it. And you know,

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in rural areas there's less access to mental health care

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and those types of things.

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So but I think what.

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We've found over the years is, you know, and one

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of the frustrating things is we can't measure something it

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doesn't happen, So we sort of know intuitively we've saved

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a lot of lives over the years because of people

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talking to each other, because we've been able to raise awareness,

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because people are supporting each other. But you can't prove

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that really, you know, anecdotally, and I've had a lot

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of people come up to me and say this organization is saved my life. And that's certainly an overpowering and

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overwhelming sentiment when someone tells you that, But it shows

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you the value of our organization and the work that

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we do.

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I would like to change gears for just a moment,

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because as we have this conversation in April, it's been

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reported that the Department of Health and Human Services plan

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to cut the National Suicide Hotline for LGBTQ youth. In February,

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that program received an average of twenty one hundred contacts

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per day. Right prove those cuts would go into effect

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in October. Your thoughts on that.

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Well, we're certainly opposed to any cuts to funding to

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the nine to eight hotline, and especially for the LGBTQ

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plus component of it.

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It is a simple matter.

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Research shows that members of the LGBTQ community are to

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higher risk for suicide than non members of that community.

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So we're simply, you know, we're simply basing things on

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the research and the science and what it tells. Us

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AFSP's and non partisan organization it's suicide effects Democrats, Republicans, independents,

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and everyone else. I always joke I want them all

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to participate and raise MO for us, no matter what

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their political beliefs are. But what we stand by is

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what the science tells us. And we know that people are in high risk communities and we need to make

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sure services are available to them, just like for veterans

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and middle aged men in rural areas. As I mentioned earlier,

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those are all high risk communities and we're opposed to

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any cuts that would affect services in those areas.

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Back to the Out of the Darkness Walk. It is June twenty first in Manhattan. A little more on the details.

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It starts at the Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum,

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which is peer eighty six West forty sixth Street in Manhattan,

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right there on the water. It's a sixteen mile walk.

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Everybody's at their own pace. What else do we need

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to know?

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So we encourage people to get there early and get

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registered to beat the long lines.

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But also.

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And even if you can't participate, even if you say, well,

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I can't walk sixteen miles or whatever, I encourage you

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to come and attend the opening ceremonies because it's a

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really powerful ceremony, and you know, we have it at

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the Intrepid because obviously it's you know, we look for

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places where it's it's a good place to stage the

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event and all those kind of things, but also because

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of the the symbolism and connection to the military, you know,

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and part of our work is dedicated to preventing suicide

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with active duty military and veterans. So it starts there,

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and then you wind your way through New York City.

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There are rest stops along the way where you can hydrate,

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get snacks whatever. Around midnight, we have what's called the

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Midnight Meal where you can get like a sandwich and

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all that and wind your way back and people start arribving.

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Some people arrive back at about one o'clock in the

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morning and some straggle in about five o'clock in the morning.

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So and that's okay. And also if you walk and

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you feel like you can't finish, we have sweep vehicles

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will pick.

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You up and bring you back to the finish line.

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And you know, what's important is not whether you walked

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sixteen miles or not. What's important is that you're lending

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your voice and your efforts to suicide prevention.

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I would also like to say, as someone who works weird overnight hours, sometimes walking around in the city at

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night is kind of fascinating but a little scary if

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you're by yourself. Now you're going to be with a group,

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and it's going to be, you know, kind of a departure from what you might expect, I think as far

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as participating in a fundraising.

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Right, So anyone who's concerned about that, you know, we

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we work closely with the police department. We try to

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map the route out so that it's we're staying in

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well lit areas, that kind of thing. We if necessary,

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we can we close intersections and things so that you know,

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so it's walker safety is paramount, and we also don't

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want anyone to walk by themselves, and not just for physical,

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say safety reasons, but for emotional safety reasons.

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We want you to be with other people.

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And the one thing people find out we see this

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all the time. People will come in Let's say they'll

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come in from Omaha, Nebraska, and they don't know anybody,

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and they'll just meet up up with other people and

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then they become fast friends and lifelong friends. You know,

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but we we don't everyone anyone walking by themselves because

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we want them to feel supported both from a physical

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safety perspective but also for emotional safety.

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It is an amazing experience. AFSP does so much valuable work.

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We only have about a minute left. I want to

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mention that so much of your work is made possible through volunteering as well.

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Yes, we could not do the work we do without

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our volunteers.

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It is to me.

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You know, over the years we've grown dramatically. We've been

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a very successful organization. And my colleagues and other organizations

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will say, what's your secret to your success? And I

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always say, it's very simple. We have this incredible, passionate

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group of volunteers, many who've suffered this horrific loss, and

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they've chosen to channel their grief into doing something to

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help other people.

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And it's just incredible. So we couldn't do what we do.

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So I want to give a shout out to all of our volunteers all over the country for all the

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great work they do. And if and when out there's

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interested in volunteering, just go to our website, reach out

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to your local chapter.

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We'd love to put you to work. Have you help

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out with our efforts.

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You can find out more about volunteering and the New

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York City Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk on June

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twenty first at AFSP dot org. Mike lama Is with

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the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Thank you for being

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on Get Connected.

14:46

My Pleasure. Thanks so much for having me.

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This has been Get Connected with Nina del Rio on

14:52

ONEHO six point seven light Fm. The views and opinions

14:55

of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views of

14:58

the station. If you missed any part of our show

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or want to share it, visit our website for downloads

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and podcasts at one O six seven lightfm dot com.