Out of the Darkness Community Walk raises over $60,000

On Sunday, October 23, the sixth annual Hoboken Out of the Darkness community walk was held to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). Starting with the opening ceremony at 10 a.m., residents gathered at the Babbio Center to begin the 2.4 mile walk in order to support AFSP, which raises money to research suicide prevention, fund helpful educational programs, and advocate for policies to support suicide prevention. The participants traveled across Hoboken for over an hour in order to encourage donations, first walking up to 11th Street, then along the waterfront to Pier A Park before finishing their journey back at the Babbio Center.

Stevens has supported the Hoboken Out of the Darkness walk since it started in the city back in 2017. On the committee team for the walk are Stevens faculty such as Dean of Students Kenneth Nilsen and Director of Counseling and Psychological Services Dr. Eric Rose. They work together with AFSP and the rest of the committee to plan the event and encourage donations for the cause. Dr. Rose said that his main work for this year’s event consisted of “organizing student volunteers and helping build enthusiasm among student participants” in order to help raise funds.

For this year’s walk, $62,765 was donated to AFSP in order to help raise awareness for an extremely important cause. The walk serves both as a reminder to those who’ve lost their lives due to suicide and honoring their memory, and also as a glimpse of hope to support those who are struggling now or may struggle in the future. The mission of the AFSP is to save lives and bring hope to people who have been affected by suicide, and the money raised from this year’s event will give AFSP the resources it needs to help those who are struggling.

Dr. Rose believes that events like the Out of the Darkness walk not only help students feel like they have an impact on an important cause but also get students more involved with mental health awareness on campus and in their communities. One place they can get involved is through CAPS; not only do they offer counseling for Stevens students, but also educational learning to help people support someone they know who is struggling and volunteer opportunities for events advocating for mental health awareness such as the Out of the Darkness walk.