If you or someone you know is in a crisis, dial 988 or text TALK to 741-741.
CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) — September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Mental health advocates, survivors, and allies are bringing attention to the resources available for people who are struggling with thoughts of suicide.
According to Dan Egan, Chair of the Capital Region Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, mental health is historically underfunded.
“We’re still looking for better diagnostic tools, better treatment, better pharmaceuticals,” Egan said.
For Egan, this cause is extremely personal. When he was 19, his father died by suicide.
“To say I dealt with it poorly is an understatement,” Egan explained, “and almost lived in a state of denial for basically a decade and a half, because I went through my own mental health issues, and finally got help and found a road to healing.”
That road to healing took him to his role as co-chair for the Out of the Darkness Capital Region Walk for R.I.T.A.
“It’s our largest fundraising event for the chapter,” Egan said.
The Out of the Darkness Community Walks are held in hundreds of communities across the country.
“Aside from a fundraising event, it’s great togetherness and awareness, and to let people who lost a loved one to suicide know they’re not alone,” Egan said.
The walk is scheduled for September 24 at the Orenda Pavilion at Saratoga Spa State Park. You can donate or register for the walk online.
