SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Join members of the community for a morning walk to promote a great cause! The Race to Save Lives: Walk for Hope will take place the morning of Saturday, October 15 at Howard Park in South Bend. This annual event is presented by and benefitting the Suicide Prevention Center Presented at United Health Services. The goal is one of raising awareness, connecting and supporting survivors of loss.

Walk for Hope returns to an in-person event after two years of going virtual due to the pandemic. On-site registration beings at 8 a.m. at Howard Park. At 9 a.m., a ceremony and presentation will begin, followed by a walk around Howard Park. (Participants can lengthen the course by walking up the East Race.) New this year, friends and family were given the option to purchase a personalized memorial sign in advance to honor a loved one who lost their life to suicide. This year’s event is not a chip-timed 5K or 10K. It is a walk only, which is perfect for the entire family!

The Suicide Prevention Center is located in Granger, but provides assistance, awareness, education, and support to people all over our community free of charge. “We especially work with area youth by providing our free Yellow Ribbon Program (yellowribbon.org) to area middle and high schools,” says Amy Pracht. “This event will help us sustain these programs and ensure that we can continue to meet the needs of our community when it comes to suicide prevention.”

Program Director Kent Laudeman, Ed.D., explains that the need for these kinds of events is great. “The pandemic hit our community hard, both physically and mentally, and the Suicide Prevention Center is determined to be here when people need us most,” he says. “In my mind, the Race to Save Lives (reducing the stigma of mental health and saving lives) is more than just an event. Everyone, if educated and trained, can save a life.”

Laudeman has been director of the Suicide Prevention Center for almost 3 years, with decades of combined experience working at Indiana Univeristy South Bend, the United States Military Academy at West Point, and our local VA supported Veterans Homeless Shelter. “Mental health and suicide prevention has been a part of many positions that I have had the opportunity to work in,” he says. “Preventing suicide has become a deeper passion of mine as we reduce the stigma attached to mental health/suicide through education and support survivors in their loss of a loved one.”

For more information about Suicide Prevention Center, please visit www.sjcsuicideprevention.org. For more information on the walk, visit runsignup.com/Race/IN/SouthBend/WalktoSaveLives.

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