The American Foundation For Suicide Prevention (AFSP)

Every year 42, 773 Americans die from suicide. There are approximately 110 deaths daily due to suicide and for every successful suicide there are twenty-five more attempts made. Attempted suicide is responsible for approximately 494,169 hospital visits annually and that number only reflects the number of visits reported due to self harm. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, AFSP, is an organization that is fully and whole heartedly devoted to raising suicide awareness by offering programs and resources for survivors of suicide and for those at risk. The American Foundation For Suicide Prevention was organized in 1987 by a group of people that lost loved ones as a result of suicide. Surviving family members partnered with scientists and together they sponsored suicide-related research and prevention. Also, they established the nations first non-for profit organization dedicated to suicide research. The …show more content…
These walks are organized to raise awareness for suicide prevention and to generate funds that are donated to research towards the development of a cause. In 2004, the first walk produced very few participants. Only about 4,000 participated. However, today the AFSP is proud to announce an impressive 200,000 participants. This number of participants continues to grow every year. The main purpose for organizing the “Out of the Darkness” walks is to unify those that have lost loved ones so tragically and also proves that together we can make a big difference in the world. The “Out of the Darkness Walk” is a large contribution to the raise in awareness of the goal of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. There are three different “Out of the Darkness” walks, community walks, campus walks, and overnight walks. The most unique walk is the overnight walk, which can range from 16-18 miles and hosted in a different major city each