MUW Walk of Hope

Walk of Hope is a campus Suicide Awareness Walk on Thursday, September 19, 2024.  This walk is planned to occur beginning at 12:30 pm starting at the gazebo.  We would love for our MUW campus community to wear yellow and join us to raise awareness for this very important issue. To bring awareness to this very important issue, prior to the walk, the MUW Nursing Department in collaboration with the MUW Counseling Center will be placing yellow ribbons along the MUW campus. We hope this provides a visual reminder for everyone to stop and think about this very important issue. We plan to leave these ribbons in place until the Walk of Hope.

“Change the Narrative on Suicide and Start the Conversation” is the 2024 theme for the World Suicide Prevention Month. This theme serves as a powerful call to action and reminder there is an alternative to suicide, and through our actions, we can encourage hope, strengthen prevention and start the conversations to change the narrative. Our actions, no matter how big or small, may provide hope to those who are struggling. Suicide prevention is a public health priority and urgent action is required to make sure suicide mortality rates are reduced.

September 10 is recognized as World Suicide Awareness Day and the month of September is recognized as World Suicide Awareness month. In America, we lose someone to suicide every 11 minutes. Suicide does not discriminate; it affects all age groups, ethnicities, and genders. According to the World Health Organization, suicide is a major public health problem with social, emotional and economic consequences. It is estimated there are currently more than 700,000 suicides per year worldwide, and each suicide profoundly affects many more people. This does not include the staggering statistics of suicidal ideations and failed suicide attempts.