BETTENDORF, Iowa — The Out of Darkness Walk is now the Out of Darkness experience, allowing people to walk anywhere to help raise awareness about suicide prevention.
It's happening Sunday, Sept. 27 from 8 a.m. to noon.
"It's basically a week of experience," organizer Jaime Atwood says. "We're gonna celebrate our loved one's lives all week long. Then on Sunday we want to walk. We want to get everyone together. Get your family together, get your teams together and we want to walk to raise awareness. We want the community to see us walking."
Nearly 50,000 Americans died by suicide last year.
Currently, hundreds of pinwheels are up on Middle Road in Bettendorf. Atwood says there are 479 pinwheels to represent each person lost to suicide in Iowa in 2019.
She lost her son Foster to suicide in 2017, making this mission personal.
"It hurts because I know my son was one of these pinwheels a couple years ago," she says. "We want to see less of these pinwheels every year. And that's not happening. The suicide rate continues to rise. and that's why these events are so important to raise awareness."
You can register for the walk up until the day-of. It's free to sign-up.
If you or someone you know is struggling, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is available 24/7 at 800-273-8255.