ESCANABA – End The Silence, a depression awareness and suicide prevention walk, is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 7. The event will be held at the Ludington Park Pavilion in Escanaba at the beginning of National Suicide Prevention Week. Money raised from the walk provides funding for The Delta County Suicide Prevention Taskforce.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 44,965 people die by suicide each year. This means that someone dies from suicide every 12 minutes and for every completed suicide there are 25 attempts. Psychological autopsy studies show that more than 90 percent of completed suicides had one or more mental disorders. Suicide is preventable and affects the whole community. Family and friends left behind from someone who completes suicide can leave themselves at a higher risk of suicide or emotional problems.

“This year’s event is intended to illustrate the growing problem of bullying amongst our youth. A brave local student will share their first-hand experience of becoming a victim of bullying. As bullying and cyber bullying have reached an all-time high, impacting the rates of suicide, we want to rally our community to help address this serious topic in hopes of spreading awareness and prevention,” organizers said in a press release.

In addition, participants will also get to hear about a new project starting called Hope Squad in local schools and learn more about QPR (Question, Persuade, and Refer) Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention. Both projects will be funded by the Delta County Task Force.

Agencies and community organizations that will be providing free educational materials on depression and other related topics at the event include: the Delta County Suicide Prevention Task Force, Celebrate Recovery, Communities that Care, Great Lakes Recovery, Pathways, Bellin Health, Hannahville Behavior Health and Victim’s Service Unit. Also, the Upper Peninsula Lifesaver quilts will be on display.

End the Silence Walk is held in remembrance of Bobby and Josh Bintner. They were two Delta County brothers, who completed suicide 13 years apart. Both brothers battled secretly with depression and felt that they had no other option but to end their lives. Over the last 10 years, over $160,000 has been raised to support The Delta County Suicide Prevention Taskforce initiatives.

The money raised over the last 10 years has funded numerous presentations by the Delta County Suicide Prevention Taskforce at local schools, colleges, community events, medical and police personnel, and various organizations, educating thousands on depression and suicide. They also continue to fund school counseling to students at the ISD, Escanaba Middle and High Schools.

Registration for the event begins at 9 a.m., which will occur rain or shine. The opening ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. with the non-competitive walk/run, to follow. There are 2, 5, 10 mile route options. There is a registration fee and group rates are available. Registration fees are waived with pledges of $50 or more; collection of pledges is optional. Pre-registration will secure a requested t-shirt size. T-shirts will be given with paid registration. Tax-exempt contributions are welcomed.

New this year, free face painting and music will by Pat Feldhusen will occur during the event.

To register or obtain more information, contact the End the Silence Walk by mail at 1215 N. 18th St., Escanaba, MI 49829, at the website at www.endthesilencewalk.com, via e-mail at endthesilencewalk@hotmail.com; or by calling (906) 789-0003.