Walk Aims to Bring Awareness to Suicide Prevention

More than 500 people, including VAMHCS leadership, clinicians, and staff; VAMHCS volunteers, Veterans and their families, and members of the community, participated in the event.

In addition to raising awareness about the help available to prevent suicide, the walk aims to help reduce the stigma associated with suicide and mental health challenges. Stops along the walk were set up with stations offering opportunities to reflect and to participate in activities like drumming, painting rocks, creating hope boxes, and petting ponies from one of our community partners, Chesapeake Therapeutic Riding in Harford County. The day’s offerings also included a Health & Resource Fair where Veterans could connect with representatives from VAMHCS programs as well as other agencies and community groups serving Veterans and their families. 

Each year the VAMHCS Suicide Prevention Walk features a unique T-shirt with artwork from one of our Veteran patients. This year the artist was Nicole Spencer, an Army Veteran who served in the 82nd Airborne. Nicole began exploring her creative talents in recent years through some tough health challenges and says it helped her get through long stays in the hospital. She chose to draw a butterfly for the shirt to represent happiness. Her advice to others: Try to find happiness and joy through your grief, and also, be kind to others because everybody is going through something.

TELL-a-VET: Any Veteran not already enrolled in VA health care can apply online at https://www.va.gov/health-care/how-to-apply/. Free, confidential help is available 24/7 to all Veterans in crisis, regardless of their enrollment status, by calling the Veterans Crisis Line at 988 and pressing 1.