HAMILTON, Ohio — Community members and those who have lost a loved one to suicide gathered Thursday night at Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park for the sixth annual Walk to Remember, put on by Envision Partnership's Butler County Suicide Prevention Coalition.
"It was really meaningful to me to know that there was this time and place to specifically, you know, to honor my dad and other people who have died by suicide," said Grace Carr, this year's keynote speaker.
Carr lost her father to suicide in 2012. Years later in 2020, she discovered Walk to Remember, an event to remember her father and connect with others going through the same thing.
"Knowing they’re not alone in their struggles, and they see and they look around, and they think, 'Wow, other people are also taking this journey,'" said Kristen Smith, manager of mental health promotions at Envision Partnerships.
For Carr, having a community that understands her grief is healing.
“Being surrounded with people like that ... you can have conversations that you would not have with other people who have not lost someone to suicide," Carr said.
According to Smith, those who have lost someone to suicide are at a higher risk of dying by suicide, which is why the walk focuses not only on remembrance but prevention.
The walk supports one of the coalition's prevention teams, Local Outreach To Suicide Survivors (L.O.S.S.), which directly helps those who have lost someone to suicide.
"They start supporting families that have lost a loved one to suicide at the site of the loss, and connect them to the resources immediately," Smith said.
Smith said that when families and loved ones are connected with L.O.S.S. they receive resources within an average of 45 days, rather than the normal 4.5 years.
The Butler County Suicide Prevention Coalition is working to address suicide rates, from task forces to help high-risk groups to grief support groups. Since her first walk in 2020, Carr has become a volunteer with the coalition, helping others and herself on their healing journey.
"When you think about the possibility that you could help prevent this for someone else, or when it has already happened you can be there to support those people, it is really healing," said Carr.
