photo by: Contributed

Participants during last year's Lawrence Area Campus Walk at Lawrence Rotary Arboretum. The event, which supports suicide awareness and prevention, will be held again at the same location this Saturday, April 26 at 11 a.m.

Local organizers are hosting a walk on Saturday morning in Lawrence to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) in its mission to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide.

The Lawrence Area Campus Walk will take place Saturday April 26 at 11 a.m. at the Lawrence Rotary Arboretum as part of a nationwide effort called Out of the Darkness Campus Walks.

Heather Fiore, a local organizer in Lawrence, told the Journal-World this will be the fourth year the community has held a walk in support of suicide awareness and prevention. Fiore said she has been involved with the AFSP for nearly 20 years after she previously lost loved ones to and had participated in walks when she lived in other places.

A few years ago after moving to Lawrence, she went on a walk with a friend that took place in Kansas City. After the event, she wondered how to bring that same support closer to home.

“We thought, ‘Gosh, why doesn’t Lawrence have one.’ Then we decided to make it happen,” Fiore said.

photo by: Contributed

Heather Fiore (right) has been helping organize events with the national group American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Lawrence. The group will hold its fourth Lawrence Area Campus Walk Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Lawrence Rotary Arboretum.

Fiore said the AFSP hosted two kinds of walks related to suicide prevention: Community Walks, which generally are held in the fall, and Campus Walks, which are held in the spring. Fiore said the campus walks are also intended to engage younger people like college students and get them involved and aware of groups that help prevent suicide.

“We want to make sure students are aware of the organization so they know how to get help if they need or know how to help support a friend if they are struggling,” Fiore said.

As part of the event on Saturday, Fiore said people can register online before the day or the day of at the arboretum starting at 10 a.m. Along with the walk, which will make loops around the arboretum, Fiore said and a representative from AFSP will share a few words to open the walk. Various mental health organizations will be on hand to talk about resources, and there will be a ceremonial wall that will feature memories of those who were lost to suicide.

The event will start at 11 a.m. at Lawrence Rotary Arboretum, 5100 W 27th Street in west Lawrence. To register or donate to the event, you can visit the website http://www.afsp.org/lawrenceks.