The second annual Suicide Awareness Walk is taking place on April 6. The walk itself spans 1.67 miles around campus, starting at the Wellness Center.
The walk was founded by Sean Slusher, University employee who works at SSC, a company contracted with Murray State as the Wellness Center team lead. Slusher is using his own personal struggles to inspire people battling mental health issues to keep fighting.
Slusher found inspiration from Live Aid, a massive global benefit concert in 1985 which raised money for famine victims in Ethiopia. To Write Love On Her Arms is a non-profit organization that raises awareness of people battling mental health issues by advocates writing the word “Love” on their arms during September, which is National Suicide Prevention Month. These organizations motivated Slusher to create the Suicide Walk to help raise suicide awareness.
Starting the first walk was challenging for Slusher.
“It was kind of a rough start trying to organize the event… last year,” he said. “Not knowing where to start and who to reach out to made the start up challenging. I had a lot of people from here help me with a lot of stuff – different fraternities, sororities and all other organizations.”
Slusher said having the support from the community made the turnout of the first walk memorable. Even though it took around 6 months to organize, the result was better than expected, with around 110 people walking in the event last year.
“Doing this is helping me save my own life,” Slusher said. “Even if I don’t become a superstar celebrity by doing this, I hope I’ve done enough to make an impact on the community.”
Slusher said he hopes to create a legacy that continues even after he is gone and that the walk continues to inspire people to keep on fighting every day.
Hoping for a bigger turnout this year, Slusher is spreading the word of the walk earlier than last year. He has also gotten in touch with local radio stations and newspapers to get the word out about the walk.
Slusher plans to have a table set up in the Wellness Center the week of the walk to further inform the community by handing out pins, bracelets and flyers in honor of suicide prevention.
Donations and proceeds will go to Check-A-Vet and the Psychological Center in Wells Hall.
