Third Annual Suicide Prevention, Awareness Walk Sept. 8

Contributed photo

The public is invited to participate in the third annual prevention and awareness walk, “Working Together to Prevent Suicide,” Saturday, Sept. 8, from 3 to 5 p.m., at the Kaua‘i Community College, Fine Arts Auditorium, according to a county news release.

The event is offered by the Prevent Suicide Kaua‘i Task Force and check-in begins at 2:30 p.m.

This year’s prevention and awareness walk will feature live music by local performers, local and state representatives speaking about initiatives and progress being made, a free T-shirt for everyone who attends, free refreshments, and a short walk around campus with family and friends for the purpose of offering support, hope, and healing.

The Center for Disease Control reports from 2005 to 2015, nearly half of rural counties saw their suicide rates increase by 30 percent or more. Unfortunately, many attempts go unreported so the rate could actually be much higher.

The Prevent Suicide Kaua‘i Task Force, working in conjunction with the Prevent Suicide Hawai‘i Task Force, is a county, public, and private partnership of individuals, organizations, and community groups working in the area of suicide prevention. Volunteers from the County of Kaua‘i’s Office of the Mayor, the Hawai‘i State Department of Health, Department of Education, Department of Defense, Lili‘uokalani Trust, Life’s Bridges Hawai‘i, Inc. and other organizations and agencies are working together to stop suicide by providing education, early intervention, and postvention support to families and communities impacted by suicide.

To register, go to www.preventsuicidekauai.org. For more information, you may contact Madeleine Hiraga-Nuccio of the Department of Health at 808-274-3890 or madeleine.hiraga-nuccio@doh.hawaii.gov.