BANGOR, Maine — Friends and families spent Saturday morning walking together through Bangor to remember loved ones who have died from suicide and spread awareness about ways to prevent other people from suffering the same kind of loss.
"People die in silence," Dominique Dispirito, head organizer of Bangor's Out of the Darkness Walk, said. "When we talk about it and open up, we are much better. And to look out and be like, 'Oh my god, these are my people,' or, 'These are people who understand,' it's a really powerful thing."
Dispirito said she became involved with the event two years ago after losing her father from suicide. She said she hopes to give people a chance to connect with others who have been impacted by suicide.
"I want to create a community that's not afraid to talk about suicide, not afraid to talk about loss and prevention," Dispirito said.
While walking through the crowd, the bright colors of shirts reading "Team Becky" or "I'm walking for Jake" highlighted just how many people at the event have lost a loved one.
Like Brianna Lavoie, who's her mother died from suicide less than a year ago.
"She would've been beaming today, because this is a very important cause that was to her as well," Lavoie said.
The Out of the Darkness Walk doesn't just allow her to honor her mother, though. She said it also helps her comfort others going through the same pain.
"We're here to lift each other up because we've all experienced something that is very difficult and we're sticking together to make sure it doesn't happen to other people if we can," Lavoie said.
After taking their last few steps of the walk, Sharon Shermon, Ruth Nickelson, and Grady Thoreau said the support and feeling of hope from others at the event empowered them to share the amazing memories they have of their sister, Becky Sarton.
"It just makes us feel like we're not alone, that there are other families and people who are going through the same healing that we are," Nickelson said.
Organizers explained that while the walk gives people a chance to connect, it also helps to raise money for suicide prevention programs like suicide education workshops for schools throughout Maine.
"People want to learn how to prevent suicide, they want to know how to talk about it safely and support other people so just getting people those tools," Valerie Moyer, programs coordinator for AFSP Maine and New Hampshire, said.
And through the money and awareness raised from the walk, organizers hope it helps others realize they're not alone, even in the darkest of times.
"To all the people who are struggling out there, I want them to know it's OK to not be OK. It's OK to have these feelings, and you shouldn't feel ashamed," Lavoie said.
To learn more about suicide prevention resources in your area, you can visit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s website.
And if you or someone you know are in crisis, you can call 988 or text "TALK" to 741741 to connect for free and confidential support.
