Moses Lake suicide awareness walk set for May 12

MOSES LAKE — Two Moses Lake residents are sponsoring a walk around town May 12 to promote suicide awareness and prevention.

Aaron Molina and Carlos Avila chose a distance of 22 kilometers (13.67 miles) because 22 is the estimated number of American military veterans who commit suicide each day. Molina and Avila are Marine Corps veterans and that statistic, they said, was a cause for concern.

“It really just hit home for us,” Avila said.

But suicide is a challenge for more than military veterans. According to Julie Rickard, a program manager for American Behavioral Health Systems in Wenatchee, about 43,000 people in the U.S. kill themselves every year. Rickard talked about suicide prevention in Royal City April 25, following the suicide of a Royal High School senior.

Seven people committed suicide in Grant County in 2015, the last year for which Washington Department of Health statistics are available. For youth and adults 15 to 34 years of age, suicide is the second leading cause of death.

Knowing that, Avila said the awareness hike is designed to honor civilians and families who are struggling with suicide too. “This is not just about veterans. We want to raise awareness about suicide in general in our community because of how often it does happen.”

T-shirts will be for sale for $15 each. Proceeds will go to the American Legion and the Suicide Awareness Program at Moses Lake High School.

A representative from the veteran’s resource office at Big Bend Community College will be at the hike to provide information about programs and resources available to veterans.

Anybody in the community who wants to participate can join the walkers, or stop by before or after the hike, Avila said.

The hike begins at Blue Heron park and follows Broadway Avenue to Stratford Road. From Stratford the walkers will go down Valley Road to Cascade Park in Cascade Valley. That’s the halfway mark; hikers can stop there, or people who want to hike the whole route turn around and retrace their steps to Blue Heron Park. There will be plenty of water available along the route, Avila said.