Every year Wichita participates in the national “Out of The Darkness” walk to help raise funds and awareness for suicide prevention. This year they raised over $20,000, and had 781 participants. Brittany Breat is the head of Sedgwick county chapter of American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and she coordinates the Out of Darkness walk. Breat said her main task and involvement in the walk is “trying to break down the stigma around suicide.” She is not only the coordinator, but a participant in the walk. She shared her experiences with suicide saying, “suicide is something that has impacted me on so many levels. I have lost so many people in my life to suicide including a family member, an ex-partner, a father-figure, and friends… Suicide infiltrates my everyday life. This platform allows me to bring awareness to the difficulty that comes with these thoughts, these actions.” The walk is not just a fundraiser. It is a place where people can find support in one another. The people that come to the walk have on some level been affected by suicide. The environment of the walk is very supportive and uplifting. The speakers usually speak of personal experience and aim to give people hope to live their lives after losing a loved one. The walk is very powerful and is just one of the few things our city does to raise awareness for suicide prevention. Breat said,” There’s a lot the state could and should do to raise more awareness in schools. It starts with funding. they need to start funding early education presentation programs. what I mean is starting in grade schools having the tough conversations about what mental health is, what bullying is, what the warning signs of suicide are, and who to tell if they see these.” Funding for suicide prevention in Kansas is astronomically low. The state is given $350,000 annually to fund the suicide prevention system for the whole state. According to a story by Emily Sinovic of KCTV-5 News, the rate of suicide in Kansas has increased by 45% since 2001. The key to helping lower suicide rates is funding mental health education and making it publicly available especially in schools.